Here’s a little something you don’t know about me: I get incredibly anxious opening gifts in front of the giver. I’m just not good at anticipation and surprises. I worry that my expression will be wrong or that it will seem like I’m not excited by the gift. And then I worry that I’m almost over-acting and not doing it very convincingly.
I also get incredibly anxious watching someone open a gift from me. And I LOVE giving gifts, love trying to pick out the perfect little sussy that will make someone I care about feel happy and known. I just get panicky and nervous the actual moment of giving. Weird, right?
None of that changes the fact that I LOVE the holidays. Not the shopping- I don’t even like shopping on Super Bowl Sunday wheel the mall is a ghost town- but everything else I love. Love picking out the tree and hanging wreaths. Love wrapping gifts. Love Christmas carols. Love those light post-mounted decorations that small towns put up every year. LOVE LOVE LOVE the crazy light displays in my neighbors front yards. And I especially love when friends with different faiths than the one I grew up in invite me to share in their traditions.
To celebrate the holidays I’m giving away three copies of the amazing Clara Parkes’ new book The Knitter’s Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber. I can’t say enough good things about this book! You won’t believe the things you didn’t know you didn’t know about your favorite fiber.
To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me about your holiday traditions. When do you put up your tree? Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? What’s your favorite part of Hannukah? How do you celebrate Solstice? I can’t wait to read about the way your family celebrates!
Rule-y type stuff: One entry per person, please. Entries close at midnight on Thursday, December 17, 2009. The winners will be posted here some time Friday and winners will have 24 hours to claim their prizes by emailing Juniper Moon Farm at prizes@fiberfarm.com
Good luck!
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on christmas morning, my family wakes up and shares in a 5 minute family meditation. followed by stockings and croissants, giftgiving and tobagganing!
so much fun!
On Christmas eve we gather and all read Twas the Night Before Christmas… Everyone takes a turn and reads a page. This started when my eldest daughter was little. Now we still do this with my granddaughters. It always brings a tear to my eye. And I really miss when we can’t be with them, like this year.
Merry Christmas. I hope you are enjoying your new home and your new life.. I went through a time much like you…
I love spending time with family over the holidays! Christmas Eve I exchange presents with my dad and go to 2 holiday parties (mom’s side and dad’s side). Christmas morning I exchange presents with my mom and sister and then head out of town to visit with my husband’s parents. Whew…it’s a lot of togetherness, but I love it!
The best thing about traditions, some change and some stay the same. Gifting should always happen on christmas day in my opinion. The decoratiing, that’s changed quite a bit over time. Thanks for hosting the gift giving!
this book looks fabulous. all i know is that i love yummy yarn would love to know so much more. this looks like the place to start.
Ah, Susie, I love talking about my family’s Christmas traditions.
The kids’ rooms were upstairs; parents’ room down. We were not allowed to come down the stairs until a certain time (which got later and later as we all got older – and especially when I started singing midnight church services!!!). When we could finally troop down the stairs (in reverse birth order – youngest first!), we were allowed into the family room.
We could immediately “open” our stockings, which always had ONE gift attached. My grandmother would drive up at about 8:30 a.m. and we’d all breakfast together, then the unwrapping would begin. We unwrapped one at a time from youngest to oldest, and alternated playing “Santa’s elf” – bringing one package for each person from under the tree. Mom always painstakingly wrote the lists for the thank you cards.
I loved the fact that we all enjoyed each other’s gifts – instead of having a free-for-all. These days, there are so many gag gifts floating around that everyone has cameras pasted to their faces!
This year is special to me, as I introduce my new partner to my parents. I’m a little nervous, but I know they will quickly see why I’m so very very happy!
Susan in HK
One of my favorite holiday traditions is before Christmas even starts – it launches our whole season. When I was young, my mother would have a box that was especially for the first ‘real’ snowfall of the year. We’d get to go outside and play for a few hours, and then have rice krispy treats and chili. It was always those two, always together on the first snowfall. Even as an adult now, my sister and I call each other up on that first snowfall day and both make those treats. It really signals the beginning of winter and the holidays.
Last Christmas, my husband’s sister, her husband, and two of my nephews let us know that they would be coming to us for the Holidays. When I reminded them to bring their Christmas stockings, my sister-in-law said they didn’t have any. I quickly pulled out my needles and spent every free moment knitting four stockings – each uniquely designed. My favorite was my sister-in-law’s, which I made in white with a pointed toe and decorated with green and red satin ribbons and little silver bells, like a lady’s stocking from the Middle Ages. Everyone loved them, of course, but my favorite part is that this year, when they are celebrating many miles away from us, they now have their stockings – and the good memories they evoke – as part of their Christmas tradition.
My favorite tradition is fixing a huge Christmas brunch for the entire family – grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Also, even though my boys are 23 and 25, they still wait for my mom and dad to arrive (we live on the same farm, but my parents’ house is about two city blocks away from ours) before we all go down to our family room in the basement to see the presents under the tree.
Thanks for ANOTHER awesome giveaway! My mom ALWAYS hides a pickle ornament (I think it’s a German tradition) somewhere on the tree – the first to find it wins a prize!
There was a paint your own pottery shop here in Ithaca, and each year we would start the Christmas season by spending an afternoon painting Christmas plates. Anyone who visited at Thanksgiving got roped into it. The transformation of each person, from anxious newbie to creative genious, was really heartwarming. We’ve done them with foreign students, and far flung relatives, and little children who are now all grown up. Now the tradition is to use these beautiful plates at our Christmas dinners. They hold some wonderful memories as well as some delicious food!
happy holidays everyone!
our family traditionally puts up the christmas tree on christmas eve. as i got older and ventured out into the world, i noticed that most of my christian friends put their trees up WAY before that and i started to wonder why. well, as the story goes my dad’s family was pretty poor when they were kids. my grandpa had died when my father was just 4, leaving my grandmother with 7 kids to raise on her own. christmas trees were just not in the budget, so they would go down to the man selling trees on christmas eve hoping to get a bargain. ever since those days, the tradition remained. my folks also always invited friends from other religions to help us decorate on christmas eve and we celebrated with lots of GREAT traditional foods that my mother prepared. i can still smell those aromas and the hot kitchen and steamy windows….
Our family celebrates on Christmas day with a huge meal of many courses in the Italian traditiion. My cousin and her family join us as well as my brother, his girlfriend and her son. We have a fire in the fireplace and sing Christmas carols. We no longer exchange gifts with this extended family as everyone has what he needs. Instead we donate the money we would have spent to charity. This year, my husband and I donated to Heifer International. He and I do exchange gifts between ourselves only. As the end of the day, as I put away the dishes, it is a warm feeling of love in the air.
Wishing all of you at Juniper Moon Farm a blessed holiday season. Merry Christmas.
When I was a child my Dad always brought the tree home on Christmas Eve. We would have dinner and decorate the tree and then go to midnight services if the weather wasn’t too scary for driving. When we came back we each got to pick one present to open before going to bed. I almost always picked the one from my Great Aunt because it would likely be clothing from a fancy department store and was quite often the only store bought item of clothing for the season. They were always something stylish and I was really excited to wear them. As an adult I usually spend Christmas Eve at my sister’s sister-in-law’s house eating wonderful chowder and sipping thick creamy eggnog. Then we do Christmas dinner at my sisters with family and usually lots of friends stopping by.
Coming from a family of singers, Xmas time was always about music and lots of it in various places, as we would sing everywhere around town. My father was a wonderful tenor and I grew up listening to him sing the “Every Valley” solo that starts Handel’s Messiah. It was a flurry of rehersals and singing preformances, from school choirs until the midnight sevices on Xmas eve (my senior year of high school, I was in 4 different choirs and in band). After I had children of my own, it wasn’t long before they were singing in choirs, and not the same preformances that I would be singing in and I started to wonder how my mother ever managed to get us all to our different rehersals and preformances, put up the tree and make a Xmas dinner. I know I sure can’t do it and the tree often doesn’t go up until a day or so before Xmas. Shopping, baking, decorating, entertaining…it all takes a back seat to Singing. And it continues…dress rehersal tonight and then 3 preformances of Handel’s Messiah next week.
My mom and I would make Christmas coffee bread on Christmas eve or the day before. On the big day, we’d get up and my mom would make coffee and we’d open our stockings, which were always full of sweet little gifts and handy presents. Then we’d go into the kitchen and have a slice of that coffee bread and then open our presents. After all was said and done, my dad would make us breakfast.
I am in the process of starting a new tradition of making Beach plum jam for everyone during the holidays. I hope it sticks.
Christmas starts for my mom & I by making rum balls at the beginning of December (they need the time to age!). For the rest of my family it starts by going to see the Christmas Story at the Church of the Holy Trinity. (sometime mid month).
Then the rest we wing it, whatever suits us best!
Happy Holidays to you Susie! Thanks for a great giveaway, I’ve been wanting a copy of this book for a while now.
So, in our family, we always put up the tree and decorate the house on the 15th (my mother’s birthday). Playing some Swedish Christmas carols, drinking some glogg, eat some meatballs. There has been an eternal battle between opening gifts on Christmas Eve (the Swedish tradition) or Christmas Day (Americanized). We usually end up opening one gift on Christmas eve, and any others on Christmas day.
For the solstice, we usually attend or host (depending on the year) a big potluck with friends, usually we have a bonfire, and celebrate the returning of longer days and the community we have created and share.
My Christmas gift was just finding out that you are no longer on the island, but closer to me!!!! I can’t wait to visit your new farm. Yes, it is sooooo true, we can always learn more about this wonderful fiber. I look forward to meeting you in person.
Sincerely,
At my house, we combine my holiday traditions and my husbands! We put our tree up after Thanksgiving. On Christmas eve we each get to select a gift to open (his tradition) and we open the rest on Christmas day (my tradition).
One of my favorite family tr
We put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and open one present Christmas Eve with the family and then the rest Christmas day after a big meal! We also open the presents according to age – youngest to oldest so each person gets the spotlight.
My favorite holiday tradition is the special breakfast on Christmas morning. My dear husband serves homemade coffee cake, eggs, bacon and homefries. So yummy!
My brother and I felt so grown up when were were finally allowed to be part of the adult present opening on Christmas Eve. I love it ~ dark outside, room lit by the lights on the tree and candles. Carols playing on the stereo. Mulled cider, spiced wine, champagne. Wonderful cookies / snacks.
Santa still came, though, to fill our stockings that we could dig into after a wonderful brunch on Christmas day.
My favorite part of the holiday is putting up my tree. I usually do it early in the morning, with a cup of coffee and Christmas carols on the radio. It always fun for me to find the best spot to highlight my favorite ornaments. And is it bad to say that I love to do it alone? My husband usually rushes through it and that gets me in a foul mood right quick, so I do it while he’s gone and when he comes home, voila! It’s Christmas!
Wow! This book knocked my (handknit) socks off.
We put our tree up this past weekend. There are 2 ornaments that MUST be on the tree every year: The pickle, and a handmade Salman Rushdie ornament. Nothing says “holidays” like persecuted authors, eh? We celebrate with my grandma on Christmas Eve, and with my Dad On Christmas morning. We usually head over to the Paterson Falls later on Christmas Day – it’s beautiful with the cold and (often) snow.
This year I am not making as many gifts as I usually do – there just isn’t enough time! But I usually find the holiday crafting to get me into the festive mood.
As a new couple who don’t have kids yet, we’re working on our own traditions. My family used to get together as a whole group on Christmas Eve, and leave Christmas for the nuclear units. This year we find most of the grandkids across three states and with inlaws, so we’re getting together earlier, which I think is wonderful, as it’s so hard for us to get together. I’ve started a cookie swap this year, which is well recieved as we’re a family of cooks who love to show off. Happy holidays to you and your flock!
Growing up we always opened presents on Boxing Day (day after christmas). With my husband’s family though, they open gifts on Christmas Eve, so depending on who we’re spending the holidays with, the traditions are different! unfortunately we can’t spend the holidays with both sides of the family because they are halfway across the globe from each other.
Great idea…except we don’t have any traditions. I suppose that is a tradition in itself…lol My husband and I celebrate Christmas together, but we really don’t have any time honored traditions that we hold to, not even a tree…now that I write it down, it sounds a little boring. But, that is the way it is… =-)
We travel up to Vegas for a Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange with my parents at a fancy steakhouse. Low key, no crazy holiday expectations, just a good time in a fun place.
My family didn’t really have firm traditions, though we still receive presents from Santa. My husband’s family has the tradition of reading the NIght Before Christmas from an old cloth book that belonged to his great-great grandfather and singing the 12 Days of Christmas despite the fact that no one can sing.
My parents have an antique Santa doll, made of fabric, stuffed and dressed in full red velvet santa-esque garb. The thing is old and kinda dried up and shriveled. He is known as The Old Dead Guy and we put him out every year even though he smells.
My Christmas traditions have gotten kinda weird over the years. I live in Boston and my parents live in Oklahoma, and getting down there to see them turns into a serious nightmare. HOWEVER, we all like science fiction. So my fiance and I have introduced my parents to the wonders of a good SF convention, and we all agreed that meeting up at the Annual World Science Fiction Convention in August is a way better time to do Christmas! We enjoy the con, have a nice dinner out one night, and get each other presents from the dealers room. All of this leaves us free to have Chinese food with our Jewish friends in December, which is also a good time.
I love tipping. There are so many people who bring happiness into my life in little ways – nothing better than having the Sunday NYT delivered to my front door. The women who work in my local pet supply store always have the most friendly chatter everytime I stop by. The dry cleaners who tease me about all the cat hair on my clothes. You know what I mean. To some I give money, to some I bring cookies – but its a great time of year to say thank you.
every year we drive out to a moose preserve in palmer, alaska to get our christmas tree. tromp, tromp, tromp though the snow. after we find out treasure we drag it back to the car, stuff it in the car top carrier and head over to vagabond blues cafe for some delicious homemade soup and homemade bread. aaah traditions! thanks for the give away!
Thanks for another wonderful giveaway!
My favorite holiday tradition is that my husband and I make a gift for my daughter for Christmas (so she receives a gift from Santa that Santa and the elves could have actually made). The first year we made a toy box that had scenes from “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” by Dr. Seuss. The second year we made a six foot tall puppet (muppet style). He is bright orange and my daughter named him “Bear.” He is still one of her favorite toys. Last year we made her a princess gown (though she prefers the cheap Walmart Snow White dress). This year I am knitting her an awesome hot pink/purple sock monkey. I love this, because we get to look back, knowing that she will probably keep these items forever, and that we were able to make them for her.
My husband and I are relatively new to marriage and this whole holiday tradition thing, but we’re trying to establish some of our own. Every year, we put up a tree together and listen to carols while adding the ornaments. Our ornament collection started out VERY small, but every since our first holiday together we’ve purchased one on every vacation, so decorating the tree is a fun way to remember our travels together. I’m also working on homemade stockings, tree topper and skirt…but have a ways to go on each of them! Thanks for doing this give-away! I’ve wanted this book for some time now
When decorating the tree and opening presents we MUST listen to Emmy Lou Harris’ Christmas Album “Light of the Stable.”
Kids get one present on Christmas Eve, it’s some kind of pajamas or slippers or something for bed.
Christmas morning we open stockings, then have some coffee and Yulecage (a traditional round-loaf bread made with raisins and cardamom- UNBELIEVABLE toasted), then go back under the tree and take turns opening up gifts. We open a few, then get more coffee. We try to make it last, and all the stories are told about the crazy things that happened when we got the gifts.
On Christmas afternoon my mom and I always do some sort of craft together.
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!
It is hard to keep miracles the emphasis of Hannukah. However, we use the modern miracle of Skype to light the menorah with my parents even though they are 6 time zones away. It allows our family to celebrate together even from different continents.
The holiday traditions for my family have changed through the years as the parents moved out of the house (the opposite of your usual empty nest syndrome!), and the siblings formed their own family type units…
As kids we had a fake tree decorated with my Mom’s gorgeous beaded ornamants and a real tree filled with the pipe cleaner and feathers, painted clothespin, and paper straw dipped in glitter stuff that we made in school.
As an adults we started celebrating the family gathering on Christmas Eve at my brother’s house with a huge bonfire and a pot luck feast.
Now that I am married and living far away we split the holidays between families… one year with mine and the other with his. His family has a small and quiet gathering while mine is big and boisterous. Both are filled with love.
And ours? Mine and his? Honestly… we don’t have one beyond waking up together and saying “Merry Christmas Sweetie”. And I guess that’s good enough.
Me, please?
One tradition that my family does on Christmas morning and Easter morning is our breakfast. It all started when my parents did not want to get out of bed really early as we kids did. Their rule was that we could not open Christmas gifts or have our Easter basket till after breakfast, which meant waiting for them. Well, as young children my sisters and I easily got around the whole wait till your parents wake up to cook breakfast. So each year we bake the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls that come in the tube. But the rolls have to be the one with the usual vanilla icing and the ones with the orange icing. It just isn’t the holidays without them.
As a newly emptied nest, we have begun a new Christmas morning brunch for our kids. They can do their own Christmas morning, then stop by here if they want to, then go to other relatives the rest of the day. It will be our 3rd year and we all love it!
Two of my favorite traditions are getting a fresh balsam tree and decorating it with all of our family ornaments that we add to every year and going to Church on Christmas Eve for the candlelight service.
I found the tension around the holidays so traumatizing as a child that I have no holiday traditions as an adult. I like to give gifts in my own time…I’m kind of scroogy at the holidays! If I’m not scroogy, then I’m stressed and upset. Thanksgiving is my favorite!
We celebrate Winter Solstice by putting up a tree ahead of time, sharing gifts in the morning, and having a candlelit dinner in the evening. For Summer Solstice, we share gifts in the evening, followed by a candlelit dinner.
Even though my family has been reduced over the years to me & mom, our Christmas traditions remain the same. There is some sadness when we remember those who are no longer with us, but for the most part we laugh. We get our tree the last weekend before Christmas. We put the ornaments up high so the dog and (3) cats don’t knock them down. We put the unbreakable holiday balls on the lower branches so they can steal them and play with them without killing themselves. Tinsel is OFF LIMITS. After decorating, we being the 7 days of egg nog. Each night, we put a different liquor or liquer in the nog! Great fun. We limit ourselves to watching “Its a Wonderful Life” and “The Ten Commandments” as the only movies for the holiday season. We’re not big on Christmas music. And I think this year (because of mom’s age) we will have to forego the trip to St. John the Divine (NYC) for Christmas mass (that was dad’s tradition). We open gifts on Christmas day – which we DO NOT put under the tree because of the dog & 3 cats – hello! The most fun part of Christmas day is watching the cats attack the Christmas paper, anything that crunches or crinkles is big time fun for them. In 6 years it’s only snowed once on Christmas day – I love playing with the dog in the snow – so finers crossed for a good Alberta Clipper or Nor’Easter in the NY area this year
And that’s about Christmas for us.
Merry Christmas to you Susan. And to you Erin. And Paige!!! Now that you’re down in Virginia, I don’t think I’ll make it your Solstice on the 19th
Karen
One of my favourite holiday traditions is heading up north with my cousin’s family to cut down a Christmas tree. This year it was warm enough that we could take our time picking one and not freeze!
We have tons of traditions around Christmas. When we were little, my brother and I got to pick out a Christmas ornament every year that represented the year – so the year he started soccer he got a soccer ball, the year I went to Paris I got an Eiffel tower, etc. Christmas stockings were always one of my favourite parts of Christmas morning, and a huge tradition around my house. This year my boyfriend who’s from Germany is coming for Christmas. He doesn’t have a stocking of his own, so I’m knitting him one so he can be a part of our tradition.
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