Christmas time is for family traditions and my family has a lot of them. We have gingerbread house competitions, go see lights, and many more things we do every year. I think tradition is what makes this holiday so great. I also think that everyone should maybe start doing the things my family does, it makes us spend quality time together.

Every year, on the first day of our winter, break my siblings and I go buy gingerbread houses. We then go straight home and set up the kitchen. We sit down at the kitchen table, open the boxes and the race begins. We laugh, we try to sabotage each other’s houses, and we try to make our house look the best. Then when my mother gets home she takes a picture of the houses and posts it on her Facebook. The next morning we see who got the most votes, and that person gets to open their presents first on Christmas day. I think everyone should do this with their families if you have siblings that don’t live at home. It also shows how creative a family is. Also, who doesn’t love a little family competition?

The next tradition my family has is we go to my great grandma’s house on Christmas eve. When we get there we talk, and the adults tell the kids what child they got for the “Secret Santa.”  After a while, we eat all this amazing food, and then you hear my mother’s voice yell for us to gather around the tree. This is when we exchange gifts, and sometimes we play white elephants. After opening gifts we eat pies, talk some more, then head home. I have always loved this because I get to see some family I don’t see all the time. I think more people should have Christmas eve at a grandparent’s house because it makes them happier than you realize.

Even on Christmas day, we have traditions that I think are the best. When we wake up we make pancakes, and now that my siblings don’t live at home, this is when we wait for them to get to the house. After everyone shows up I sit on the ground while my brother is half asleep on the couch. My dad has a trash bag ready to go and my mom has her camera out. I grab the gift of the person that won the gingerbread competition, then they open it. Then we all start to open gifts, my mom makes us all wait our turn, which takes forever. After we have all of our gifts open we get ready for the day. At around noon we always drive out to my sister’s house for lunch and more gift openings, which is always my favorite. There we play games, eat, and show our new presents to everyone.

When we finally leave there we go to see Christmas lights with my cousins and then head to Denny’s. When we get to Denny’s, anything my dad ever orders, they are out of, so that became a tradition too. I think this is a great way to end your night, see lights and go home, it can be relaxing.

All in all, I think tradition is a key part of Christmas, and if you don’t have any maybe you can start some. I think my family has some of the best traditions. So if you can’t think of any traditions to start, do some of my families!

Happy Holidays!