I wait all year for the Christmas season. It’s not just everything that happens the day of, but it’s every special tradition leading up to it. Every year, my family has held tight to fun traditions and introduced new ones as more members joined the pack. Of all the fun things we do, these are my favorite.

Watching Classic Christmas Movies

The Grinch, Frosty, Rudolph and Santa Clause is Coming to Town are Christmas staples in my family. My mom even has the collectible characters and houses from the movies! Every year since I can remember, my mom and I have broken out those Christmas movies and binged on popcorn and hot chocolate. My sister and I event like to throw Elf in the mix (although my mom will object every time). It’s the memories of watching movies we may know every line to that make the Christmas season so special.

Breakfast on Christmas Morning

With so much family living in our city, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can be busy. When I was little, my family and I would go to a big Puerto Rican party every Christmas Eve. Sometime, it would even be at our house. Now a days, my husband and I spend Christmas Eve with his family playing games, opening Secret Santa gifts and eating tamales. Christmas Day has always been reserved for my family. But my favorite tradition about Christmas Day was breakfast in the morning,

My siblings and I would wake up extra early and wait at the top of the staircase. We couldn’t go down stairs until Dad went first. My mom always had a delicious breakfast waiting for us on the counter when we finally made it. We’d sip orang juice and eat donuts as my dad set up his old school video camera. Then, someone was elected “Santa” and passed out the presents. All the unwrapped stuff was actually from Santa and we’d lose our minds waiting to open those gifts. But those few hours of bed head and pajamas are the biggest Christmas memories I have. That short time when my siblings and parents were celebrating with just each other will always be my favorite.

Now that we’re all grown and have our own little ones, each of us does a Christmas morning at our own houses. But, we always meet at Mom and Dad’s at night to celebrate as one big family.

Jesus’ Birthday Cake

Now this tradition has only been around my family for a few years. In honor of the real meaning of Christmas, Jesus Christ’s birth, my sister has begun making a Jesus cake. Every Christmas, we all gather around a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus. All the little kids love it because of the candles, but I really think one day they’ll understand how important it is.

Seeing Christmas Lights

Las Vegas has so many wonderful lighting displays around town. When I was younger, my family used to hop in the car and drive around the neighborhoods together. Although we do still admire individual workmanship, we’re moved on to the big displays. We’ve visited Opportunity Village’s Magical Forest, Ethel and M’s Chocolate Factory and of course the Motor Speedway’s Glittering Lights. Visiting these places really makes Christmas come to life; especially with the oversized inflatable characters and hot chocolate.

Decorating the House

I can’t waiting until Thanksgiving night or the day after to start transforming my house into a winter wonderland. I’d start decorating sooner, but my husband wants to appreciate Thanksgiving first.

Every year, my parents broke out the big decor. We’d spend hours decorating the front yard with lights, putting candy canes on the walkway, setting Frosty up at the front door and trimming the house with icicles. Inside, snowmen were everywhere – on the stairs, fireplaces, kitchen and front door. The Staircase was even lined with lit garland. And of course, a huge tree (most of the time real) sat in the living waiting for use to decorate.

My mom always liked to pick themes for our tree. Some years it was blue and silver. Others, it was red and green. No matter what color, we always had an angel at the top.

In my own house, I also like to do themes each year. I started with Lakers, then went to Star Wars and now we have the Grinch. However, I am incorporating the tradition of adding a custom ornament each year. So far, I have ones for our new home, our pets and our wedding date. Next year, I’ll add one for our baby’s first Christmas.

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?