today’s topic is traditions. 

• HAM ROLL-UPS:  my favorite holiday recipe is (& always will be)…Ham Roll-ups…as mentioned here.   they are a simple appetizer, but i looooove them!!  it wouldn’t be the holidays without them!
• HOLIDAY DRIVE:  i love to drive around and look at holiday lights and decorations.  we all pile into the car, including the dog, drive thru and get our favorite warm drink, pop in a Christmas CD and drive around….if it’s snowing, that’s even better!!!
• STOCKINGS:  my parents have always gone above & beyond on our stockings.  amazing little gifts- all wrapped- ranging from normal things, like chap-stick, nail-files, candy, to crazy things, like toilet-seat covers to carry in your purse, or holiday themed tissues for your purse….it’s amazing…oh and always, an orange in the toe of the stocking.  even to this day, my parents continue to fill our stockings.  and of course i have carried this tradition into my own home.
• CHRISTMAS MUSIC:  even though it makes my husband & son crazy, i begin listening to Christmas music at the end of october.  i looooove Christmas music.  absolute love carpenter’s Christmas album, johnny mathis, amy grant, michael w. smith….just to name a few
• ADVENT:  when i was a child, we always had the advent wreath & candles on the dinner table…when my son was little, we would just do a Christmas countdown, like a lego advent calendar, as mentioned here.  (always remembering to emphasize the real meaning of Christmas, Jesus’ birth.)  now that nick is older, we have our own Advent wreath and we celebrate Advent by reading the devotionals as a family.
• CHRISTMAS PHOTO:  every year, i love to send Christmas cards.  it’s a great time to touch-base with those that you don’t hear from often.  of course, i love to include a photo of nick and chewy, as you can see here and here.  each year, we buy a silly outfit for chewy to wear and nick is gracious enough to smile for the camera….this year, we might try something different….OH and this year, i am making my cards….around 60….guess i better get busy on those! ha!!
• EARLY GIFTS:  i have a problem.  i get sooo excited about the gifts that i’m giving, that sometimes, i can hardly wait until the 25th.  over the years, i have been known to give many early gifts.  one traditional gift, is always opened on Christmas Eve….pajamas…sometimes even matching lounge pants and t shirt for dad & son.
• BAKING:  i love to find different holiday recipes to make, and especially to give as gifts to teachers and neighbors.  one of the most loved recipes are homemade chocolate covered cherries.  they take a while to make, but are well worth the effort.
• CHRISTMAS SHOWS & MOVIES:  i looooove to watch holiday programs.  my favorite movie is The Christmas Story, Elf and many many more.

THE TOILET PAPER ROLL:  when i still lived at home, i never would change the empty toilet paper roll, (much to the demise of my mother)…(which as a mom, i know understand why)…..anyways,  one night, after being told a million times to change it, i kept the roll and shoved it under my mom’s pillow.  (why? i don’t know.  just to be silly)…..   well, low & behold, she kept that roll and i unwrapped it under the tree that year!  then, i kept it for a year, and hid it in one of their gifts and so it began.  this SAME toilet paper roll has been passed back and forth since 1988!!!! 

some of the ways its been given:

1. in a pan of cinnamon rolls (the bakery actually helped out on this one)
2. in a planter of flowers (the florist helped out)
3. in the base of a cookie bouquet
4. covered in chocolate
5. found after clues, like a treasure hunt
6. put INTO a Build-a-Bear’s leg

no matter how it’s given, it’s always signed with the year and wrapped to prevent any damage.  i don’t see it in my sock drawer, so it must be dad’s turn this year!!!!

it may sound crazy, but this tradition now even has friends asking about it each year–anxious to see what is done!