Holiday Traditions

For Owlhaven's opinion Saturday she's asking about our holiday traditions...

I've mentioned before that Thanksgiving is one of the most special holidays for my husband and I as our first date was on Thanksgiving Eve ten years ago this year. We always make sure to steal a few minutes together to let each other know how thankful we are for each other and for that first date!

We've had fun over the years playing with traditions and seeing what works, we take it or leave it the next year depending on what we thought. Eight years ago I made fresh Vietnamese Salad Spring Rolls with peanut dressing on a Thanksgiving that my MIL flew in. While not a traditional side they were so yummy that they became a tradition. They are fairly labor intensive so last year they were missed but I'll be up early to get them ready this year.

This week I'll also be making the Christmas roll recipe that have been a tradition in our family for generations. Some wonderful memories and conversations were had while making these as a family the night before a holiday.

A Christmas tradition from my childhood that I plan on continuing is hiding baby Jesus from the Nativity scene and then letting the kids look for him (in a fairly obvious place) then placing him back in the manger and singing "Happy Birthday" on Christmas Eve. My sister even got her sorority sisters to do this with her in college. It is a great reminder wading through all the gifts under the tree from loved ones to the true meaning of the day and one that as a child I remember really "getting".