Christmas Eve service at church (pre-pandemic), the whole family over Christmas Day, and then for many years, when we lived in Albuquerque, my wife and I had a huge, anyone can come over, charades party. Everyone brought food and drink, and we were part of a big acting.singing community so the charades were amazing!
Oh, that sounds wonderful! So what are you doing now during the pandemic? Charades over Zoom could still be fun. And will you attend church tonight or join by zoom?
The one Christmas tradition that my two brothers and I continue to this day is to cook up (separately, given that we live in different parts of the country) a (sort of) traditional seafood Italian dinner, complete with antipasto. After our parents divorced and our dad died, our Jewish mom (who was the only one in the family who learned my Italian grandmother's secret recipes) continued the tradition. It was about the only thing that actually kept our family from completely falling apart. Oh, yes. And cookies: lots of them, especially chocolate chip. Other traditions developed (especially during those post divorce/death years), such as adorning the Christmas tree with a hand-made (by a friend) model of King Kong on top of the Empire State Building fighting off the jets while holding onto Ann Darrow. King Kong has since retired to Skull Island. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season Jan! ❤️🙏🕉
Food!!! And especially cookies (for me) - YES! Lots of comfort in food traditions. Wonderful that you each continue this, even apart. Also love King Kong on top of the tree which seems incredibly appropriate under the circumstances.
Jan....Thank you for sharing your Christmas traditions with us......it really stirred several Christmas memories. One seems a bit corny.....but this is the first that jumped out......my mom use to take my two brothers and me bowling each Christmas Eve, doing it for several years. I'm not sure how it started, but looking back brings very fond memories. I remember many times thinking how special my mom was for doing this for us, as we were driving home from the bowling alley.
BTW: My mom was not a bowler. She had the three of us boys signed up for years on a Saturday morning bowling league for children........think it gave her a breather from watching over three very active boys.
Hi Jan.......I'm no longer a bowler, however, bowling helped me get my very first job in California. When I was interviewing for a job with a lending institution, the interviewer asked me if I was a good bowler.......I told him I was okay, but not great. Well I got the job, but found out later that they the office had a top flight bowling team that it took seriously. They hired me with the idea that I could sub in when needed in an emergency, which I did a few times. Boy were these guys good and the league they were in was cutthroat. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself or the team. While I worked there, one guy on the team was not doing as well as he normally did, and it became so stressful for him that his health and job security suffered. It was an interesting place to say the least. However, I learned a TON about credit and financing at that place.
oh wow! Typically one needs to know how to golf to get a job - not bowl! But talk about taking a pastime pleasure and making it stressful - what happened to your co-worker is awful. :(
Christmas Eve service at church (pre-pandemic), the whole family over Christmas Day, and then for many years, when we lived in Albuquerque, my wife and I had a huge, anyone can come over, charades party. Everyone brought food and drink, and we were part of a big acting.singing community so the charades were amazing!
Oh, that sounds wonderful! So what are you doing now during the pandemic? Charades over Zoom could still be fun. And will you attend church tonight or join by zoom?
Well I’m chatting here with you! What could be a better tradition?
Merry Christmas, friend! xo
The one Christmas tradition that my two brothers and I continue to this day is to cook up (separately, given that we live in different parts of the country) a (sort of) traditional seafood Italian dinner, complete with antipasto. After our parents divorced and our dad died, our Jewish mom (who was the only one in the family who learned my Italian grandmother's secret recipes) continued the tradition. It was about the only thing that actually kept our family from completely falling apart. Oh, yes. And cookies: lots of them, especially chocolate chip. Other traditions developed (especially during those post divorce/death years), such as adorning the Christmas tree with a hand-made (by a friend) model of King Kong on top of the Empire State Building fighting off the jets while holding onto Ann Darrow. King Kong has since retired to Skull Island. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season Jan! ❤️🙏🕉
Food!!! And especially cookies (for me) - YES! Lots of comfort in food traditions. Wonderful that you each continue this, even apart. Also love King Kong on top of the tree which seems incredibly appropriate under the circumstances.
Happy Holidays, my friend! xo
Jan....Thank you for sharing your Christmas traditions with us......it really stirred several Christmas memories. One seems a bit corny.....but this is the first that jumped out......my mom use to take my two brothers and me bowling each Christmas Eve, doing it for several years. I'm not sure how it started, but looking back brings very fond memories. I remember many times thinking how special my mom was for doing this for us, as we were driving home from the bowling alley.
BTW: My mom was not a bowler. She had the three of us boys signed up for years on a Saturday morning bowling league for children........think it gave her a breather from watching over three very active boys.
Several other memories deal with FOOD! Yum!
Bowling on Christmas Eve!! How fantastic! I bet you had most of the alley to yourselves. Do you still bowl? I always think bowling is fun. :)
thanks for responding! Hope you and Martha had a lovely Christmas.
Hi Jan.......I'm no longer a bowler, however, bowling helped me get my very first job in California. When I was interviewing for a job with a lending institution, the interviewer asked me if I was a good bowler.......I told him I was okay, but not great. Well I got the job, but found out later that they the office had a top flight bowling team that it took seriously. They hired me with the idea that I could sub in when needed in an emergency, which I did a few times. Boy were these guys good and the league they were in was cutthroat. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself or the team. While I worked there, one guy on the team was not doing as well as he normally did, and it became so stressful for him that his health and job security suffered. It was an interesting place to say the least. However, I learned a TON about credit and financing at that place.
oh wow! Typically one needs to know how to golf to get a job - not bowl! But talk about taking a pastime pleasure and making it stressful - what happened to your co-worker is awful. :(