12.19.2011

Guest Blogger Series: Stephanie's Christmas Traditions

Today kicks off the first day of my guest blogger series for the holidays. I asked a handful of my favorite bloggers to share with me their favorite Christmas traditions. This time of year, I struggle with keeping the holiday in perspective and trying not to lose sight of the real celebration: the birth of our savior. I love presents and twinkle lights as much as the next gal, but it's the time spent with family and friends, laughing, worshiping and catching up, that warms my heart so. As wisely stated in one of my favorite rom-coms: "Love actually is all around."

I started following Stephanie at Big Mario Life just a few months ago and was charmed from the get-go. Her posts vacillate between fashion, food, her personal life, her travels and her beautiful photography. I am a huge fan of her Awkward & Awesome Thursday series; these posts make me chuckle (and maybe spit out my coffee) every time.

Without further ado, I present to y'all Stephanie's Christmas traditions...

Growing up, my family had lots of little Christmas traditions - tamales for dinner on Christmas Eve followed by midnight mass (the only time of year I was allowed to stay up that late!), candy and oranges in our stockings, my Aunt Bertha's celery with pineapple cream cheese and pecans (I know, but it's so good!). The Boyfriend and his family also have their own set of traditions which I have been lucky to take part in over the last three years. But since he and I have big plans to get married and start a family of our own, we decided it was time to have a tradition that was just for us.

We are now adding one new ornament to our tree every year that represents something important to us about that year. Last year was our first with this tradition so we chose an ornament with our initials. This year, we picked something up in Disneyland when we were there celebrating his grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary. While we still take part in our separate family traditions, it's nice to know that we have something all our own. I can't wait to share these ornaments with our kids someday and retell the stories each one represents.

courtesy of Stephanie

What a wonderful budding tradition, Stephanie! Meaningful ornaments are the best and such a great way to keep your history and love at the core of your Christmas tree. Thank you so much for sharing with us! Merry Christmas to you, your boyfriend and your families!

8 comments:

  1. Such a lovely idea. Traditions are, I think, what make the holidays feel extra special and create such wonderful memories.

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  2. Thanks so much for inviting me over! Can't wait to read about the other traditions. Merry Christmas! :)

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  3. Absolutely! It's fun to create new traditions as we grow and redefine our families. But the oldies are usually the best. :)

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  4. It's lovely to hear other people's traditions. We too have decorations which bring back memories - a special tree ornament bought in Bethlehem...I love the Disney one -so cute!
    http://missbbobochic.blogspot.com/

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  5. Oh, very nice. I have only a few sentimental ornaments, but as much as I enjoy telling the stories year after year, I need to work on my collection a bit. And I agree: that Disney one is too cute!

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  6. This is awesome! I love when ornaments mean something. What a wonderful tradition! :D Excellent guest post.
    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

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  7. I agree, she totally inspired me to get this tradition going for my own tree!

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