B-Dub's Family Traditions

Each year to prepare for Christmas our family goes through several states of being- each one adds a new layer of stress, laughter, joy, frustration, and excitement all leading up to the "Big Day."

Interspersed in all the chaos are some of my favorite childhood traditions, and I have even let my spouse add some of his family traditions into the mix. The result is a hodge-podge of events, visits, and reindeer sightings.

Every year we MUST decorate Christmas cookies. And if we are going to decorate then we MUST listen to "They Might Be Giants" and invite 200 or so of our friends and family (usually only 5 or 10 can actually make it, so it works out well).

I spend two days prior to the cookie party baking. I make traditional cookies like chocolate chip, and peanut butter with Hershey's kisses stuck in the middle. I also make fudge, oatmeal raisin cookies, magic bars, blondies, and the almighty sugar cookies!

The sugar cookies, of course, the main event! We mix several colors of frosting, and set out massive amounts of candy for decorating. Then we release the hounds! I mean kids.

The sugar cookie decorating is NOT complete without a "Red Hot" inspection. During said inspection B-Dub checks over every cookie to ensure an adequate number of Red Hot per bite ratio. Any cookie failing to meet the required ratio is immediately sent back to the production line. No sub-par cookies allowed here!

Another of our family traditions is to make reindeer food. How will the reindeer know to stop at our house if we don't cover our lawn with a mixture of oatmeal and glitter? Personally, B-Dub thinks the glitter is overkill, and probably gives the reindeer indigestion; but the kids love it, so she also leaves out 12 Maalox Max antacids. Get over yourself reindeer! It's for the children!

Speaking of "It's for the Children!" my hubby and I experience a bout of marital discord every year when discussing ye old Christmas Tree. More precisely, at what point to put up the Christmas tree. My family always put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving. His family always put up the tree Christmas Eve. Holy Cow! Christmas EVE???? How do you ensure all the presents are wrapped? Stockings filled? Food preparation started? Pies baked? It all can't happen Christmas Eve AND get the tree up AND decorated AND put lights on it. It just can't. I can't.

So instead I pester him beginning Thanksgiving Day and ending on the first weekend in December. I have a fail proof plan. We can go get a tree prior to, or during the first weekend of December OR I will put up an artificial tree and decorate it all by myself. And some years I do. Stubborn Man!