The holidays are my favorite time of year because it means spending quality time with my family. Not that I don’t get that at Thanksgiving, there’s just something about Christmastime and the holidays that warms my heart and brings me pure bliss.
Tradition One: Decorating the Tree with My Mom
Usually, my mom and I will go and pick out the tree together (unfortunately not this year), and we have to make sure it’s just right. Then we ’ll strap it on top of the car and take it home, struggling to get it through the door but still managing to do so. When decorating it, Christmas music will be blasting throughout the house and sometimes will enjoy a glass or two of eggnog. My mom and I have very particular ways of decorating the tree. The lights have to be perfect with no gaps and certain ornaments have certain places, like my mom’s special elf ornament, which gets top priority when it comes to decorating the tree. I can’t wait to come home so we can hurry up and decorate the tree!
Tradition Two: ABC’s, sorry Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas
The best place to watch all of your favorite holiday movies is obviously Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas. Running 24/7 up until Christmas, there’s never not a Christmas movie on to watch. So gather your fam, your friends, and even your dog, and snuggle up with some hot cocoa to watch some great movies. Some of my favorites are Elf, Home Alone, and Eloise at Christmastime.
Tradition Three: Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve has a very special place in my heart. Every year, my mom and I head to Westport, MA and go to church with my family. Dressed to the 10’s, we all head over together, usually only a few minutes before the service starts. My favorite part is getting to sing “Silent Night” with the lights off and a candle in my hand. There’s something magical about this that makes it one of my favorite moments of the entire year (my cousin will agree with me on this). After church, we’ll all head back to the house and log onto “NORAD Santa Tracker” to see where Old Chris Kringle is, getting excited because he’s so close!
Tradition Four: Christmas Day
CHRISTMASSSSSS!!!! Ah, Christmas, how I love you. I don’t even know where to begin! My day starts off at about 7 AM because I’m way too excited to sleep for much longer. I barge into my mom’s room, waking her up because DUH it’s Christmas! After we open presents and all of that jazz, we have breakfast and my dad comes over to celebrate. Later, we’ll head back over to my fam’s to celebrate further. I love Christmas day because we all just get to sit around in our PJ’s and enjoy quality time with one another. After we have dinner, I’ll be dragged outside by my cousins to play our annual game of manhunt (this year I promise to bring my sneakers *eye roll*). Finally, I’ll get to enjoy a relaxing time in my uncle’s hot tub, which is honestly the highlight of the day.
I hope everyone has a happy holiday, a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!
Xoxo, Sofie