Holiday Traditions/Hide The Pickle?

As I'm FINALLY completing my display of obnoxious Christmas decorations, that I've been 'working on' for 2 weeks now, I'm laughing to myself. I'm thinking about how wonderful, yet silly, some of this really is. In our family, we don't go to church unless there is a wedding or baptism that requires our attendance, we don't talk Bible, we don't even own a nativity scene. Yet... we look forward to, and celebrate our kiesters off at Christmas every year. Christmas, to me, is about family, friends, parties, and everything sparkly and twinkly that go along with those things. (Especially some of my friends... so much twinkle...) :) I have Rubbermaid tote, upon Rubbermaid tote, FULL of feathery, puffy, furry, sparkly, blingy, musical, red, gold, and silver items... that I replace family photos and such with, to display for not even 2 months... year after year. God forbid I stop at Home Goods this time of year, or it's off to Target for 2 more bins, for the crap I just 'HAD' to have for my tacky display. I have an overly-decorated tree on both levels of my home, every table or inch of open space... is filled with some sort of decoration. Each member of my family has had their stockings replaced at least 6 times, to match whatever my 'theme' is. I mean... You can't have red, leopard stockings next to blue and purple lights. You just can't.  My Sister and I grew up this way, and have just kept it up as our tradition. Christmas lists are made by October, trees are up on Thanksgiving, cookies are made the following week, villages (That we painted ourselves for years... complete with the one labeled the 'crack house'... that she painted when she was 7) displayed some time that same week. She isn't as bad as I am with the severity of tackiness... but she's close. This is Christmas in our family. Whether it is right or wrong to you... it is so right to us.

I remember the first year my Husband (My boyfriend at the time) and I spent Christmas together, 13 years ago. I wasn't sure it wasn't going to be the last, as I nerded out completely, and even purchased him his own collection of sparkly, holiday decor. He looked at me like I was mental, (or had just smoked something 'special'... that I hadn't shared with him.) :) He complied with my fanatical wishes, and put it all up. Every last bit of it. In his tiny apartment. What a good sport. Seriously... I just thought that that was normal, and any boy would think I was an amazing girlfriend for going to such lengths for his holiday viewing pleasure. I didn't really get that not everyone's traditions are the same. It was interesting to me to learn about his family's traditions. They don't have many, nor do they go as overboard as my family, but they were still important traditions. They mostly revolved around food and mass quantities of gifts. Not so much trees, Santas, lights and glitter. My favorite, however, was some 'Hide the Pickle' game. I had heard of it, and always thought it had something to do with which child gets to open gifts first... but he is an only child... so it didn't make sense. He did try to explain the 'Hide the Pickle' game to me that holiday. He gave me the run down, and a quick demonstration... and proceeded to fricken knock me up. On Christmas Eve. I'm still not convinced he didn't leave out a few details about that game... Or if that was even one of their actual traditions. We never played it again. True story. :)

Whatever your religious denomination is, (I think we are Episcopalian... but don't quote me) whether your family traditions revolve around Jesus, food, booze, elves on shelves, hiding pickles, or decorating and entertaining... it is pretty awesome to me that for one month out of the year, we all have something to celebrate, and be 'spirited' about. Whatever this season brings to you that brings you joy... is what it's all about :) I like that. I better go turn my outside lights on now. I do believe NASA has been depending on us as a satellite reference point these days :)