I love this time of year. The overall feeling of the holidays is really nice…there is so much more to Christmas than just the presents and I wanted to share with you a few traditions that have become a part of my Christmas season.
To give you a little background about my Christmas history:
- My dad owned several Christmas stores around Colorado for a few years and I occasionally worked in them
- I even worked at a Christmas Ornament Cart in the Foothills Fashion Mall where I personalized people’s ornaments before they hung them up on the tree. If you have any ornaments at home from years 2005-2007 with impeccable handwriting, I’ll take credit for that
- I sold Christmas in July one year at the Great Colorado Marketplace
Ok. Enough with the bullet list! You get it now. I used to embody Christmas and I think I can officially categorize my ethnicity as part elf. So, let’s talk Christmas traditions:
Barstow Christmas Traditions
- We like to climb a mountain every year and cut down a tree that’s usually bare and much too tall for our living room. My favorite part is attaching the tree to the top of our car. My mom and dad were arguing this year whether the string or duct tape hold it down (you’d think we would be pros after 14 years of this tradition). Then, my dad whispers to me, the secret is the duct tape. Sure dad.
- Our second tradition is to get breakfast at the IHOP. Yes, they are one of the few establishments open on Christmas…the employees are surprisingly happy to see you and the pancakes are delicious as always.
Christmas Ornaments
I like to buy ornaments from thrift stores for friends and family every year. I always personalize them with their name and the year. If you want to do this, it is super easy; simply use a fine-point sharpie and try to pick a clever spot to put the writing.
Christmas Songs
I love Christmas songs! Ok, I said it. I know some people despise them but that’s silly. We only listen to this music for a little while so let’s all enjoy it while we can. I got the Michael Buble Christmas album as an early Christmas gift this year and it’s great. Also, I am not really sure how to say this but Justin Bieber also came out with an album…no big deal. He collaborated with people like Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes to remake christmas songs in a modern, hip-pop way. Check it out.
Christmas Movies
Elf. Love, Actually. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Christmas movies are great and a wonderful way to spend time with your family that doesn’t include talking to them…just kidding. I don’t know what it is with these 3 movies but I never get sick of watching them.
Christmas Drinks
I just started volunteering at Everyday Joes once a week where I get to make delicious espresso drinks for happy customers. Everyday Joes is very similar to Sweets in lots of ways. They use mason jars…so do we! They also use clever ways try to find natural ingredients and avoid artificial ones…thank goodness. For example, we use crushed up peppermints that we steam in the milk and then pour into peppermint mochas. It is amazing. Come stop by on a Saturday morning or a Wednesday around noon and I will personally make you the best drink of your life. 
Christmas Bouquets
This is a new tradition I have started with myself and I am so excited about it! I live a few blocks away from a florist shop. I go there about every other week to build a bouquet. It is a completely cost efficient way to make myself completely happy. Who says that you have to wait for other people to buy you flowers? Rediculous. So, a couple days ago, I headed over to the Paul Wood Florist and hopped into their giant fridge of flowers with a Christmas theme in mind. I picked out some cranberries, some reddish-white carnations, a beautiful white gerber daisy, and then some pretty white filler flowers. Then, when I checked out, the nice woman at the register asked if I wanted some evergreen. Duh!
I hope you are all enjoying your holidays as much as I am and I would love to hear some of your Christmas traditions below.
Merry Christmas!
KTB
