Christmas Memory 3: Traditions

There are certain traditions that my family does every Christmas Eve (in no particular order):

• Our big Christmas dinner where we have steak and shrimp and lobster and/or something else equally delicious. 
• We read the Christmas story (you know the important one about Jesus).
• We go out and drive around to look at Christmas lights.
• We open one present on Christmas eve, which for me always ends up being the card one of my grandparents sent because I want to save the cool stuff for Christmas day.
• My dad reads The Polar Express, and it has to be my dad, and he has to ring a bell when he's done. (If you've read it, you understand why).
• We all know when it's time to go to bed because Santa's elf comes and brings us pajamas! (Although this one we've kind of altered since we know the truth, but this tradition will be better explained in a future Christmas Memory post).

And the thing with these traditions is that if we don't do these I get upset. I don't know why, but I do. Last year we went to another family's house for dessert on Christmas eve and while it was fun, I didn't want to be there that long because we had to get home to do all of the traditional stuff! Yeah, I know. I'm weird.

But one of my favorite traditions is singing Christmas carols, but not just any Christmas carol. It has to be The Twelve Days of Christmas. I think this is one my grandparents started doing, and I like it so much that I make my family keep doing it every year. (It's just not Christmas unless we sing it.) But, it's more than just singing. There are actions that go with all of the verses, and you go faster and faster as you go along so by the time you get to the 12th day, you're ready to sit down because you're tired and out of breath. I remember when I was younger singing it at my grandparents' house and watching my dad, uncle, and grandfather all constantly pulling up their pants as they performed the song. What's hilarious is we always forget all of the verses every year, so we're always stopping and trying to remember.


This one was recorded a few years ago, but here's the last verse to give you an idea: