Fun Monday - # 17 - Holiday Traditions

The holidays are quickly approaching - They will be here before you know it and I haven't done a bit of shopping yet !!


This week, The Humble Housewife is the hostess for Fun Monday.


She wants to hear about or see a holiday tradition, recipe or event. It can be any holiday you like or that is special to your family. With Thanksgiving and the Winter holidays coming up, those would be especially apt, but anything that is special for your family is fine. If you have pictures - it's a bonus! Whether it's your Mom's famous stuffing recipe, going caroling on Christmas Eve, Diwali dances, or even the inevitability of Great Aunt Polly having one too many brandies and knocking over the Christmas tree - I want to hear about it!!!

THANKSGIVING
Growing up in a big family always made Thanksgiving an enjoyable day. The entire family (it got larger as we each married and had families of our own) would gather at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving dinner. Mom would do the turkey (and sometimes ham) and other good stuff and we each would bring along a dish or two to add to it. The card table would be set up in the living room (the "kids" table) because the dining room just wasn't big enough to accommodate all 6 six kids plus. As the years went by, different ones left the area and we no longer had to use the card table. There were a couple of years where we had guests that had no family in the area, and they became our "extended family" for the day. (Heaven forbid, I ended up dating one of them for 7+ years - but that is a subject for another day). Mom and Dad have within the last year moved all the way across the United States near SJ in CO, so Thanksgiving in VA is now, a much smaller affair.



CHRISTMAS
The house where I grew up had no fireplace, so we hung our stockings on the banister of the stairs. We used one of our socks instead of a store bought stocking. Being the oldest (and a girl) I always picked out the longest pair of knee socks I owned. I believe that my brothers always felt cheated but rest assured, we were all treated equally. The fact that I had the longest sock didn't mean I got more !!



Ever since my boys have grown up and left home, I attend the 11:00 Candlelight Christmas service each Christmas Eve at the church I attended growing up. When they were young, I would get them off to bed then spend half the night wrapping gifts, filling stockings and such. Now that they aren't at home, I can do all that stuff at my leisure and not have to keep everything hidden. I felt lost those first years, with nothing to do on Christmas Eve. From that point on, I have gone to church each year and come home with the real reason for the season in my heart. Each year, just before midnight, the lights are turned out and candlelight spreads through the sanctuary and everyone joins in to sing "Silent Night" as we exit out into the darkness.



SNOWMEN
This isn't really a traditon, but an obsession of mine. I "Heart" Snowmen. I decorate my entire house with snowmen ... the entire house !! It is much easier now that it is just me. Each year, I buy more - I search out the "unique" ones. It really is getting out of control but I can't help it - I "Heart" Snowmen. And my family knows it, so the collection grows every year. I bought a second Christmas tree last year on clearance so that I would have enough space to display the multitude of snowman ornaments that I own.



They second tree will be for the non-snowman ornaments that I just can't bear not to put out . There is one special ornament that hangs near the top each year. A small Santa (inexpensive flocked dollar store kind) that hung in my oldest son's incubator the year he was born. The nurses in the hospital put it there and it came home with us when he finally gained enough weight to come home. (He was born in October, came home in December). There will be the handmade ornaments (most treasured are the ones made by my children and the ones made by my grandparents who are no longer with us on this earth), themed ornaments, dated ornaments, ornaments that represent my grandchildren, neices and nephews, great neices and good friends. Everything that is near and dear to my heart EXCEPT the snowmen which will get their own tree this year.



Here is a small sampling of my snowmen ....



Blogger isn't being cooperative at the moment, so I will tell you of the newest snowmen I have purchased recently - a snowman shower curtain that matches the bath mat I bought last year and snowman flannel sheets to keep me warm. And to add, I have numerous sweaters and fleece tops adorned with snowmen that I wear most days during the last weeks of December.



Let's try again ...






The tree in all it's glory (I need to find a snowman tree topper)


Yes, that one says it all !

The coffee table

One of my favorites

All around the floor ...

And on the stairs

( I have acquired and put out many more since this picture was taken)

Make sure you go visit Deborah, The Humble Housewife and read about everyone else's holiday traditions. I have visited a few and they definitely don't disappoint.