Establishing new holiday traditions

[kermit116]

I'm starting this thread in hopes of hearing some ideas and stories (that will hopefully spark some ideas for me!) about setting new holiday traditions. I've heard Kevin and John on the podcast talk about establishing new holiday traditions after the loss of close friends and family, such as traveling for the holidays. I've also enjoyed hearing Kathy talk about establishing the tradition of coming to WDW for Christmas with her children after the loss of her husband. I think these stories are both heartfelt and inspiring, especially for those facing the challenge of establishing different traditions after family changes or losses.

So, I'm curious what others on the board have done to change things up and establish new, happy memories our the holiday season. We are still working on setting our new holiday traditions in my family, and are considering traveling next Christmas to make the holiday a true vacation and time to get away from everything. But, it also feels like it might be hard to leave some of those old traditions behind by taking a whole new path and traveling for Christmas.

Just wondering what others have done and would suggest for new traditions, even little ideas like making cookies on Christmas Eve, or big things like traveling to a new place each Christmas to have a totally new experience.

 

[limace]

We started doing fondue on Christmas eve a few years back and love it-it's simple but feels festive and gets everyone laughing and interacting.

We spent Christmas in Hawaii a couple years ago-loved it, but I missed having a real tree. We kept a lot of our traditions, like opening presents one at a time, youngest to oldest-but were able to barbecue ribs and swim on Christmas day.