What are your holiday traditions?

[Claire]

Hey OB! It's been a while. I thought I'd try to stir up some conversation with a nice timely topic.

 

As of today we are less than six weeks away from Christmas, but there's a lot that goes on in the time leading up to it. How do you spend your holiday time? Where are you spending your Thanksgiving? Are there activities you do every year? Do you travel to see family? If you don't celebrate Christmas, what kinds of winter holiday stuff do you do? 

 

My family doesn't have too many traditions. Since my grandparents moved to an assisted living place we've had to move our Thanksgiving dinner to my aunt's house, which is pretty different than what I've been doing my whole life but it's still pretty nice. Most members of my dad's side of the family will be there and I intend to eat myself into a coma so I don't have to put up with our differences for too long.

 

I'm especially geared up for Christmas, though. My family will pick up a tree day or two after Thanksgiving but we don't really make a big deal out of decorating it. Last year we bought a real tree to replace our old synthetic one, so I think we'll do that again. I'm going to start working on my Christmas wishlist today--I always put together a nice sleek presentation, it's kind of silly. The only problem is there isn't anything I especially want, other than a new laptop (which is too expensive to ask for, anyway), so I'll have to really brainstorm. I've already bought gifts for some of my friends and I'm really excited to wrap them up.

 

The only thing I'd really consider a Christmas tradition is that my dad and I go see Trans-Siberian Orchestra every year. We've been doing it since I was in ninth grade, and this is the tenth year in a row that we're going to the concert. If you have the chance to see TSO, I highly recommend you do it! They combine Christmas, classical, and metal and put on this unbelievable light show. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

 

So, let's get talking! Tell us about your holidays!

Edited November 14, 2014 by Clurr

[Allamorph]

Hey there, fellow Lurker of Creative Writing Forums Past. I remember you. =)

The holiday period around the turn of the year is one of the few times (really the only time) us guys in the military are reliably able to get time off. In fact, we get so few regular opportunities that we are "Strongly Encouraged" to take one of the standdown (read: "the military does no work") periods for leave and go home and see people. My first year in I had just graduated basic training a month earlier, so although I was authorised leave, I didn't take it, but now that I'm actually working on Big Navy's schedule I never pass up the opportunityâ??especially since the only time off I've taken in the past year was four days for a memorial service.

This year should be enjoyable. Prior to arriving back home, I plan to drop by [color=#800000]Kimmeh[/COLOR's place in Arizona and hang out with her for a few days. It's a touch easier now that I live in the Puget Sound area and can bop through Phoenix on my way back East.

Traditionwise, my family hasn't really got anything beyond the exchange of giftsâ??which, unfortunately (at least to me), tends to take the form of "hey, what do you want this year" and then giving it to them. We used to have a large family gathering on my father's side, complete with a visit from Santa (for the young ones) and a traditional Southern feast, but we haven't really had one of those in about a decade, mostly due to people being really spread out, and the gradual, inevitable thinning of the numbers in my grandmother's generation.

My parents and siblings still gather on Christmas, and I make it when I can these years ... holy crap this is sounding more and more depressing. Totally not the case. Anyway, our regular thing is, the morning of, we ditch all electronic stuff. No television, no computers, no phones, no internet, just us six sitting with each other in the living room and paying attention to each other and looking at what everyone's surprise stuff was and just generally talking to each other. It's nice.

Also one of my sisters picks one present every year to use four entire rolls of Scotch tape on, and it's always funny when we find out who got it.

[Claire]

Also one of my sisters picks one present every year to use four entire rolls of Scotch tape on, and it's always funny when we find out who got it.

 

That is absolutely brilliant. I might have to start doing that, even though my family doesn't really have that kind of sense of humor.