Every year since our boys were little, my husband, Bob, has read Polar Express (we all have our own bells), T'was the Nigh Before Christmas (with a perfect Santa impression) and Hershel and the Hanukka Goblins (with a different voice for each goblin). Our sons are grown and we have teen aged nieces who enjoy the readings and everyone looks forward to this each year.

My holiday traditions center around food, family and church. Each year we attend services, come home and have a late dinner and open one present before going to bed. Our family tradition is Swedish Meatballs, as my mother's parents were both immigrants. No matter how far apart we are, the cousins all start calling each other to see if they have made theirs yet, and laughing at the memory of the year we all had to eat Ludifisk instead. The other food that I have to prepare each year is my mother's fruitcake. I know, most people just groan at the thought, but hers is a dense, natural and delicious cake. She made the recipe up many years ago, to send to my father each year, when they were apart at the holidays, because he was a merchant marine. I still remember making it with her on Thanksgiving weekend, carefully wrapping it, along with other goodies, and sending it to an APO address that would eventually reach my dad in time for Christmas. Now, I make it for family and friends each year, and in all cases it is much appreciated. (or else my I'm surrounded by good liars!) Lisa Ladd, Thetford Center, VT

On a busy, overstressed late Christmas Eve 12 years ago, my husband Dave decided to read The Night Before Christmas to our rowdy household of young relatives.
Dave being the comedian that he is, put a new spin on the classic Christmas story...and read it backwards.
Yes, backwards.
"!night good a
to and, all to
Christmas Happy"

If you've never read this story backwards, it is funny. At least the way Dave reads it, it is. Dave's intonations and comedic timing make this story especially funny.

Ever since that Christmas 12 years ago, everyone gathers around, adults included, to hear Dave read Christmas Before Night The.

"...when Christmas before
night the
Twas."

End The.

In the mid 1990's my brother, Tom, and I started a tradition of watching a non-christmas movie on Christmas Eve. There is no particular genre, but the one rule is that it cannot be holiday related. "Trainspotting" was the movie that started the tradition. Now that we are older my sister, her husband and my fiance make sure to get together on Christmas Eve to watch a movie. Its a nice way to spend time with my family in a relaxed way without the added pressure of putting on our "holiday" faces!

The boys know that they cannot go downstairs until they hear VPR at 5 a.m. The girls are too little to know, but they are also too tired and sleep through my alarm. When my mother was young, she and my aunt had to sit through Christmas breakfast while their presents lay unopened under the tree. Our four children do not have to endure such agonies. They need only wait until the woodstove and fireplace have been started, the dogs let out, the cats let in, the chickens given fresh water and mash, and the parents given a cup of coffee. Then, the sisters can be woken and the unwrapping can begin.

By nine o'clock the Christmas Doldrums have set in. The presents have been played with, assembled, or tried on for size. The children have eaten their chocolate santas and candy canes. The fireplace has ceased to crackle. My husband breaks this trance into which we are all falling by announcing the Annual Christmas Squirrel Hunt, and the entire house comes back to life. Children scramble to find gloves, boots, snowsuits, and hats because no matter what the weather the Christmas Squirrel Hunt is on. Next to presents, it is the event most anticipated by young and old alike. The four-ten, twenty, and twelve gauge shotguns are taken from the closet and the boys stuff their pockets with shells. If you are nine or older, you get to bring a shotgun. Younger, you get to be a scout. If you are very small, you get to stay home and take a nap with Mom. The dogs, needless to say, stay home where they scrounge sticky bits of candy cane off the oriental rug. The cats, though, often follow at a stealthy distance. The Squirrel Hunt route is discussed at length. It varies but always ends at the old dump - you have to shoot something, after all, to make the hike worthwhile.

This year, the four-year-old, Young Dog, and I watched the hunters walk three abreast through the snow with the scout trailing behind in her new purple snowsuit. The younger of the two boys looked hopefully into the treetops while the older carefully studied the ground for tracks. When I saw my husband look over his shoulder to check on the scout, I was assured that he remembered he had brought her. As the hunting party disappeared below the knoll between the barn and the swamp, I lay myself down for a long winter's nap. The only sounds in the house were the chatter of the four-year-old as she played with her siblings' toys and an occasional whine from Young Dog because he wasn't invited. Old Dog didn't care. I was lulled into a half-sleep for an hour or so until a report of gunfire in the distance brought me back. I knew that in fifteen minutes my husband would come through the door with three red-cheeked, bright-eyed children.
"Did you get anything?"
"No, but we shot the old TV. It was great!" one of the boys told me.

The Christmas Squirrel Hunt has been an annual event for several years; however, the hunting party has yet to come home with anything but a healthy dose of fresh air. Just in case, though, here is our recipe for Christmas Squirrel Soup.

CHRISTMAS SQUIRREL SOUP - Put the squirrels (not less than three) in a gallon of cold water, with a scant tablespoonful of salt. Cover the pot closely, bring to the bubbling point, then simmer gently until the meat begins to be tender. Then add whatever vegetables you have. When the meat has boiled to a rag, remove the bones. Thicken the soup with a piece of butter rubbed to a smooth paste in flour. Season to taste. (from 'Camp Cookery' - old, title page missing)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Heidi Jaarsma
Cornish, New Hampshire