’Tis the season not only of festivities but of traditions. No matter what you do—or don’t—to celebrate, it’s still easy to get into the spirit of the season. Whether it's matching PJs, gift rituals, or foods they eat, matter what they do, each holds significant meaning.
To kick off the holiday season, we caught up with some of our community members to find out what tradition they most look forward to each year.
Maybe you have a similar tradition or maybe you are inspired by one of these. However you mark the season, we hope it’s meaningful and wonderful.
Dr. Denise Garcia
Desert Eyesthetics
"Our family has an annual Christmas pajama party about a week before Christmas where we all come together, in our PJs, and celebrate with dinner and a gift exchange. We love it! Everyone is comfortable and it makes it feel like it's Christmas morning no matter what day of the week we celebrate."
Mindy Jones
Amy Jones Group
"Our Chanukah tradition starts with sharing the story of the Maccabees, an inspiring tale of triumph and perseverance that led to the holiday as we celebrate it today. Each year we get together to make latkes, light the menorah, and play dreidel, a game of chance with a spinning top and a coveted pot of chocolate coins or gelt. The tradition is to place our menorahs in the window for everyone to see, a reminder each year of our ability to practice our religion without fear of persecution. The holiday is light and fun, while the traditions are meaningful and rooted in a history I am proud to pass along to my son."
Joyce Selk
Chandler City Lifestyle
"Family has always been the most important part of Christmas and often means many traveling long distances to be together. Sometimes we come up with a crazy theme, like ugly Christmas sweaters. We always open gifts on Christmas morning but the night before has never taken much of a back seat. Christmas Eve has morphed into Chinese takeout for dinner, followed by everyone piling into the car to drive around and see Christmas lights so the 'elves' could come and fill the stockings. (An adult always found an excuse to stay behind so there were no disappointments and the 'littles' never seem to notice!) Returning home, we gather around the tree and take turns going through our stockings, youngest to oldest, and the adult 'kids' always have one, too! Christmas Eve is capped off with a late-night church service. We always go overboard on the stockings, and some years they seem to be better than the presents on Christmas morning!"