A 2017 Christmas Spiel

I love Christmas so much. And I have always loved Christmas every year that I can remember. One of the best parts of my mom is the way she celebrates holidays. It’s the reason why I love every holiday with an abundance and why I insist on keeping so many family traditions either from my childhood or starting new ones with Ryan. And that has become something I love about Ryan. He goes along with all of my Christmas antics! And I know he is secretly so happy that he works too late to join in on the Hallmark Christmas movies.

As a child, some of my favorite parts about Christmas where our Christmas eve traditions that still hold true today. We eat snacks the only sound good to the Isom’s and we used to read the polar express and now can be found watching a John Wayne movie. We now might have a few too many cocktails and play ridiculous games but Christmas Eve has always spent together, laughing, and always celebrating the birth of Jesus at mass! We also always send out a photo Christmas card. And some of my most memorable Christmas memories are taking those photos.

An Old Christmas Card Photo

As our family has changed and evolved and we have gained so many wonderful new members and I have become part of a new family, Christmas Eve means even more to me because no matter which members of my family I am spending it with the same magic is still there that was there when I was a little kid. And lucky for me the only tradition that hasn’t stuck is me playing Christmas songs on the piano— maybe when Ryan and I have a family!

My Parent's Tree

This year has definitely been one of my favorite Christmas seasons to date. Even though I don’t get to spend most of the month with other members of our family and Ryan is very busy at work, I have so much fun celebrating different parts of Christmas with the girls that I nanny. This month we did a different Christmas activity every day of December which has ultimately made them love Christmas as much as I have which is so much fun. Who doesn’t want to spend the afternoon snuggling and watching elf?

One of Our December Activities

And as this week winds down, I am very excited to exchange gifts and stocking with Ryan on Friday. Since we started dating, we have always had our own mini Christmas celebration. During law school that meant me getting to plan an ultimate Christmas date for the end of finals so that I didn’t bug him as much while he studied. It also meant being able to open gifts before we both went home to our own families for the holiday. And now even though we spend the holiday together with one of our families, we still exchange gifts just the two of us before we travel. The best part of the upcoming Christmas week is that we will get to meet our newest niece Elsie when we are in Boston at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. The hardest part is that the Hines family won’t be joining us! Luckily, we need zero excuse to ever visit and we will all be together in February for a wedding!

one of our law school christmas dates

My favorite traditions that we currently practice are putting our tree up the day after Thanksgiving, sending photo cards, putting our shoes out for Saint Nick, building a gingerbread house, our mini gift exchange, and then sharing Christmas eve, Christmas Day and then a few following days after with one of our families! When we are in Omaha, we celebrate something we call Benson Days which just means we go to our favorite bars in Benson and drink a lot! It’s the best day of the week (except we miss the kids, of course)!

after christmas eve mass one year

one of our many benson days

And last but not least, the best tradition that I started with my family and then now has spread to the in-laws and Ryan are matching Christmas jammies to wear on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Look at these beauties!

This year has also been particularly special because when we were younger all of the Isom girl cousins used to go see the Nutcracker with our moms and grandma and this year we were able to do that again but we got to see my youngest cousin, Grace, in the performance!

One new activity that I think I will add to our Christmas traditions are baking tree shaped sugar cookies! I had so much fun decorating them for friends and family yesterday and will continue to decorate more of them throughout the week to bring to Boston! Please leave a comment telling me about your favorite Christmas tradition! I always love to add more to the season!