Monday, December 06, 2010

Not So Traditional Traditions - by Diane Kelly

It’s the holidays, time for family, feasts, and traditions. My husband, kids, and I have developed some traditions over the years and, well, some of them are not so traditional.

A few years ago, on Thanksgiving morning, my son gathered up every pillow and blanket in the house and made a cushy, comfy bed on the floor of the family room. Still in our pajamas, we all curled up in the soft nest to watch the parades. It was heaven! We decided to stay in our pj’s all day, though we still used our fine china for dinner. Thus, a family tradition was born. Every year since, we spend the entire day in our pajamas, watch TV from a pile of pillows and blankets, and sit at a fancy table, totally underdressed for the occasion.

At Christmas time, we watch the traditional shows – Charlie Brown, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,and A Christmas Story. But years ago, we added another not-so-traditional movie to the mix – Month Python’s Life of Brian. This movie tells the tale of a half-Jewish-half-Roman bastard named Brian who was born in the manger next to Jesus and grew up in the same world of prophets, gladiators, and crucifixions. The story opens with the three wise men following the North Star to the barn and initially mistaking Brian for the messiah. It’s totally irreverent and absolutely hilarious.

What are your family’s unusual traditions?

4 comments:

Christie Craig said...

Diane,

I love the sound of that tradition. We have several Christmas traditionals. First, my whole family gets pictures taken with Santa. We have these pictures from 1984. Also we write clues on our gifts. The person opening the gifts has to try to guess what it is. It can be a lot of fun.

CC

Robin Kaye said...

My family and I see the Nutcracker--well, now my daughter dances in it too.

I started taking the kids when my eldest was 4. The best was when we got box seats at the Kennedy Center (the only seats available) to watch Twinkle Toes in her first professional performance with ABT.

Now the family gathers to watch her perform in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker over two weekends. We call these weeks the Nutty weeks. This year my mother and mother-in-law are flying up from Florida and my sister-in-law and her family from Buffalo are all coming two days after my book is due to watch Twinkle Toes perform on her birthday. I'm looking forward to my Post-Nutty coma.

Twinkle Toes is a Candy Cane...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSeAIhlmm7o

catslady said...

Probably the most unusual tradition for our family is me reading The Littlest Angel. It started out when they were young and now one daughter is married and the other has a significant other. The problem is, I can't read the book without sobbing - the first thing they do is get the kleenex lol.

Refhater said...

Our holiday tradition is the "Garage Sale Gift."

Mom scours garage sales through out the summer and finds a gift for each of us. The gifts can range from a favorite childhood toy from our past to a new in the box telescope. They've has become the highlight of our Christmas celebration.