Christmas Traditions

Everyone else in the world has already done this, I think, but it's appropriate for Christmas Eve. Have a good holiday, everyone!

1. What’s your favorite holiday tradition.
Going to my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve for fondue. We always cook steak in oil and bread dipped in Emmentaler cheese. After dinner we have dessert in the living room and open our presents from our grandparents. We don't really have a specific Christmas day tradition (other than eating cinnamon rolls as we open presents) and the meal changes every year, so when I think about how it's going to feel to celebrate Christmas somewhere else someday, I know that it's the Christmas Eve celebration that I'll miss. Incidentally, my grandmother always claims that fondue is a Swiss tradition and part of our family heritage, which may very well be true. But I also happen to know that my grandparents started doing fondue for Christmas Eve back in the early 1970s when they were stationed in Germany, which is coincidentally right about the time that fondue was suddenly trendy. So really, I think that maybe my grandparents just got into the fondue trend for a couple of years and then when every other American moved on to other food trends, they stuck with it and we're now the only family still having fondue on Christmas Eve forty years later.
2. A favorite cookie recipe?
I can't think of any special Christmas cookies my family makes. The only cookies I make annually are for Valentine's Day. There are these mint chocolate chip things I think are good for Christmas, but I have no idea how to make them.
3. Share a story behind a special ornament on your tree.
My favorite ornament this year is the one Penn and I bought at Punkin Chunkin' a couple of months ago. There was a booth where a woman was selling clay ornaments, so we got a pig in a wreath and she wrote our names and 2008 on it. It's our first ornament as a couple, to celebrate our first Christmas together. Awwwww!
4. All you want from Santa is….?
Everyone to stay safe and healthy for another year. I know that sounds cheesy, but the older I get the more it feels really lucky that I can still get together with my whole family, including grandparents. I know that won't always be the case, so I'm trying to be more grateful for it now. Also, my boyfriend is currently driving my dog to his mom's house for Christmas and it's all cold and rainy up there and thinking about my "boys" doing that drive alone in the dark makes me anxious so I just want them to be okay.
5. What’s your favorite Christmas movie and why?
A Muppet Christmas Carol. I love it. My dad and I watch it every year and sometimes the rest of the family watches it with us. I like it because it's the Muppets, and who doesn't like the Muppets? That, and it has really good songs.
6. Are you doing anything special for the holidays this year?
I'm doing the same thing I do every year: hanging out in my hometown with my family, eating a lot of food, having really inappropriate conversations at the dinner table.
7. What’s the best toy you ever got when you were a kid.
The best thing I ever got for Christmas when I was a kid wasn't a toy, it was the trip to Europe that my grandparents surprised us with when I was 14 (we didn't actually go until June, but we got the plane tickets and brochures and stuff for Christmas). As for toys, I think the most exciting Christmas was when we all got bikes. That was almost 20 years ago, and my sister is still mad to this day that my little brother ran into the living room and yelled, "WE GOT BIKES!" before she could see for herself and be surprised.
8. Why is Christmas special to you?
I know there are a lot of people who are sad around the holidays, and I know there are also a lot of Scrooges out there who get angry about all the commercialism and feeling obligated to spend time with family members who they don't really like and buying gifts for people they barely know and standing in long lines at the store...but I've always liked Christmas, and I hope I always will. I love the Christmas lights, and the feeling when you happen to stumble across something that is going to make the perfect gift, and all of the music, and I realize that most adults get more stressed than excited about Christmas, but I think that's sad. I like that there are a few weeks each year where you're supposed to focus on being kind and generous to others, and I like that people get time off to be with their families and friends. I think that's important.