Christmas Traditions

Like many people, Christmas is one of my absolute favorite times of year! I feel so lucky every year to have the best family and friends to spend the holiday with and I wouldn’t trade our white Christmases for the world. My family has multiple Christmas traditions but my favorite tradition is that we spend Christmas every year in Jackson Hole, WY with my Mom’s whole side of the family. My mom is one of four so we have a large group with my grandpa, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We always arrive in Jackson a few days before Christmas and then really kick off the festivities on the 23rd for my sister’s birthday (she’s currently living in Vietnam so this is the first year she won’t be with us in Jackson!!). For my sister’s birthday, we usually do a family dinner with just my immediate family of five and then follow it up with drinks and games with everyone else. On Christmas Eve, we all gather at my grandpa’s house and my Mom and aunts cook something fitting for the mountains – this year it’s lamb shank. There are always drinks flowing and games being played! We all spend Christmas morning at my grandpa’s opening stockings and then presents. When we exchange gifts with the whole family, we always do a Secret Santa style exchange because there are so many of us! The whole family then heads to the mountain to ski a half day in the afternoon on Christmas… it’s an absolute blast! I always join the group that heads to a evening candlelit church service before we all cheers to the holiday and eat dinner at my grandfather’s. As the week continues, we all ski as much as possible and throw in some other activities like snowmobiling. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year! I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to their Christmas and is loving the family and friend time! P.S. did you catch me wearing my cozy plaid pjs in my pajama party post?!

Plaid Pajamas / Jewel Bracelet / Monogram Mug / Champagne Glass / Pineapple Ornament (from Anthropologie’s Ornament Collection) / Hot Chocolate / Marshmallows

Photography by Valorie Darling