I can’t believe how close we are to Christmas – I feel like December really flew by, and while I’m not quite ready for the holidays yet, I am looking forward to the time off and time with family and friends! The great thing about the holidays is the different traditions that we have – such a fun thing to look forward to each year. I already told you about my Christmas pajamas tradition here, but that’s not my only tradition around the holidays.

I love getting together during the holidays – so many people come home, so it’s really special to get the chance to see people you might not otherwise! When I was younger, we would always go to my grandparent’s house on Christmas morning. But since my grandparents have passed away, and my cousins have gotten married and have kids of their own, getting together on Christmas has gotten more difficult. So for the last 10 years or so, we’ve all gotten together the day after Christmas at one of my Aunt’s and Uncle’s houses. My dad is from a family of six, so there’s quite a crowd, and it’s always a fun time. It also stretches Christmas even longer, which is great in my mind!

The other traditional get-together that we have is my family’s annual Christmas party (which actually takes place after Christmas). It’s been going on for as long as I can remember – when I was young, it started out as mostly my parents’ friends, but now it’s more split between my parents’ friends and my friends/my sisters friends! It’s always the highlight of the holiday season, and my friends and I love the chance to catch up.

We also have some smaller-scale traditions… my sister and I always open a present from each other on Christmas Eve. This one started in middle school, when we would buy each other makeup or jewelry that we wanted to wear to Christmas Eve mass! It stuck, though, and we still do it to this day.

And then there are the Christmas movies. My dad loves nothing more than a family movie night with Christmas movies. We’ve watched It’s A Wonderful Life every year for as long as I can remember. When we were younger, we’d watch the animated classics like Frosty and Rudolph, and we still watch non-animated classics like The Santa Clause! But his other favorite is a movie that no one else has ever heard of – The Littlest Angel. It’s a Christmas movie/musical… and it’s BAD. Beyond cheesy bad! We used to complain about having to watch it, but after my friend was subjected to it one year, it’s become a tradition to enjoy some drinks and watch, laugh, and make fun of the movie.

I’d love to hear what your traditions are – and PLEASE, if you’ve ever seen – or even heard of – The Littlest Angel, let me know in the comments.