What were some of your favorite Traditions with your spouse?

[KrypticKat]

One of the reasons I find this time of year hard is because the holidays are so different now. You build this routine with the person you love and suddenly it's gone and you have to find a new way. I know I'm only in my second year and I'm still finding my way and there's still a lot of anxiety with the change. So sometimes I like to think about the things we used to do. We'd run around like mad making sure we saw all our family around the holidays but Christmas morning was always ours. The two of us were very practical trying to save up money for a house and starting our family. However Christmas morning we went nuts. We'd buy fancy bubbly wine, the most expensive prosciutto we could find and other decadent breakfast foods and we'd make a gourmet breakfast that we joked that only people like the Kardashians would be able to afford. And then we'd watch DieHard, Christmas vacation and home alone in our house coats fat on fancy food. Its Christmas mornings like that that are some of my favorite memories I had with my husband.

[Euf]

What a fun post!  Thanks  KrypticKat.

 

We always stuck the dog in the back seat and took her around to see the Christmas lights. We oohed an awed and pretended she did too.

 

Happy memories.

[Mizpah]

We had a New Year's tradition of staying in and going to bed early (DH didn't drink and I always hate big drinking holidays, though I love social drinking), but we'd always wake up really early on New Year's Day, take a long walk together before most of NYC woke up, and have an early breakfast/brunch at a restaurant we both loved (he always ordered the same thing and loved it so much - he just enjoyed the *#(%# out of life in all its little details and ordinarinesses).  Many would think it's so "lame" to miss the big party holiday, but it was always so lovely and cozy, and the next morning felt like we were the only two people.  Was always such a great start to the year, together. 

[Wheelerswife]

My second husband and I only had 4 holiday seasons together.  The first we spent with friends of his late wife in California.  The middle two, we spent just the two of us at home together.  The last holidays were spent on a road trip to and from Wisconsin.  We drove on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to get to see his mother.  On New Year's Eve, we left the home of his best friends from college and drove the 15 hours back home over 2 days.  We loved road trips and we talked the entire time; much of the discussion on that trip was about his planned sabbatical the following year.  We were going to spend it in Europe.  He died unexpectedly 10 days later. 

[jeudi]

On Christmas Eve night we would turn out all of the lights in the house, sit in our dark living room holding hands on the couch and enjoy our beautiful, fully lit Christmas Tree. LH would make me guess what he gave me for Christmas, giving hints until I got it right. Then, because I already knew what I was getting he would make me open the gift right away.

 

I am remarried now. I've saved those traditions as memories...and now NH and I have made a few of our own new traditions.

 

Hors d'oeuvres and only hors d'oeuvres for Christmas dinner.

 

We bring a thermos of hot beverage and a box of Christmas cookies with us to look at the top ten Christmas light displays in our city. He drives and I navigate. There is one house where they have a llama and a miniature horse and we bring treats for them too.

 

 

 

[BrokenHeart2]

For my DH and I it was always Boxing Day.  Whether it was our turn with my 2 stepkids at Christmas they always went with their Mom to a family party.  DH and I had our day to do our thing. We would sleep in  then have a nice big breakfast.  If the lake was frozen enough we would skate on the rink he made or we would go icefishing. Then lazy day for the rest of the day.  I miss that so much.

Merry Christmas Wids!