My Five Favorite Christmas Holiday Traditions

by Michelle Miles

Christmas is in four days! Can you believe that? This year has flown. Raise your hand if you’re in the I Can’t Believe 2010 is Gone group! Yeah, I’m part of that group, too.

It’s been a fast and furious year, hasn’t it? I’m writing this post WAY ahead of time because I have a super hectic December – Man and I have tickets to see Handel’s Messiah, we have our wedding/honeymoon trip (which I’m just home from when this posts), not to mention the whirlwind of Christmas and New Year’s.

Christmas is one of my very most favorite holidays because it’s a great time to slow down and really enjoy the holiday. Here are my five favorite holiday traditions that are always on my must-do list.

5. Make a gingerbread house. When I was newly divorced and my son and I were all alone, I started buying the gingerbread house kit to make with him every year. It’s great fun and even though our house is a little messy and doesn’t turn out like the picture (whose house really is picture perfect anyway and what fun is that?), we love doing it. It’s since become a tradition, just like carving a pumpkin for Halloween. (Please excuse the remote controls making a cameo in the background.)

4. Decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Most people probably have this tradition, I’m sure, but it’s my favorite day of the year. Sometimes we end up decorating for days. Man puts lights on the house and our yard art out while I get the tree up and trimmed and the house all decked out in holiday cheer. This is the day I put away all the fall décor and get out the holly. Love it!

3. Watch It’s A Wonderful Life after Christmas shopping until your feet are dead. Because, after all, it’s not Christmas without this movie! Plus, I love getting all my shopping done. I like to plan ahead and shop in one single day, if at all possible and then hiding the presents. It's great fun.

2. Lots and lots of baking and goodies! I love to bake and this is the time of year that’s my favorite time. I make brownies, magic cookie bars, cheesecake, pound cake, etc. Of course, this time of year is hard on the waistline but that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are for, right? (These are my thumbprint cookies pictured at left.)

1. Spending Christmas with your family. It’s truly the best day of the year. I love putting the Yule log on the TV (didn’t you know? You can watch a Yule log burn for hours on one of the local channels!), opening presents, making a big Christmas breakfast and dinner, hanging around the cozy house with my favorite people and being totally unplugged for the day.

So what about you? What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?


Michelle Miles writes sexy contempoary romance and loves the holidays. To learn more about her books, visit her website at http://www.michellemiles.net/.