I'm Dreaming of a Traditional Christmas

If you’re anything like me, you think you don’t like tradition.  The very word just sounds so rote and boring and purposeless.  But somewhere, deep in the secret recesses of your soul, tucked away behind all those hidden memories and classified thoughts, you know you love it.  Especially this time of year.  What would the Christmas season consist of if not for your beloved traditions?  Honestly, there are thousands of options for your spare time (if it exists, which is questionable) this month, but what will you do?  Probably, the same ten things you do every December.  Sure, you might throw in one new item for good measure – bake a new cookie recipe, finally send out Christmas cards, watch a different movie – sort of like a Pre-New-Year’s-Resolution to try new, bold and daring things.  (Watch out, world!)  But you’re pretty sure it won’t be worth a second thought compared to that one thing you’ll never spend a Christmas without.

Since tying the knot and moving far from the land of my fathers, some of my traditions have been swapped out for different ones, or merged into Eric's for brand spanking new ones altogether.  Instead of praying for a snow-white Christmas, for instance, I plead – no, beg, prostrate on the floor – for a warm front.  Instead of swooning over JTT in “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” I admiringly sing along to “Peter, Paul and Mary’s Holiday Concert.”  Instead of consuming inordinate and unholy amounts of chocolate on Christmas morning, I eat even more.  (The weather in this part of the country requires one have quite a bit more insulation, you know.)  Yes, some traditions have bitten the dusty white stuff, but there will always, always be the lovingly hand-decorated stockings, Grandma’s sodiumazing sausage balls, and the Count-Down-to-Santa Calendar (I won’t even pretend it has anything to do with Advent, though I'm thinking of adding a baby Jesus to the mix if I can only figure out how to portray him respectfully with felt.).  One tradition I've picked up from Eric's family (in addition to the aforementioned folk concert) is Gingerbread-man and -woman crafting.  Here are our attempts from a few years ago:

 I didn't say they were works of art.  But they were yuuuuummmmmmmmy.

A few times in the last couple weeks I've stumbled upon old traditions from my childhood which have stirred up all kinds of ooey gooey happy feelings.  Traditions such as this one:

Christmas tradition doesn't get much better than that, folks.  

What's a Christmas tradition you won't do without this year?  

Any new traditions you hope to add to the repertoire?