Published Christmas Eve, 2018
It’s hard to believe it’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it? As we approach the finish line of the holiday season — wrapping the last gifts and preparing for a magical morning — we wanted to take a moment and share some of our most treasured holiday traditions that make the season so special.
We hope you enjoy the quiet beauty of this Christmas Eve, celebrating the true meaning of the season with those you hold nearest and dearest.
Our Favorite Holiday Traditions
“My family tradition is to wake up on Christmas morning and fix waffles (the best) with my grandmother’s waffle maker and her recipe. I have fresh berries, pecans, maple syrup and whipped cream. Also, we serve my father’s homemade eggnog later in the day. A good buzz for sure!” — Elizabeth Fox, StyleBlueprint Cofounder
“When my kids were younger, we got ‘Happy Birthday, Jesus’ put on a cake from Kroger each year and sang Happy Birthday and drove around and marveled at how everyone went all out for his birthday. I miss those days, but I enjoy our new tradition as well which is … leaving town and all the hustle and bustle behind. We gave up on Christmas gifts (although we still do stockings and sometimes another gift sneaks in) several years ago, and now we leave town and enjoy a family trip together with lots of downtime. My husband and I both have owned businesses for so many years that we tend to get crazy busy in December with the end-of-year projects and planning for the following year on top of the increased holiday pace. By leaving town, we force ourselves to slow down and connect with our kids, which is sadly hard to do with exams and all the excess that also comes with December. As a family, it’s really such a great way to embrace the end of the year and love on each other for a bit. Oh, one more thing, we turn off all social media from 4 p.m. Christmas Eve to Dec 26. If you want to read more about why, I wrote this article a few years ago: ‘How to Ruin Christmas.'” — Liza Graves, StyleBlueprint Cofounder
“My parents started the tradition of all of us opening our present of ‘Christmas Eve Pajamas’ on Christmas Eve. My husband and I have even started the trend, and I know we will continue to even when we have children (way later in life!). I visit my parents before Christmas, and no matter my age, I will always get a pair of pajamas.” — Katelyn Caughron, StyleBlueprint Memphis Client Success Rep
“Each year, my mom, sister and I go to our favorite restaurant in my hometown (Zinc in Scottsdale, Arizona). We treat ourselves to a fabulous meal and bottle of wine and just spend hours eating, drinking, laughing and reminiscing on old holiday memories. I look forward to it every year!” — Bailey Torkelson, StyleBlueprint Birmingham Client Success Rep
“My favorite holiday tradition is making Eggs Benedict on Christmas day. My family doesn’t even give each other Christmas gifts anymore — eggs benedict and time around the table with each other are enough.” — Megan Casey, StyleBlueprint Director of Marketing
“Since each of my kids was born, they get a new Christmas ornament every year — I write their initials and the year on each one. Every year, when they put their ornaments on the tree, I love hearing them say things like, ‘I remember this one!’ or ‘I LOVE this one.’ Then when they grow up and begin celebrating Christmas with their own families, I will give them their boxes of ornaments to put on their own trees. Hopefully, that sense of magic will continue throughout their lives — and they can share their memories of Christmas’ past with their new families.” — Ashley Haugen, StyleBlueprint Managing Editor
“This doesn’t happen every single year, but it definitely fills my heart with joy. My mom will bust out our old karaoke machine for our annual Christmas Eve party at her house, and once we’ve enjoyed cocktail hour — i.e. a little liquid courage — we’ll take turns belting out classic Christmas tunes for each other in the living room. Needless to say, we have some serious belly laughs.” — Lauren Helmer, StyleBlueprint Regional Editor
“Our decorations are interspersed with those reminiscent of my childhood, like knee-hugging elves (probably the front-runner to elf on the shelf), ornaments from my childhood family tree and bubble lights. We go to Christmas Eve church service, and we return to the home of my great-grandparents to celebrate Christmas brunch with extended family, where I have celebrated Christmas most of my life as well as generations before!” — Ginny Staggs, StyleBlueprint Sales Director
“Because my family moved a lot throughout my childhood and never lived near family, we grew accustomed to spending Christmas with just the five of us (my parents, two sisters and me). Now that my sisters and I have moved away, spending time together is even more precious, and we look forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas being 48 hours that is almost entirely dedicated to just the five of us. Every year, we go to church and enjoy a long, nice dinner out on Christmas Eve, followed by unwrapping my mother’s chosen matching pajamas for that year. It’s simple, but our most consistent family tradition we have!” — Peyton Haecker, StyleBlueprint Nashville Client Success Rep
“I had my first annual ‘Galsgiving’ this year at my new place, and it was a total hit! So, I’ll be having ‘Chicks-mas’ soon where we will all wear our PJs, drink spiked hot chocolate, watch cheesy Christmas movies and play White Elephant. I can’t wait!” — Wesley Ware, StyleBlueprint Louisville Client Success Rep
“My favorite holiday tradition is picking out a new Christmas ornament every year for our tree! As a kid, my parents did this with us each year, and they still have all of the ornaments my brothers and I chose. When we would decorate the tree, my dad would hand out the ornaments to their respective ‘owners’ and between the three of us kids, we had the tree decorated in no time! As an adult with no kids and my own Christmas tree to decorate, I wonder if that was my mom’s easy way out of decorating the tree herself — GENIUS! Celebrating Christmas each year at my parents is always wonderful, and I love seeing all the ornaments I chose as a kid. There’s New Year’s 2000 Barbie, Eeyore, all of the main characters from Wizard of Oz, ice skating reindeer, a pickle made of blown glass, a s’mores snowman, a VW Beetle decked out in tons of bright colors (a 10-year-old girl’s dream car), and of course, all of the ones with my name on them from when I was a baby. I really enjoyed this tradition. My husband and I have started doing it ourselves, and we plan to do it with our own kids. I think it’s a great way to build your ornament collection, and it tricks the kids into decorating (most of) the tree for you!” — Lauren Cummings, StyleBlueprint Business Coordinator
“Tradition is at the heart of my large family — baking Christmas cookies, leg of lamb on Christmas Eve, a reading of The Night Before Christmas, the list goes on. A favorite of all the traditions is opening stockings on Christmas morning. Santa always leaves the stockings in the doorways to our bedrooms, so it is the first thing we see when we wake up on Christmas morning. As kiddos, we’d gather our stockings and pile in my oldest sister’s bed to unwrap the gifts. Then, we’d run down to our parent’s room and pile in their bed to show them what Santa gifted us. Now that all my sisters are married, we have adjusted this tradition slightly — we all gather on the couch and continue the tradition of opening stocking gifts before heading downstairs to open gifts under the tree.” — Alex Hendrickson, StyleBlueprint Nashville Associate Editor/Lead Writer
“When my grandmother was a young child she memorized the entire second chapter of Luke (the Christmas story) and was invited on a radio show to recite it. Every Christmas Eve we end the night with her reciting it to the family. We have a lot of traditions, but this one is my favorite because it costs nothing and puts me to bed in the real mindset of what we’re celebrating.” — Lacy Green, StyleBlueprint Traffic Manager
“Every Christmas Eve, me and my two sisters all gather around my father who reads us The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (specifically the one illustrated by Cheryl Harness). We always take the time to scour the illustrations and make sure to appreciate all the details, such as the fact that even the famous mouse (the creature that did not stir) ends up with a stocking of goodies by the end of the book. This goes on to this day, even with the offspring at ages 23, 26 and 28. When we all moved away from our hometown, my dad gifted us all a version of the book that has a recording of him reading it built into the book itself.” — Jesse Gillenwalters, StyleBlueprint Data Analyst
“We have so many special Christmas traditions that have been around for years within my immediate family and each parent’s side, so choosing just one of those would be impossible! Instead, I’ll share my group of girlfriends’ newest tradition. In lieu of exchanging gifts amongst each one of us, we treat ourselves to a delicious dinner together at a spot we wouldn’t otherwise visit in Nashville. We enjoy nicer wine, order plenty of food to indulge in together and reflect on the five high points of the year. Then, we set a few goals, intentions or expectations for the next year that we will circle back around to next Christmas. It’s truly one of my favorite evenings of the season!” — Annie Reeves, StyleBlueprint Marketing & Editorial Assistant
“Christmas Eve night we always have snacks and appetizers with champagne and get to open one present. I started this when the kids were small and love it! (Kids don’t get the champagne!) The weekend after Christmas we always go to Huntsville, AL, and visit family. We have done Dirty Christmas for many years and have so much fun!” — Cindy Acuff, StyleBlueprint Nashville Account Executive
🎄 A very Merry Christmas from all of us at StyleBlueprint! 🎄
