Mele Kalikimaka

When I tell people I live in Chicago, the first thing they ask is “How do you survive the winter?!” I usually laugh since I was raised in California where the winters are warmer. But despite the cold, Chicago is like no other place in the world come holiday season. The Christmas lights are strung on the streets with care, wreaths taking up entire store front windows, snowflakes falling on your nose, a crackling fireplace lighting up every restaurant and pub making the place oh so cozy, & you can smell the faint hint of warm cinnamon buns lingering in the air.

This year I’ll be traveling back home for the holidays, and I can’t help but think back on all the traditions we had growing up in my family. A few days after Thanksgiving, we’d go to a tree farm and once all us girls picked up the perfect tree, my dad would cut it down (is this still a thing?!) and pack it on top of our car. On Christmas Eve, my family attends the midnight service where we’d be reminded what Christmas is truly about. Then we’d go home and beg our parents to let us open one present each, to which they almost always obliged. When my sister, Jesika, and I were much younger, we’d wait until our parents were in bed and then go hide on the stairs to catch Santa (we would fall asleep every single time and sadly never came close to seeing him.) Christmas morning, after presents and before stockings, we’d pause so my dad could make his famous french toast (one of my fave meals of all-time.)

When I was younger, I always thought my mom was a little crazy for insisting on keeping with each tradition, but now I am so grateful she did. There’s just something about Christmas that makes you feel like a kid again, and I think our traditions have a lot to do with this.

Merry Christmas to you, and a Happy New Year!