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December 18, 2009
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Columnist, The Friday Flyer
Talking with a friend the other day, we got onto the subject of unique family traditions around the holidays. She laughed as she recalled waking up on Christmas mornings as a little girl to a loud, “Ho-Ho-Ho!” and the slam of the front door. Then her dad would call out, “Darn it, kids! You just missed him!” Years later, her own children awaken on Christmas mornings to the same happy sounds and they, too, miss seeing Santa by mere seconds.
It occurred to me that just about every family has its own quirky little traditions. Many have been carried along through generations: games and stories so old the origins are uncertain. I am reminded of one of my favorite jokes about the woman who was asked why she always cut the end off the roast before putting it in the oven. She replied that her grandmother did it that way, and so had her mother, so it must be right. Someone called up the grandmother and asked why she always cut off the end of the roast. She replied, “I never had a pan large enough for the whole thing!”
Many families carry on traditions from past generations. For many years, my friend Jeanette’s family has taken the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey, let it dry and hung it on the Christmas tree, wrapped in foil. On New Year’s Eve, wishes are made and the bone is broken. My friend Carol’s family has carried on the tradition of “the Christmas Pickle,” in which a pickle-shaped ornament is hidden in the tree and the first child to find it gets a special prize.
Many traditions are born to bring meaning to the season. At our house, the nativity scene is set up early in December, but the manger remains empty until Christmas morning. When they were small, my children would check the manger daily. Now they always make sure to peek into the miniature stable first thing Christmas morning on their way to see what Santa has left under the tree.
There are no hard and fast rules about the Christmas stocking and its use often varies from family to family. Growing up, my husband always found his stocking outside his bedroom door on Christmas morning. For many of my friends, an orange in the stocking is an old family tradition born of a Depression-age shortage of citrus fruits, so an orange was considered quite a treat. My friend Leanna’s family added a twist: if you were good, you got an orange, but if you were bad, there was a potato in the stocking, and her brother and dad were usually the potato recipients!
Creating funny traditions makes for great memories. My friend Janet sets up her nativity scene just so, but several times every day she must remove a stray sheep from the roof of the stable because her husband thinks it is just plain funny. My best friend has received the same tattered Holly Hobbie doll from her father every Hanukah for the past 30 years, and it never fails to make everyone laugh.
As treasured as old family traditions are, it is just as important for parents to create new ones with their own children. I’ve tried a few over the years, and there have been hits and misses.
My daughter loves making ornaments with Popsicle sticks, glue and glitter, but my son isn’t crazy about crafts. No one likes posing for the family Christmas picture I insist upon every year, but almost all of us loved my idea two years ago to go to a matinee on Christmas Day in our pajamas (the kids and I are in pajamas and my husband walks 10 ft. behind us, pretending to be a part of a different family). We also always spend an evening in the car with a thermos of hot chocolate and a map of the best holiday light displays.
One of the newest holiday traditions I came across is called "Elf on the Shelf," which is based on a children’s book. My friend Hope and her three boys have acquired an elf named Harvey, and every morning leading up to Christmas, the Jeffcoat boys search the house to find where Harvey is hiding. He was recently spotted on a bookcase, reading a story and eating a cookie. Harvey’s job is to watch the children and report their good or bad behavior to Santa, and Hope has reported great results and fewer tantrums. I think I might need to go find an elf for my house! Visit www.elfontheshelf.com to find out more.
Another fun thing to try is tracking Santa’s worldwide trek on Christmas Eve by checking in on his progress at www.noradsanta.com. Using satellite images, Santa’s location can be followed as he travels around the world delivering presents.
This holiday season will be unique and bittersweet for my family. I will be boarding a plane at dawn on Christmas morning with my children and (hopefully) arriving in Ohio in time for dinner with family I have not seen in years. I will leave behind, however, my accountant husband, who is entering his busy season at work and cannot take time off for a two-week trip.
So, we will celebrate early and try to cram a whole season’s worth of festivities into one fun-filled day. Then I will board a 6:42 a.m. cross-country flight with two restless children, change planes three times and hope for good weather. I am guessing that flying solo with my children in the dead of winter will not become a new family tradition!
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