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Christmas with(out) the Family
The 2020 adjustment to tradition
For a long as I can remember, Christmas Eve has always been “the” night to celebrate with family. Oh, sure, Christmas Day was always pretty terrific, especially when I was a child, but Christmas Eve was magical.
When I was young, we spent Christmas Eve at my maternal grandma’s house with my aunts. Cousins were added to the mix when my favorite aunt got married, and that just made things better.
We created so many terrific memories during those decades of laughter, gifts, and hilarious mishaps. When I married, I was thrilled to learn that my new in-laws also celebrated Christmas Eve as their “big” day together so that on Christmas Day, each family could sleep late and stay in their pjs with no other obligations.
Growing up doesn’t mean losing the magic
Far from losing its Christmas Eve magic as I got older, the night grew into something we all looked forward to as one of the favorite family get-togethers of the year. We had a blast with the adults, the kids had a great time with their cousins, and there was always good food, lots of laughter, and game playing late into the night.
Each year produced a fresh batch of inside jokes, nicknames (have you ever wondered what your fat gangster…
