From us here at Arth Group, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We each have our own holiday family traditions. Today we wanted to share some of those with you in hopes it will make you smile.
Here are some of our favorites:
Andrea Arth:
“In the small town of Navarre Ohio, I was blessed to grow up with a tight-knit family and community. Christmas revolved around church and family. Baking pies, cookies, and everything Christmas in the church kitchen for the gathering after the play in which any child that attended our church would be participating.
The people are who made Christmas. I can’t say that we have had a long-running act of tradition but the people that we celebrate the holidays with is my favorite part of the holidays.
The women in my family are baking fools during the holidays. The smell of anis coming from the stacks of pazzeals in the kitchen was a staple every Christmas. It seemed like my grandmother would be rolling dough for days. The pies were the highlight for most of us during family Christmas dinner. Times with Family and loved ones are my favorite tradition. The baked goods are just an added bonus.”
Lynn Hamilton:
“My favorite tradition was always on Christmas Eve. While waiting for Santa to come, I would set out our favorite oatmeal cookies in the living room for Santa to eat. Then we would leave the house and go look at the neighborhood Christmas lights. I never understood why neither my Nana nor my dad never went with us.
Magically, when we came back home, all of our Christmas presents were under the tree! Our family always opens presents on Christmas Eve. Now, we are all in different states but I still love looking at neighborhood Christmas lights. To me, the lights represent the gathering of angels announcing the birth of Christ.”
Samm Sawyer:
“Christmas in Connecticut to visit my Grandparents! It was always so magical, especially if we had a white Christmas. My dad and I would always go to the outlet mall on Christmas Eve and he’d finally do his shopping, we’d have a fabulous dinner at my great grandparents and be sent to bed while the parents/grandparents ‘prepped for Santa’ aka, drank and wrapped gifts.
The next morning, we would always have to wait in the stairwell (the guest room was on the lower level) and I can remember the sheer excitement that coursed through as we anxiously waited to see what ‘Santa’ had brought.
We’d have homemade pumpkin bread, open presents slowly (one person at a time) so we could see and remember what everyone got and thank them properly. The rest of the day was filled with lobster bisque, the all-day marathon of “the Christmas Story” and friends and family galore.”
Sarah Lee:
“Growing up, my family didn’t necessarily have any traditions that were carried over from year to year. Now that I have started my own family we try to give that experience to our kids. Our traditions include picking out a real tree together, finding our Elf on The Shelf, drinking hot chocolate, and watching Polar Express and A Christmas Story.
My favorite Family Christmas tradition is going shopping for new Christmas jammies together. We put them on Christmas morning, have a huge brunch instead of dinner, and stay in our jammies all day!”
Ashley Morris:
“We had so many traditions in our family, but one that stands out is seeing Santa each year in the days leading up to Christmas. We would wait at least an hour in line, drink hot chocolate, and practice telling him our list over and over again. It was always a big family outing (all four of us) and it made the season so merry and amped up the anticipation of Santa’s visit on Christmas eve.”
