Marriage is more than just the joining of two individuals, it's the blending of multiple families and all their various traditions, for better or for worse. The holidays tend to test the "blending" aspect of any marriage, but in this respect, my husband and I are luckier than most. Rather than trying to split December 25 between our own little family, my parents, and his parents, we choose to celebrate two Christmases. I love that my kids are able to know the traditions of both sides of their family tree. My husband and I can each have Christmas the way we feel it "should" be, without feeling rushed or forced to compromise. I also enjoy seeing the holiday from a different perspective, with traditions that do not exactly mirror what I grew up with.
A short list of fun traditions from Christmas #1:
1. Christmas Eve dinner! My husband's family does a wonderful, traditional meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on Christmas Eve. If you're like I was, and have no idea of what Yorkshire pudding is, don't be scared! It's a thin, eggy, breadlike substance that is tasty, and perfect for ensuring you don't miss a bit of the yummy au jus (mmmm, meat juice!).
2. Matching. The kids got new, identical jammies to wear (pre-washed by MIL!), my sister-in-law and I got coordinated slipper socks. There was even unintentional matching when, unbeknownst to each other, MIL and SIL got me almost identical gift sets from the Body Shop. Fortunately, you can never have too much yummy body wash.
3. Decorations. My mother-in-law has a bunch of artwork/decoration for the holiday made by my husband and his sister that she puts up every year. It's fun to compare the Santas made by my husband to those made by his older, and infinitely neater, sister.
4. Rounds. Every year my sister tallies everyone's individual gift count, and comes up with a plan to make sure the pacing of gift opening is fair for everyone (i.e. no one finishes too early, then has to sit and watch). Each "round" starts with my SIL handing out gifts to everyone, then opening in order of age, youngest to oldest. This year, rounds started at about 6 AM, and continued, off and on, until 4 PM, with lunch, naps, and snow removal breaks.
5. The Busy Construction Site. This is a toy that my husband used to play with- and love! My MIL found a new one for my son, and asked my husband to assemble it on Christmas Eve. When she brought it out, my husband was incredibly touched and excited. I think it brought back a lot of fun memories he looked forward to sharing with our son.
6. Gramma Hennie's Envelope. Every year, my husband's grandmother in Minnesota sends cards with money for each member of the family. This year, each card had an extra surprise, lots of memorabilia from his grandfather, who passed away when my husband was very young. It was neat to see and read more about him, as he is still dearly missed by his family. She also included some adorable pics of my husband and his sister when they were just little peanuts.
7. Gramma Cindy's Wine Punch. I mention this because it gave my SIL a Christmas morning surprise, as it was being stored in a regular (not see-through) OJ carton. I learned to give the OJ carton the sniff test before pouring, unless I wanted to receive a true wakeup.
All in all, it was a spectacular Christmas, unhurried and lots of fun. The crazy winter weather had us snowed in an extra day, so we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy each other. Now we're back in equally snowy Vermont, gearing up for Christmas #2, at home.
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