Traditions Old and New

Why is it raining outside? It's December. It's a week and a half until Christmas. Isn't it supposed to be snowing?

Our tree is trimmed. Most gifts are purchased. Christmas cards need to be addressed and sent. I listen to Christmas music nearly everyday. If the weather won't cooperate, at least I'll create the atmosphere inside.

I love Christmas. So many happy childhood memories revolve around the holidays. I imagine some of that is because my parents were amazing at building fun traditions. Like our tree trimming party, a new ornament every year, lots of Christmas baking and sharing of those goodies, Dad's highly anticipated stockings.

Sometimes I miss it. Somehow Christmas, while still wonderful, is a little bit different when it's just you and another person. Jeremy likes Christmas, just not the way I do. (I hypothesize that this is because he spent some Christmases on his own and therefore fell away from participating in a lot of traditions.) I'm trying to instill in him my love of the season. The vote's still out as to whether or not that's working. :)

As for my own Christmas baking, I've felt quite at a loss this year. With Jeremy's Celiac disease diagnosis back in the summer, it's left me without much in the way of recipes I can make. It's a bit sad to let go of childhood favorites. I still eat them when family makes them, but I think I'm going to have to find new recipes to build my own Christmas baking traditions. For our tree trimming evening, I baked up a mix of gluten-free brownies and made some impromptu chocolates by dipping chopped almonds and dried cherries in chocolate. And a few with rice Chex and craisins in the chocolate. They were surprisingly tasty. But that's all I've tried my hand at. Maybe someday I'll have more inspiration in this new realm of baking. For now, I guess I'll take what I've got.

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?