(Dec. 19, 2010)
So every year I go through my ritual of obsessive traditions. Not really obsessive I guess. Just some things I do every December as Christmas approaches. I used to bake like a fool. Cookies, pies, cakes. But I found that for the most part, I ended up eating it all! Then I asked myself "why do I do all this holiday baking?" The answer: because that is what my mom always does. Hmmm....forget that! Now I bake two types of cookies and that is it! And most of them I give away.
But the traditions I still keep: I watch "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" EVERY YEAR since I got it as a gift when it first came out. I have since upgraded to the DVD version. I don't care how many times I watch that movie, the squirrel scene kills me.
When my kids were younger and still living with us, we started doing jigsaw puzzles. I have 2 that I pull out every year. A Times Square New Years Eve one, and the one I started just tonight- Santa with his bag of toys. A 500 piece round puzzle. I LOVE puzzles. All kinds. Word puzzles, jigsaw, you name it. Except Sudoku. Hate it. Can't spell it. Maybe because I can't do it. Anyway I start that Santa puzzle and it becomes my mission. My obsession. I have to keep going back to it. Kind of like a good knitting project. I will work on it until it is done. So when I finish it (probably tomorrow!) I will let it sit on the table until we have to eat at that table. Then I break it all up. And No, I don't leave any of the pieces together so it will be easier next year when I open it up again!
But the tradition that I have had for the longest time, and it is just MY tradition (no one else in my family or that I know does this) is that ever since I was a Freshman in High School, I have put bells on my shoes. I love the sound of the jingle, jingle with every step. It helps me keep the spirit of the season in mind. And besides, it just sounds cheerful! So that is a lot of years with bells on my toes.
So those are my Christmas traditions. I wonder sometimes if anyone else does the same thing with the bells.....
