Christmas Eve Eve

Here it is! Just two short days before Christmas. By now, you are probably shopped out, baked out, wrapped out and just out and waiting for the big day to come so you can relax. In the hustle and bustle of the season, I hope you have been able to enjoy your family’s best traditions and activities or have them planned in the coming days. In the spirit of family and traditions, I wanted to share a non-food tradition that still brings a smile to my face.

I have a brother who is almost 9 years my junior. By the time he came on the scene, I was an old pro at stocking and gifts and was asked in the following years to help my little brother get the hang of the holiday. We had stockings on Christmas morning and presents from Santa, but as December wore on, family gifts would pop up under the tree and those gifts just made him (and I) crazy! For days he would pester family about opening “just one” and of course the answer was always “No!”. I can’t even remember what year it was or how old we were, but one typical Christmas he asked if we could open gifts for “Christmas Eve Eve”. Now what in the world is Christmas Eve Eve? Well it’s the night BEFORE the night before Christmas of course:)

I can’t really tell you why, but this stuck me as so funny, so I joined in on the whine to open a present on Christmas Eve Eve too, despite the fact that I think I was about 17 years old when this began. This tradition of wanting to celebrate Christmas Eve Eve continued on for many years in our home and is one of my favorite funny holiday memories with my brother. I’m pretty sure we didn’t even get to open one present on Christmas Eve Eve, but it was the teasing, anticipation and being with family that made it memorable and fun.

No matter what you celebrate, I hope you have a houseful of these memories this year and the next. Thank you for letting me (and my food!) be a small part of that in this year and in the years to come. Merry Everything to you!