My family loves holiday traditions. This includes activities like a sleepover in my room on Christmas Eve (my room is above the living room, so by our logic when we were kids this was the best way to hear Santa when he comes) even though my brothers are 6’5 and 6’2 (and my sisters aren’t exactly short either) so it ends up playing out like a game of Tetris trying to fit everyone’s sleeping bags on the floor. While reflecting on my favourite Christmas memories, I thought I would share some of my favourite holiday traditions.
1. Gingerbread House Making
I love making gingerbread houses. My sister and I created our best gingerbread house a couple of years ago when the power went out in the middle of our decorating process, and we ended up finishing the decorating in the dark kitchen with one candle lighting up the immediate area. This coincidently is something we like to brag about because it makes our subpar gingerbread skills seem mildly impressive given the conditions!
2. Snowmen building
This is an activity that I don’t always get to take part in during the holiday season since I live in Vancouver where it doesn’t snow much. However, I always make sure to take advantage if it does snow by making either a snowman or snow couch. One year I even created an igloo, but it took so long and I was so tired afterward since my family refused to help me until they saw that I was almost done – that I will never be doing that again.
3. Holiday Music Playlist Curation
I love spending a night with my family and coming up with our perfect holiday playlist for that season. Last year it consisted of some questionable song choices (thanks to my youngest sister, who was determined to learn the rap to Drummer Boy by Justin Bieber).
4. Light shows
Where I live, we have light shows in a local botanical garden which is always beautiful to walk through especially with a cup of hot chocolate. My family also goes to the Christmas Train in Stanley Park. This train ride is primarily ridden by young children and their families, young couples on date nights, and my family who are in their teens/early twenties.
5. Secret Santa
After realizing how expensive Christmas gifts can get, my siblings and I decided that instead of buying gifts for every person, we would do a secret Santa draw and purchase for one person instead. We previously did it traditional style where you don’t know who has drawn your name, but everyone except my youngest sister figured out who had them and she ended up getting upset since everyone knew the gift assignments except her. Now, we just send out the names in the group chat for transparency.