Thursday 13: That Holiday Spirit

If you couldn't tell by the massive amounts of holiday decorations in every store, Thanksgiving--and Christmas--are almost here! To get us in the spirit of the season, we're divulging our favorite holiday traditions. Share yours in the comments!

1. Erin Nicholas: My entire family--kids, hubby, sister and her family, parents, cousins and their families, aunt and uncle, go to a local charity and fill food bags to be shipped overseas for hungry children instead of giving gifts between all of us. Then we go back to my parents' house and play cards and just enjoy time together.
2. Kate Davies: Christmas Eve smorgasbord with the extended family. Amazing protein blast meal, fun times with family!
3. Kelly Jamieson: Christmas Eve pizza (that I make).
4. Meg Benjamin: Cooking Thanksgiving dinner together, each family member doing a different dish (except for my hubs, who gets to open the wine)
5. PG Forte: Shopping for Stocking Stuffers with my daughter
6. Skylar Kade: Watching Home Alone while having a Christmas Eve picnic!
7. Sydney Somers: Although a more recent tradition, my whole family has breakfast together on Christmas morning.
8. Kinsey Holley: A big gumbo party the night before Thanksgiving at my best friend's and ALL the families at my sister-in-law's place on Thanksgiving day.
9. Meg Benjamin: My hubs and sons always play cribbage on Thanksgiving night. None of them get a chance to play at other times of the year, so it's a very big deal.
10. Erin Nicholas: There's the tradition with my husband's side of the family where the niece and nephew who are professional bartenders (*eyeroll*) come each year with a "new" recipe they've invented and we all try them, vote on the best... and then proceed (I mean like twenty five of us) to tweak them and invent new things and well, get completely drunk and stupid. Interestingly, we all become very funny and charming as we drink. Much like the Naughty Nine. :-D 
11. Kelly Jamieson: Since I make pizza on Christmas Eve and there are leftovers and Santa LOVES pizza, we leave pizza and beer for him instead of milk and cookies (and a carrot for Rudolph).
12. Juniper Bell: Since we're often in Hawaii by Christmas time, we like to take our boogie boards across the island to Hapuna Beach and celebrate island-style. 
13. Our lovely guest, author Cristal Ryder: When my boys were little I painted a wooden advent calendar named Elliott the Elf. They argued as little boys who got to put Elliott on the mantle and took turns changing the numbers. Elliott still comes out, but he rarely gets his numbers changed since the boys have their own homes now. But they look for him.

a Rafflecopter giveaway