I have a confession. I don’t have any Christmas traditions.
My parents got divorced when I was 9, so the only tradition we really observed was shuttling back and forth all day between houses and meals and different family factions. We don’t open Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve or even bake cookies. My mom has valiantly tried to start a few Christmas traditions over the years, including going out for sushi on Christmas Eve, making elaborate Christmas breakfasts, or trying to find a soup kitchen to volunteer at, but nothing ever really stuck. I don’t even remember the last time I decorated a tree.
The BF and I had planned on staying home for Christmas, chopping down our own tree, watching Christmas movies, and drinking hot chocolate. I was even contemplating making homemade marshmallows. But then about 2 weeks ago, we realized that he needed to go back to Wisconsin and visit his family, and since I didn’t want to spend Christmas by myself, I opted to go with him. And even better… we decided to drive.
So here we are in Wisconsin, after a 16-hour drive. We even brought the dog and she is loving it–turns out she has quite the aptitude for tunneling through snow that is too deep for her to run through. And I am learning all sorts of new Christmas traditions.
For one, The BF’s family buys a Christmas tree still bundled in wire and twine, then they set it up in the living room and unravel it. This way, they reason, it’s a surprise what the tree looks like. As someone whose family use to take Christmas tree selection very seriously, this seems almost sacrilegious, but I do have to admit that it’s been kind of fun to watch the tree unfurl itself in all its bald-spotted-and-rogue-low-hanging-branched glory.
I am also enjoying my first Christmas spent almost exclusively in Lulus and this amazing fleece scarf I got from Whole Foods that is basically like a warm fuzzy hug for your face. What’s not to love.
Do you have a favorite Christmas tradition? If you head to The Ascent Blog’s Facebook page and leave me a note about your favorite tradition, you’ll be entered in my Gamma Labs Giveaway for a free pack of Gamma Labs PTF single serve packets!
