‘Tis the season of holiday traditions, and I love the memories and warm feelings those traditions bring! I’ve always been the tradition keeper in my home, and my kids still expect certain things to remain exactly the same year in, year out.
At our house, holiday traditions begin the day after Thanksgiving, when we decorate the house and put up the Christmas tree. We love to play Christmas music while we hang the hundreds of ornaments I’ve collected over the years. I might have a bit of an ornament obsession.
Once the tree is up, we have a candy cane hunt! I buy two dozen candy canes, and then hide them around the house. The kids search them out, and then hang them on the tree. They’re allowed to eat no more than one per day, so sometimes by Christmas day there aren’t any candy canes left. But that’s the idea! It’s best to enjoy those candy canes during the season.
On Christmas Eve, we pile into the car with hot cocoa, and drive around looking at all the Christmas lights. Sometimes we go through neighborhoods, and sometimes we visit special drive-through holiday light shows. It’s such a magical tradition!
Of course, food is a major part of everyone’s holiday traditions, right? While I don’t usually leave munchies out, the holidays are different. I love to put out a bowl of nuts with a nutcracker, fill candy dishes with favorite treats, and have a nice big container of Chex snack mix on hand. ‘Tis the season for snacking!
Of course, there are also lots of freshly baked cookies around, and the cut-out cookies are the family favorite. The recipe comes from an old Betty Crocker cookbook my mom gave me. It doesn’t even have a cover on it anymore, but I can’t give it up!
I’d love to hear about your holiday traditions, and so would General Mills. For 150 years, the family of brands, including Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Chex, has been a part of the beloved food and holiday traditions that we all hold so dear. This year, the company wants to celebrate the people who make the season special. We all have someone close to us who inspires and keeps traditions alive, right?
I encourage you to share your nostalgic holiday photos and any stories you have that celebrate your special tradition keepers. Please share those photos and stories on Twitter and Instagram with #HolidayTraditions, and each time you share, you’ll be entered to win my giveaway!
GIVEAWAY
One (1) lucky reader receives a Betty Crocker Big Red Cookbook and a $25 Visa gift card!
To enter, share your holiday photos and stories featuring food, family and fun on Twitter and Instagram using #HolidayTraditions. You can share every day, and for each one you’ll receive another entry! Want to see what everyone else has been sharing? Take a look!
Compensation was provided by General Mills. The opinions are my own.
RULES: Giveaway ends 11:59 pm ET, December 8, 2016. No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States. Void where prohibited by law. One lucky winner will be chosen using random.org. One entry per household and IP address. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Cheating will not be tolerated, and entries will be verified for accuracy. I will email the winner and they will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email, or a new winner will be chosen. Entering this giveaway means you are in agreement with this blog’s Privacy/Rules/Terms of Use policy.
Trisha McKee says
I am the holiday keeper. I had a not-so-good childhood and as an adult, I decided to celebrate life and the freedom that came along with being independent. I taught my daughter to enjoy and rejoice in holidays and we make our own traditions.
Michele Baron says
I am the keeper of our holiday traditions #HolidayTraditions
Michelle Hill says
My mom is the keeper of #HolidayTraditions and at 77 she is still going strong.
Laurajj says
Oh I am the keeper of holiday traditions in our home! One I love to keep going is from when I was a little girl…my grandmother always made spritz cookies every Christmas! Still my favorite!
Laurie Emerson says
My dad is the keeper of holiday traditions. He has passed down all of the traditions he grew up on 90 years ago. We celebrate by making recipes which have been in the family for generations as well as going caroling each year.#HolidayTraditions
susan smoaks says
I am the keeper and the creator of the #holidaytraditions in our household. i always wanted to have my own family and traditions so now that i have it i am very into the traditions.
Natalie says
My mom is the keeper of our #Holidaytraditions. She always makes sure we make a gingerbread house, go cross country skiing and see Christmas lights each year.
Michelle C says
I consider myself the keeper of the traditions. Each year, I bake a fresh apple cake from a recipe that my grandmother used to use. It’s been in our family for years and years.
Ellie Wright says
I’m the keep of traditions for my family. Since I was a little girl we would watch White Christmas on Christmas Eve. I continued that with my kids and now grandchildren.
Mary Gardner says
My Grandma is the keeper of our traditions inspiring us to bake treats together as a family from the youngest to the oldest members.
Seyma Shabbir says
I am the keeper of traditions! I always make baklava and we watch old home movies! #HolidayTraditions
Susan Smith says
I am the keeper of our #Holidaytraditions. After we eat Thanksgiving dinner we get out the Christmas decorations and start decorating for Christmas.
Cynthia R says
My sister is the keeper of #HolidayTraditions, she takes lots of pictures, remembers all the food dishes we make each year to assign them to each of us to make. We all help out but she definitely leads it all.
Alissa Apel says
My Mom is the keeper of #HolidayTraditions She buys stuff for stockings every year. My favorite year is when we went out to go get Christmas presents for a family that was going through a divorce. The mom knew she couldn’t afford Christmas. My Mom worked with her. They got a gift card to a grocery store, and loads of gifts.
Annette says
My dad is the keeper of our #HolidayTraditions – he always carves the turkey and always calls out the names for gifts under the tree.
Joanna Allison says
I am the keeper now of our #Holidaytraditions. We get together and have turkey and pumpkin pie and all the trimmings.
shelly peterson says
I keep our #HolidayTraditions going by baking and decorating sugar cookies every year with my son and now grandsons.
Cynthia C says
Our family gets together at my house for all the holidays to enjoy good food and company.
Karen Glatt says
I get together with my sisters and we swap recipes and make Holiday pies and cookies every year! #HolidayTraditions
Sheila K. says
We like to drive around the neighborhood to see all of the holiday decorations!