So I'm sitting here in the living room with my mom. As we were sitting there, from the kitchen the sound of wine pouring in to a glass caught our ear and warmly reminded us of some of the funny Christmas traditions our family has accumulated over the years. Sitting there for a second, we gathered a few, so I thought I'd write them down while they were still a little fresh in my mind.

-The sound of wine hitting a glass around Christmas time has always been a sure clue that my Dad is getting himself in the mood to write the Christmas letter. Who knows what motivates him to pour the wine....

-When decorating the Christmas tree, there's this old red ornament we refer to as "sputnik" due to its "pokey" nature. No ornaments are hung until my Dad ceremoniously hangs it. Then the decorating may begin!

-The conclusion of the tree decorating marks the beginning of the throwing of the ting. Theres this decoratory glittery thin sticks that are straight at one end and spirally at the other, and rather than pass an opportunity for fun, we (we being my dad, sister, I) throw them at the tree as if they were spears. Simply sticking them in the tree is too easy and civilized.

-Also not passing up a chance to spruce up the mood, my parents address their presents to eachother with something other than their names. these include things like "From: The Man... To: The Woman" or maybe "From: The Boss... To: The Secretary" (I'll let them duke it out for who's who in that one) Me and my sister may make feeble attempts at this, but theyre not usually as funny.

-We always walk Candy Cane Lane every year with the Dawsons on Christmas Eve. Its fun. Although those that have ever walked it with me know what I eventually want to do ;)

-I cant forget my childhood either. Back when we lived in Florida, we would drive out to this Christmas tree farm before it got too cold with some friends of ours in Fort Walton Beach. We would make a day of it. We'd pick out our tree and decorate it slightly and then come back later and cut it down when it was closer to Christmas. Although I always remembered the initial trip because we would make a day of it- picknicking and such. and Dad would always let me drive the truck on his lap. That was always a highlight. There was a cotton field on the way home that we stopped at once and picked a couple branches of cotton that we kept for years. I'm pretty sure if I looked hard enough I could probably find them somewhere.

-And of course before bed on Christmas Eve, Dad always reads "The Night Before Christmas" to all of us, regardless of how old we get. I guess one of these days he'll read it to young kids again ;)

Well theres other little things here and there that I'm sure I'm forgetting, but those are a few that bring back fond memories. Anyway I'm off to pick up a friend from the airport. Good night and Merry Christmas....