By Miss December 2014, Mel Lockcuff

Christmas has always been a really special time of year. There’s just something about this season. It’s cold outside, sometimes we get a little snow (or we hope for snow), there are all sorts of delicious things to eat that we usually only get to enjoy this time of year, holiday movies and music fill the air, houses light up in all their Christmas glory, and the suspense and thrill of the holiday season…it’s all so magical in its own way. As I write this, I’m sitting in front of the Hallmark Channel and yet another one of my favorite holiday movies.

There are certain traditions I can remember, growing up, that have stayed with me. And then there are a few traditions we’ve begun with our own boys, a few of which we’ve carried over.

I can remember the most from the time my family moved to the farm on, from around the age of 12 and up. My brother and sisters were all grown by then, so I was the only one left in the nest.

Every year, Mom and I would trudge out to the woods to cut down our Christmas tree. We’d drag the cedar tree back to the house, and Mom would dig in the attic for boxes of ornaments while I loaded up the record player with classic holiday records. As we’d lift the cover on the old box of ornaments (even the box was vintage) and lift bits of tissue paper away, I always loved the scent that wafted up. It was a mix of old, vintage, cinnamon, and Christmas. There were certain ornaments that had a story, and Mom would tell some of those stories as we decorated the tree. I had my favorites like the ice cream cone ornament my brother had made out of a sugar cone and a round ball ornament. It had a bite taken out of it. Then there was the little cloth stuffed Christmas tree my school van driver had given me at one time or another. I still have that ornament to this day.(Insert photo of ornament) Mom even had a bunch of old glass ornaments that, if I remember right, Dad had dug out of a dumpster back in their earlier years of marriage. They were so fragile; she’d hardly let me touch them.

The farmhouse kitchen held all sorts of delicious memories. One of our favorite Christmas recipes was the sugar cookie recipe passed down by my grandma. I’d pull the built-in, sliding, wooden cutting board out of the cabinet, roll out my dough, and cut out all sorts of holiday shapes. We’d make angels, snowmen, bells, stars, Christmas trees, Santa, and more. After the cookies were baked, on would go the sugary, homemade frosting and sometimes a few sprinkles, if we were lucky enough to have them on hand. Those cookies are still a family favorite.

Of course, I’ll also never forget Christmas caroling with my little country church family. I remember, one year, we caroled to an older gentleman who lived in our community. He was a quirky kind of guy, always had a lot of junk sitting around on his property, his cows were always out, fence broken, and sometimes we wondered if he even took a bath. He was always alone. I remember asking if we could go caroling at his house, and I’ll never forget it. As we sang, if you looked closely, you could see tears falling from his eyes. It was a magical time. 

Now that Dan and I have our own boys, we’ve formed a few traditions of our own. One of my favorites is watching Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation every single year. It just never gets old. We have other fun traditions too, but last year, we also started the tradition of trying to find someone we can share the spirit of the holidays with. How we give just depends…but it was so much fun, that I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.

Traditions are an important part of the holidays. They create happy memories and stories galore. Not only that, but sometimes they can involve sharing the gift of holiday spirit with someone who needs a bit of cheer.

I love this time of year. How about you? Does your family have certain holiday traditions you look forward to every single year?