We rarely play board games, but over x-mas vacations the games come out and marathon monopoly, scrabble and Taboo games begin. Playing Taboo with a spouse is almost as good as couple’s therapy. Then because we all love x-country skiing, we head out doors to a local lit trail where we can ski under lights. I usually make a pasta dish for a x-mas meal but we have also have had Chinese!
My Mom's family was/is quite big on Sunday and holiday traditions. Where I grew up I was surrounded by my aunts (the first and second house closest to ours), and my Grandma & Grandpa (right across the road), so Sunday dinner was always planned potluck with everyone and holidays were full of singing and games and puzzles. I get back to the farm now as often as I can with my own children to do the large gathering meals and jigsaw puzzles, hayfield softball games, fireworks on the 4th, and such. We give ornaments for the Christmas tree each year and by the time our girls are grown, they'll have quite a collection of them for their own trees. There's always special birthday suppers--all favorites chosen by the celebratee. One traditional Christmas recipe we have is kringle....it is rather lengthy, so I'm not going to type it all out, but it's well worth blowing any diet plans over!
We have a great tradition of making Christmas cookies with my 94 year old grandma. She makes the cookie dough for cut out cookies and I make and we all frosting them. My grandma cannot make the dough any longer so I make the dough and cut out the cookies and we all get together to decorate them. We make at least 5 batches of cut out cookies. The cookies are delicious and our time together is priceless!
Does anyone know why I am not listed as a "Contributor" on the right side of the page??? Am I doing something wrong with this blogging? Anyhow, unfortunately, many of our family traditions faded when my mother passed away - but, I am trying to bring some back. One that we have is "bumping" Easter eggs to see who has the dominant decorated egg! It was usually my dad as he had a special "bumping technique"...we all think he cheats - but even my son and his girlfriend now enjoy this very simple, fun competition. We also do the Christmas cookies (interesting how most of our traditions revolve around food, isn't it?). Another I resurrected this past year was the "mystery Christmas gift". We have a travelling gift (white elephant - piece of junk) that gets wrapped in many interesting boxes so nobody knows who is getting it that year. It is passed on to a new person every year and if you are the lucky one to get it - you must proudly display it all year and then wrap it up for the next unsuspecting "sucker" - I mean, recipient at the family gift opening. Lots of laughs!
Birthday Pies Don't Cut It!! One tradition I established many years ago is making a special cake for birthdays--a dark chocolate cake with a wonderful custard frosting. It didn't seem that traditional or important to me until the year I decided to make my daughter a raspberry custard pie instead--something I knew she enjoyed as well. I will never forget the look on her face when I presented her with that pie. I felt like I had really let her down. She wasn't happy with me and didn't let me forget it. I learned at that point that what i began had really transformed itself into tradition.
We rarely play board games, but over x-mas vacations the games come out and marathon monopoly, scrabble and Taboo games begin. Playing Taboo with a spouse is almost as good as couple’s therapy. Then because we all love x-country skiing, we head out doors to a local lit trail where we can ski under lights. I usually make a pasta dish for a x-mas meal but we have also have had Chinese!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom's family was/is quite big on Sunday and holiday traditions. Where I grew up I was surrounded by my aunts (the first and second house closest to ours), and my Grandma & Grandpa (right across the road), so Sunday dinner was always planned potluck with everyone and holidays were full of singing and games and puzzles. I get back to the farm now as often as I can with my own children to do the large gathering meals and jigsaw puzzles, hayfield softball games, fireworks on the 4th, and such. We give ornaments for the Christmas tree each year and by the time our girls are grown, they'll have quite a collection of them for their own trees. There's always special birthday suppers--all favorites chosen by the celebratee. One traditional Christmas recipe we have is kringle....it is rather lengthy, so I'm not going to type it all out, but it's well worth blowing any diet plans over!
ReplyDeleteWe have a great tradition of making Christmas cookies with my 94 year old grandma. She makes the cookie dough for cut out cookies and I make and we all frosting them. My grandma cannot make the dough any longer so I make the dough and cut out the cookies and we all get together to decorate them. We make at least 5 batches of cut out cookies. The cookies are delicious and our time together is priceless!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why I am not listed as a "Contributor" on the right side of the page??? Am I doing something wrong with this blogging?
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, unfortunately, many of our family traditions faded when my mother passed away - but, I am trying to bring some back. One that we have is "bumping" Easter eggs to see who has the dominant decorated egg! It was usually my dad as he had a special "bumping technique"...we all think he cheats - but even my son and his girlfriend now enjoy this very simple, fun competition. We also do the Christmas cookies (interesting how most of our traditions revolve around food, isn't it?). Another I resurrected this past year was the "mystery Christmas gift". We have a travelling gift (white elephant - piece of junk) that gets wrapped in many interesting boxes so nobody knows who is getting it that year. It is passed on to a new person every year and if you are the lucky one to get it - you must proudly display it all year and then wrap it up for the next unsuspecting "sucker" - I mean, recipient at the family gift opening. Lots of laughs!
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ReplyDeleteBirthday Pies Don't Cut It!! One tradition I established many years ago is making a special cake for birthdays--a dark chocolate cake with a wonderful custard frosting. It didn't seem that traditional or important to me until the year I decided to make my daughter a raspberry custard pie instead--something I knew she enjoyed as well. I will never forget the look on her face when I presented her with that pie. I felt like I had really let her down. She wasn't happy with me and didn't let me forget it. I learned at that point that what i began had really transformed itself into tradition.
ReplyDelete