🐟 Seven Fishes, One Night
Our Christmas Eve tradition was an Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes, served promptly at 6 p.m. The meal included crab-stuffed calamari over linguine, shrimp, baccalà (cod), flounder, clams, and even eel.
Later, we attended Midnight Mass, and afterward, presents were opened. These remain joyful memories—ones I recall every year as I still display the nativity set from my childhood.
Michele T., New Jersey
🕯️ A Candle for Christmas Eve
Every Christmas Eve, our family gathered around a candle that was lit only on that night. While it burned, we took turns reading The Christmas Story from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
When we lived in Colorado, my dad, my brother, and I would head into the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree and bring it home for the season. Our church also held a children’s program where the little ones dressed in costume to retell the Christmas story.
Name and town withheld
🧦 Stocking Shopping Night
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is stocking shopping. On Christmas Eve, we all go to the same store—but split up. I shop for my husband, he shops for me, and the kids shop for each other.
We wander the aisles picking out what we think our person would love while trying to avoid running into one another. It’s so much fun. We’ve done Walmart in the past, but this year we’re heading to Buc-ee’s.
Caroline, Temple, Texas
☕ Wait at the Top of the Stairs
My parents made us wait at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning. We thought they were gathering last-minute gifts.
Years later, we learned the truth: they needed time to wake up, make coffee, and brace themselves for the chaos. I still make my kids do it when they’re home—and they’re in their 20s.
Jim W., Olathe, Kansas
🍪 The Gingerbread Heist
One of my favorite childhood memories is my mom baking gingerbread boys and girls after the tree went up. Before baking, she poked a hole in the top of each head so she could string them up and hang them all over the tree.
By Christmas morning, only the heads were left. My sister and I had carefully eaten the bodies, nibbling our way up—without Mom ever noticing.
Jami, Freeland, Michigan
🎄 Lights Through the Years
My favorite Christmas tradition has always been driving around town to see the lights. When I was little, my parents filled a thermos with hot chocolate, bundled us into the car, and drove us around to admire the best displays.
I continued the tradition with my own kids, and now they do it with theirs. Every year, those lights bring back the most wonderful memories.
Mickey Lovejoy, Marana, Arizona
🚪 Santa Rang the Bell
One Christmas Eve, my brother and I were watching TV while my mom cooked in the kitchen and my dad chatted with her. We heard a faint bell and assumed it was part of the show.
A few minutes later, my dad asked why we hadn’t answered the door. When we opened it, there was a pile of presents on the porch—with a Chatty Cathy doll on top. Turns out my dad had crawled out a front window, arranged the gifts, crawled back in, and rang the doorbell with a spoon. Not an easy feat for a 6-foot-1, 240-pound man.
Name and town withheld
🚂 A Scar from Christmas Morning
When I was about five or six in the mid-1950s, my parents gave me a wind-up train set for Christmas. While playing with it, I became fascinated by the small chrome ring around the smokestack.
I stuck my finger inside to investigate. When I pulled it out, the ring came with it—and no amount of twisting could remove it. My parents had to take me to the doctor to have it cut off. I still have a scar around my index finger.
Dean Brickey, Coquille, Oregon
🐖 Snowed In with Strangers
During Christmastime in 2021, a winter storm swept through central Texas. On my way to work, my car slid off the road and got stuck.
Wearing only shorts and a hoodie, I started walking home when a truck stopped. Two men asked if the car was mine and offered me a ride—after first stopping to feed their hogs. I helped them at the pig barn, then they slid me home through the snow.
We spent the week snowed in, celebrating with whatever we had. That story still comes up at every family gathering.
Bryce, Austin, Texas
👼 The Tree-Top Angel
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is having the youngest member of the family place the tree topper on the tree. We started this in 1987, when our youngest son was three and we were stationed in Germany.
For 38 years, through eight grandchildren, we’ve repeated the tradition—lifting little ones overhead or setting them on our shoulders. This year, our youngest grandson, Caius, will do the honors.
Greg & Sharon Corbett, North Pole, Alaska
🎖️ Santa in Baghdad
On Christmas Eve 2004, I was stationed at Balad Air Base in central Iraq. I helped organize a large Christmas party for troops, complete with gifts sent from around the world.
We staged a surprise arrival: a paratrooper rappelled from a helicopter, disappeared into an ambulance, and emerged moments later as Santa Claus with a bag of presents. Many troops were moved to tears. It gave us a brief moment of joy amid the chaos.
Dr. Quentin D. Collins, US Army Colonel (Ret.), Ph.D.
🎄 Ornaments of a Life Together
Each year, my wife and I buy a Christmas ornament that represents a special trip or memory from that year.
While trimming the tree—usually with eggnog and a caramel pecan roll—we reminisce as we hang each ornament. It’s our favorite tradition.
Ken, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
🔥 The Advent Wreath Incident
For years, our family used a real Advent wreath with real candles. One Christmas morning in Florida, the candles had burned low and accidentally set the greenery on fire.
We put it out quickly and had a good laugh. The next year, I bought a metal wreath with battery-operated candles—and we’ve used it ever since.
Cindy H., Sanford, Florida
