Founding New Traditions 

Part 3

I am a HUGE fan of traditions – whether they’re traditions with family, friends, loved ones, I am always looking forward to them around the holidays! They always put me in a feel-like-a-5-year-old-giddy-with-excitement kind of mood that lasts all month long. With the winter holidays just around the corner, I’ll be sharing some of my own traditions for the month of December.

—-

Do you all ever have those nights that you wish would never end? These are the nights that are overflowing with great food, amazing conversation, and even better friends that have become family. These are the nights that start around 6:00pm and you don’t look at the clock again until 1:00am when everyone is yawning in between laughter and even then, it’s still too soon to say goodbye and goodnight.

Let me back up a bit, when I was younger, my parents would take my siblings and I to Vermont each year with a few other families to go skiing. We would go during that week in February when everyone seemed to be off from school. The wife of one of these treasured families grew up with my father for so many years that they might as well have been siblings. Through the years, both of our families grew close, reuniting each year in Vermont, with a couple other families, until I was about nine years old. Since then, we’d see these friends and their families on occasion, our parents keeping up without skipping a beat with each other.

Life got crazy, as it often does, and I’m proud to say that this year pulled us all together again for a variety of reasons. Last night, I believe we found a new tradition. One that reunites us all around the holiday season with way too much food and dessert, an excessive amount of wine and liquors and most importantly, an abundance of blessings, laughter, and warmth.

Truthfully, I intended to write this blog post about holiday decorations because this fruitful gathering took place at a home full of ornate decorations, carefully displayed throughout the house. But after it all, I couldn’t help but introduce this new tradition and encourage you all to do the same. Reach out to loved ones this holiday season and welcome them into your homes and hearts.

Life can be so busy, so crazy, so overwhelming, but THIS is the reason the holiday season is so special. It is a time intended to reunite loved ones. Beginning around Thanksgiving, it’s purpose is to remind us of all that we are thankful for, express our gratitude, and create the warmth in our lives.

Holidays can be a tricky time in people’s lives, remembering lost loved ones and trying to navigate all that is new, while reflecting on the year behind us. But it is also a time to bring people together, hug a little tighter, and hold a little longer.

What new traditions will you begin this holiday season?

But of course, I couldn’t resist sharing some of these exquisite decorations, crafted and curated by a lifelong friend of ours so check out all the beauty that is below.

Didn’t catch parts 1 and 2? No worries! They’re linked below 🙂

Home for the Holidays Part 1 – Cookie Day

Home for the Holidays Part 2 – Holiday Sweater Parties