How We Celebrate the Holidays at Home

The holidays always start the same way for me. One morning I walk outside, feel that cold air hit my face, and immediately think, “Okay, here we go… should’ve brought a jacket.” That tiny moment is my personal kickoff. Once the neighbors start putting up their lights, I’m officially in full season mode and checking the weather like it’s a part-time job, trying to figure out which rare dry day we can use to decorate outside.

Right after that, we jump straight into our family meeting to plan both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We figure out the menus, the timing, and who is bringing what. Our tamale-making day goes on the calendar. The Christmas parties start landing on the schedule. My worship team set lists start filling up with carols. The grandgirls begin asking when we are going to Holiday Magic at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

This is also when decorating really gets going for us. It happened early this year, long before Thanksgiving. Once the planning meeting wrapped up, I was already pulling out bins and diving into the candy and sweets theme outside. I had made the giant popcorn garland from spray foam insulation with red ornaments as cranberries. The oversized lollipops made from pool noodles came next. I even started sketching ideas for the gingerbread playhouse and giant lighted candies.

Everything starts stacking up in the best way.

Thanksgiving arrives next and really sets the holiday tone. We host family and the friends who have become family. The menu shifts each year, although green bean casserole never leaves the lineup, Bob won’t let it. This year we are making sweet potatoes two ways. After dinner we might play Nintendo Switch or Jackbox games, and we always sit down to fill out our Santa’s Helper questionnaires before drawing names for the adult gifts. The whole day feels like the season clicking into place.

Once Thanksgiving wraps up, my daughter and I head straight into Black Friday shopping. It is our tradition and one of our favorite things to do together. Right around this time, “Santa” starts collecting stocking stuffers. That is me. I take my role very seriously. The dollar store and Daiso both get visits because they always have the cutest little things. Half the fun is tossing something in the cart thinking, “Someone is going to love this,” even though I cannot remember who I meant it for until I get home.

After Thanksgiving, I finish up the decorating by turning my attention inside, where almost every room gets its own tree. One guest room has a white tree decorated in black, white, and silver. Another gets a full rainbow tree. The living room holds our “fancy tree” covered in blue, silver, white, and crystal ornaments. The dining room has a Starbucks-themed tree with a garland I made from old gift cards. A Disney tree is waiting for the office, and I am slowly collecting travel ornaments for a future bedroom tree.

My grandmother’s handmade Nativity is the centerpiece of the season. The pieces are big and beautiful, and she took such great care of them. She passed in 2019, so setting the Nativity out each year feels like pulling her right into the room with us.

Once all the decorating is in motion, our traditions fall into place. We watch our favorite movies every year, usually listed in whatever order pops into my head. Elf, Christmas Vacation, The Holiday, Muppets Christmas Carol. We sing along with the Muppets like we are part of the cast. We tear up every time the little girl in Elf says, “Thank you, Buddy.” We spend the entire season quoting Christmas Vacation, and someone eventually says, “That’s reaaaal nice,” in their best Cousin Eddie voice.

There are peaceful, cozy moments too. I love sitting by the fire with Christmas music playing in the background. Sometimes I just stare at the flames and let myself unwind. Driving around to look at Christmas lights is another tradition I adore. Bob will occasionally say, “Let’s go for a drive,” and that small invitation is all it takes to grab a coffee or cocoa, a blanket and enjoy an enchanting evening with ‘mah baby’.

Our tamale-making day shows up somewhere in the middle of all this. It is loud, chaotic, messy, and easily one of my favorite traditions. We go to brunch on Christmas Eve at The Garage Bar and Grill every other year when our friends from Florida visit. After brunch, we head to church for Christmas Eve service, which helps me slow down and take a breath.

Wrapping gifts becomes its own ritual. As the official “Santa,” I do all the wrapping, and I genuinely enjoy it. I turn on Christmas music, sit by the fire, pour a glass of wine, and get in the zone. The more complicated the shape, the more determined I am to wrap it neatly.

Christmas morning is always sweet and calm. If Bob and I exchange gifts, we wake up early, make our coffee, and open them before the rest of the day begins. The rest of the family eventually makes their way over, and that is when

the real fun starts. Brunch gets going, more presents get opened, and we start preparing a feast for dinner. The whole house fills up with laughter, games, stories, and whatever movie we end up putting on in the background. At some point in the afternoon, the guys always fall asleep in their chairs, which has become its own running joke every year.

Generosity is woven into the season too. We host a client appreciation event right before Thanksgiving where people can pick up a pumpkin pie or croissants. We sponsor a child through Compassion International named Anthony and send extra at Christmas so he receives something special.

When I look at all of it together, the holidays in our home follow a rhythm that feels familiar and joyful every single year. The decorations are gorgeous, the traditions mean so much, and the memories last long after the season ends. Nothing needs to be perfect. It simply needs to feel like us, and to me . . . That’s perfect!