Closed Cookie's Celebratory Compositions

[Cheery Delight]

My rather small family would always start by putting up the family tree, we have one box of decorations that is dedicated to homemade baubles that we all have made over the years, which we put on the tree last to give it that finishing touch.

After the tree is up and decorated, our father would be the one to put the big star at the very top since he was the tallest and could reach the top of the tree without a stepladder this became our little tradition, then we would all stand back to admire our collaborated handywork, lol.

The one thing I always loved about this time of year is we would always wait until after the tree was up for that perfect day, when we would brew up some steaming hot cocoa, grab a bag of marshmallows, dust off our toboggans, and head out to the longest hill we were lucky enough to have within walking distance to our home, we would spend the whole afternoon on that hill, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and of course tobogganing, and when we were finished my cheeks would hurt so much from the fun I would have spending the day laughing out loud with my family.

On Christmas Eve we are always each given one gift to open as we sit and either watch or listen to a selection of old Christmas favorites while melting marshmallows in a cup of piping hot chocolate, wondering while I sipped if I had been good enough to make it onto Santa's good list, or if I had been put on his naughty list for the prank I pulled on Auntie Jean back in August, but as always my worry was for nothing, as we always woke to the fresh smell of pies in the oven, followed by the smell of turkey for the rest of the day, and Santa's gifts were always under the tree for us to open, though there weren't alot of gifts we always somehow received at least one of the things we had been wishing for.
I often wondered though if I was indeed being punished after opening the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa which would always seem to have a homemade festive sweater inside that I would stuff to the back of my closet after the events with the rest of them, only allowing them to make their appearance once again between the time the tree had gone up till after the festivities were over every year to make my grandparents happy and smile while they were visiting our home over Christmas.

The rest of Christmas day after the gifts were opened would be spent together as a family waiting for the turkey to finish so we could all sit down to eat together, stuffing our bellies so full that we could hardly move when we were finished.

This is how our little family has always celebrated the Christmas holidays here in Canada.

 

[```]

The holiday of Christmas is my favorite day of the year, for the joyous memories that my family and I make when we spend Christmas time all together. Festive activities and joyful moments are the first things that come to mind when we celebrate Christmas. For us, the two most cherished joys of the holiday season is setting up the Christmas tree to decorate it with ornaments and candy canes and spending time together watching Christmas movies throughout the rest of the day. We also enjoy listening to Christmas music while engaging in the festive spirit.

During Christmas time, we open up our presents next to the Christmas tree. We take photos and watch each other's reactions as each of us joyfully unwraps our gifts. It's a very big moment and a good way of experiencing the joy that Christmas brings to us all. Our family enjoys the rest of the day by spending time with each other and just having a memorable day with love and laughter all together. We take advantage of Christmas as a way to spend memorable times with each other as well as celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas will always be a special time for us to make cherished memories and moments.

 

[Miss Misty]

For as long as I've been alive, Christmas Day was celebrated at my Grandmother and Grandfather's house. I chose to recreate the living room in their old house for my photo even though they've since downsized to a nice cottage. The living room was small and cozy with me, my two grandparents, mother, brother, uncles, aunt, and three cousins piled in. Especially when you consider that the tree and all the presents beneath it took up half the floor space! But we made it work.

My grandmother would make a nice dinner and the adults would torture us kids by making us wait to open presents until everyone was done eating. The dining room table wasn't big enough for everyone to sit at, even with my uncles sitting in the living room to watch sports, so some of us kids would have to sit in the living room as well and just stare at the presents until it was time to open them. My uncles always made a show out of going back for seconds and thirds.

It used to be a tradition for my aunt, cousin, grandfather, and I to bust out a board game to play together while dinner was cooking. We got yelled at for it once when a game of Monopoly lasted long enough that Grandma started wanting to put food on the table and none of us could agree to trust the others to put the board and our money in another room. The argument that followed put the kibosh on playing anything more complicated than cards in the future. But it was fun while it lasted.

It's never been the flashiest Christmas celebration ever, but we've always had fun with it.

Spoiler: Username

(shoutout to joycon drift the very second I took my finger off the left joystick to go push the screenshot button by the way. hoping that of all the gifts I asked for, I get new joycons)

 

[Sharksheep]

A holiday tradition I have is the holiday party with my friends. We would have a small party a week or two before Christmas and everyone brings a dish or a drink to share. We started this tradition in college to celebrate the end of semester and finishing our finals. After eating a ton of food we would go to the basement to play Super Smash Brothers or board games. We would start by playing Smash but eventually everyone would split up to play board games or table tennis. Most of the people who continue to play Smash are the ones that play it competitively but by the end of the night we would play some kind of board games. Every year someone would bring Catan or Betrayal at the House on the Hill and Cards Against Humanity or Codenames. Codenames is a good ice breaker because we get to know where people interests lies and how much pop culture knowledge they have. Catan and Betrayal are both fun but because we play it every year that it can get a little stale. So someone would try to bring in a new game that not a lot of people haven't played before. This year the new game was 7 Wonders and it was a lot fun.

 

[IonicKarma]

For the Holidays, my family usually travels somewhere on vacation because usually apart from summer, this is the only large break from both school and work. Nearly every year as a result, we usually ended spending Christmas Eve and Day on vacation, usually at Disney World but occasionally other places as well.

Disney World is usually our favorite place to go because there's usually something for all ages there. The younger people love all the rides and attractions, especially at Magic Kingdom, the park geared more towards younger Disney Fans. In contrast, another park within Disney World called Epcot offered authentic food and stores from countries around the world. It was always great being able to taste another cuisine from another part of the world every single day!

The other vacation destinations we've done for winter break have been Japan and Hawaii, both of which were very unique experiences. Hawaii in particular is such a different climate for this time of the year, feeling like summer no matter the season. It allows us to escape the cold and go Hiking and also enjoy the amazing food of the Hawaii Islands!

Japan in contrast is definitely very cold this time of the year, but it also means that we actually get to see snow occasionally, which almost never happens where I live. We usually hang around Tokyo for days before taking a train to a more remote part of Japan to enjoy the local scenery.

Unfortunately for the past two years, including this year, we have not been able to go on vacations because of the pandemic. As such, I am taking a picture of some of the items we gathered in our winter vacations instead. Hopefully, next year we will be able to resume our tradition again!

 

[cocoacat]

As an American living in Argentina, normally I travel to Florida with my husband and son to visit my parents every Christmas and share traditional American festivities and meals. But due to Covid and having unapproved vaccines, we were not able to make it again this year. So we'll be spending it here, with my husband's Argentine family.

Christmas here is a bit different because it's during summer vacation. Kids have just ended their school year and people are preparing to head to the beaches. It's hot, so no real heavy meals. We put our Christmas tree up December 8th, which is the designated traditional day to put the tree up. It gets taken down on the 6th of January or after (the last day of Christmas and Three Kings Day.) The typical dishes we have are pionono (which is a roll made with sweet pastry-like bread, ham, and hardboiled eggs) and the other very typical dish is vitel toné (cold veil with a cream sauce.) We usually have small sandwiches as well or mini pizzas, and this year my husband will be cooking some pork chops, too.

As is typical here, we celebrate on the night of the 24th. We have a very late meal while listening to a Christmas special on the tv and the kids stay up until midnight to open their presents from Papa Noel/Santa which magically appear under the Christmas tree in another room. At the strike of midnight, people start to set off fireworks. It gets super loud in our neighborhood. Pretty much like New Year's or the 4th of July. We usually go outside in the yard or watch them from our balcony.

It's not as typical anymore, but on January 6th it's Three Kings Day, which traditionally was when kids would get their presents from the Three Wise Men. Kids leave water and food (like grass or hay) out for the camels they ride on, and leave their shoes on the balcony or window sill to get them filled with presents (similar to stockings.) I used to do this as a child when I'd visit my aunt in Spain, but nowadays it's mostly all about Santa/Papa Noel. I think I'll try to keep the tradition alive with my son this year.

 

[pipty]

We don't really celebrate Christmas here and the weather isn't the nicest but we do still hold year end traditions during the holidays. It's usually super humid and rainy where I'm at so my family is usually holed up at home (we also dislike jostling with others for last minute Christmas present buying rush).

A week before Christmas, we'll turn on our Christmas Decoration (just one, in the photo) - and the same one every year. It's this lamp that plays really LOUD christmas music. But at least it's festive enough.

On Christmas day itself, we will also always dress our dog up and she'll go around begging for food in her doggy Santa outfit. I guess the main highlight is the Christmas dinner that we hold every year. It's not a very traditional Christmas feast - we will have steamboat or hotpot and everyone will gather around the dining area drinking and eating. Usually it rains and the steamboat feast is.. Comfortable. Even though the meal is usually simple and not crazy extravagant, it's very cosy and nice. I think it's the atmosphere that makes it really feels like the holidays are here. The TV is on and loud, the Christmas lamp is loud, everyone is talking and everyone is happy. Afterward the kids will get to open up their presents.

Recent years we're not able to invite our relatives over like we used to however the cosy feeling within our small family unit is still there.
Happy holidays!

Spoiler

 

[chawwee]

Well, my family starts Christmas off the same way each year: by putting up the tree. This has to go up NO EARLIER and NO LATER than the closest weekend to the 12th of December as decreed by my Grandma eons ago, so safe to say its always a bit of a palaver to find the best tree in a one-day timeframe. It’s the tradition I enjoy the most though – back when I was a kid, it was the task of my Grandad and I to find The Tree. We would hunt through rows and rows of spruce at the garden center, pointing and laughing at the little three-footers that came pre-potted. We needed something bigger, something grander, befitting the privilege of the spot in front of the window. So we would continue the hunt, and once we got to that 6ft and over pile, it was OVER. My grandad was a big guy, so he would go wading through the ocean of needles to try and pick out an appropriately girthy tree – thick at the bottom, but sparser as it gets to the top – rather than let little 6 year old me try to haul a tree double my size. We would always be complimented by the family when we got home on what a wonderful tree it was, how thick with branches, how vibrant the needles – even if it had a massive bald patch on the back that (hopefully) no one could see.

Since my grandad passed, I have the privilege of being the sole Tree Selector. I’m a lot older now, and most importantly grown, so there’s no worry of me being crushed by a tree now as there was when I was 6. I still slink through the rows of trees, looking at the little 3ft devils thinking “they would look nice planted in the back garden”. Now it’s me who gets to wade through the waves of spruce, and I alone select the one worthy tree from the masses.

When I get home it’s business as usual – haul the tree off of the car, shouts of “mind the walls! The walls!” as it is unceremoniously dragged through the front door, the struggle to get it in the tree stand that seems older than time itself, but when the webbing is off – when it is truly and properly displayed in its full glory – its such a wonderful moment. We decorate it as best we can, adorning it with baubles and tinsels and those little garland strings that never seem to untangle themselves. And every year, we top it with the most important decoration of all - a star of my Grandad. It’s not a flashy Christmas, or even a particularly expensive one, but it’s ours – and in the end, when we’re all sat around laughing and being together on Christmas Day, that’s all that matters.

 

[Rio_]

I'm so terrible at writing agghhh I hope this counts!

On Christmas Eve, my mom and I visit my dad and his family to celebrate. We all sit down to enjoy the dinner my grandmother has worked so hard to prepare, except ungrateful me, who is an extremely picky eater, and just sits there and watches everyone else eat. Maybe I'll eat some bread and potatoes if there is some that year. Instead, I end up filling up by snacking on the dessert tray throughout the night (the Nanaimo bars are my favourite). After diner, we all hangout and talk for hours, and in non-pandemic times, many family friends will stop by. When midnight finally strikes, we'll move to the downstairs living room. There we enjoy the sights of the beautifully decorated Christmas tree and the warmth of the blazing fireplace. Presents are handed out, we all thank each other, and give many hugs. After a couple hours, we finally head to bed and my mom and I head home in the morning.

On Christmas morning, my mom and I open the presents under our own tree, then in the evening (in non pandemic times) go have Christmas dinner with my maternal family (where I also rudely abstain from most food in favor of snacks). At night, I lie in bed and sulk about how fast Christmas has come and gone.

Spoiler: Recreation of our midnight present opening

 

[Venn]

Every year for the holidays, I like to bake something to share with the family. Last year, it became more of an official tradition with the loss of my grandmother. Looking for something to bake, I remembered her cookies and how they were my favorite things growing up. I remembered my mother held onto her recipe and I asked for it. When I was baking it, I was so excited to have it again. When I brought to my family, everyone smiled as we remembered my grandmother and that was when I decided that I would be making them every year to continue remember her for the holidays.

This year, I decided to bake cookies for both of my grandmother. I found another recipe in my mother’s book and I wanted to make those as well. They came out delicious and tasted like cookies I had many many years ago. My father was happy and he just it tasted liked he remembered. As Christmas plans changed literally overnight due to the pandemic, I only made one of the cookies. The other cookies has been pushed for a date in the new year as some family members recover and feel better. I’ll wait, but I’m sure those cookies will be good as well.

 

[HollySeeker]

My Christmas is usually low-key. On Christmas eve, I go out and get the food shopping very early at 5am so that I can avoid the crowds. Then I spend the rest of the day just chilling, and finally getting time to watch films - Mostly Christmas films! I have just finished watching Abominable! Why am I crying??? I'm amazed at myself, as I haven't fallen asleep from a VERY early start today.

Christmas Day is also usually fairly low-key, and I make the dinner and eat at home with my mum. I sometimes visit my nan and Dad, and hoping I'll be able to see them this year. If I don't see them on Christmas Day, then I will go to my Nan's house on Boxing Day, when other members of my family will visit. I've already been Santa and given presents to my friend, so it's definitely time to chill in front of the TV.

Here is a replication of me sitting in front of the TV on Christmas Eve!

 

[mogyay]

i have a small family and a pretty "standard" christmas, even though we don't have any outlandish traditions it's just the small moments that make me happy! since growing older i don't see everyone day to day so it's quality time i get to spend with my brother and sister and their partners. christmas is that one day for me where i can just forget work, forget about any diet i've convinced myself i'm supposed to be on, forget about all the stresses in my life and just have fun with people i love. this is the first christmas without my gran, i'll miss her tremendously this year but it's a good time to reflect on all the happy moments i've had with her. celebrating without people can feel lonely and there's a feeling that nothing will ever be quite the same. but christmas is about making new traditions and meeting new people and making new memories.

my favourite time is the quiet before the madness, i like to get up early and make myself a coffee or a hot chocolate and enjoy just a moment to myself by the fire (which is lit once a year on christmas which makes me very very happy) in some ways i like the build up to christmas and the festive feeling, more than the actual day so it's nice to just take that time to just truly appreciate everything in that moment!

here's me enjoying the fire ☺

 

[deana]

Growing up my family really had a Christmas routine, each year would go about the same way. My sister would wake up at a ridiculously early time often 4am or 5am in the morning (although I often question if she really slept at all). Before anyone else was awake she would go through her Christmas stocking and mine, swapping out anything from my stocking that she wanted for herself. When she could no longer wait for anyone else to get up she would wake up myself and my parents, maybe around 7am or 8am. At this time my mom would put on some Christmas music and we would gather around the tree to start our day. We always went through the Christmas stockings first, at which point in time my parents would realize my sister swapped all our stuff around (though this did not stop her from continuing to do the same every year). Afterwards we would move on to the "big presents" which was usually my favourite part. Once everything was all opened, my mom would usually make us a Christmas brunch while my dad was in charge of setting up all our new toys for us.
Our larger Christmas celebration with extended family would always take place on Boxing Day instead. Nobody in my family ever goes shopping on Boxing Day anyway but we would all (usually) have the day off. This day was always my favourite day because I loved to get to visit my family who we usually only see a couple of times a year. We would alternate who hosted this gathering, sometimes we would be at my grandmas house, sometimes my aunts house, and sometimes our house. Throughout the day family members would all slowly arrive. Everyone would be in and out of the kitchen most of the time, all doing their little part to contribute to our meal. Then we would have a big dinner and exchange a few more gifts afterwards.

Image: I've recreated our Christmas scene in Animal Crossing. The part of my mischievous sister played by Flo, my mom played by Tipper, and dad played by Peewee. Mom jams out to her Christmas tunes and dad laughs at the fact that our gifts have been swapped around by my sister yet again.

 

[duckykate]

ever since we were 12 years old, my best friend and i have made it a tradition to make gingerbread houses together every year. we just got finished making them for this year and it was a ton of fun. her whole family joins in with us, and it really makes me feel like im part of her family too. theyre danish so they have a lot of weird traditions like hiding a plastic baby in a bowl of rice pudding LOL. im writing so much about them because my family is boring asf and has no cool traditions or fun things we do around the holidays. ive been trying recently to force everyone to partake in some fun holiday activities so that we can have cool holiday traditions to do with our kids and stuff in the future. one thing we like to do is watch 2 of our favorite movies on christmas eve, home alone and rudolph the red nose reindeer. my mom and little sister and i also make pigs in a blanket together on the night of the 24th (its like a sausage wrapped in flaky pastry dough). we also get to open one gift on christmas eve night. and then of course, the next morning we all open gifts in our pjs.

 

[lana.]

I have never really liked Christmas or this time of year enough to do anything super special, but I do attend a party on Christmas Eve. During this year and pre-covid my friend has hosted a Christmas party with a secret santa event, gingerbread house contest, etc. This year I got my secret santa a few gifts that I’m not really sure she will like, but we were dumb and forgot to make a list of ideas we would like or a purchase limit… since we are having this party the day I write this I am still not quite sure how that will go for me. Hopefully it goes well! We always do teams for the gingerbread house and my friend and I always do a remarkably awful job every year, maybe this will be our year to do well. We will also watch some movies and do some baking. Overall, it has been a really fun addition to the holidays, but on Christmas day I normally just relax and read a book by the heater fire. I give gifts to a friend or two and my siblings on Christmas if I see them, but normally i’ll just read a book and sit with my cats by the tree.

Image:

me resting by the fire

 

[Coach]

My family has quite a lot of traditions, but I wanted to focus on just one for this event - our stockings! Every year when we were younger my sister and I would argue over who got which stocking - between one of Santa and one of a Snowman. The Snowman, of course, was the star of the show each year but that's getting away from the tradition aspect.

Our stockings would get filled on Christmas Eve and then we would go to bed as normal. But when we woke up from excitement in the early hours of Christmas morning, instead of sneaking down to open presents we already had something ready for us to open and tide us over! Whoever woke up first that year, me or my sister would wake the other one up and we would excitedly open each present in our stocking. Normally we had a few of the same staples like chocolate coins, and when we got the same thing but in different colours / flavours we would compare what we got and sometimes swap them before we went back to bed. Now, we obviously don't get woken in the morning by our excitement but it's a tradition we continue. Even if we aren't at our parents that year we have our stocking waiting for us!

Attached is a photo of my stocking - and I got first dibs this year!

Spoiler: Stocking photo!

 

[Pintuition]

When I was a little girl it wasn’t really Christmas until I arrived at my grandma’s house on Christmas Eve. We’d go every year to visit family and gather in their living room beside the tree and their big bay window. We’d laugh and be merry and enjoy the season with one another before sharing a potluck meal.

I spent most of my time peering at everyone through the little Christmas house my grandmother stitched when I was born. She used to stock it with candies and I’d spend most of the evening trying to get the roof off to get what was inside. I was obsessed with that little house, I’d look forward to seeing it every year. It was in the background of every photo of opening gifts, behind every smile, and our faithful Christmas companion.

As I got older my enthusiasm for the tiny stitched gingerbread house waned. I still loved it of course, but I had become blind to it over the years, taking the love in its stitches for granted. It still peeked at us from behind new candy dishes, still beckoned to be opened to capture the candies inside, but faded to the background in time nonetheless.

In recent years my family rediscovered my little Christmas house high on a shelf in my grandparents’ basement. I hadn’t realized it had been years since I’d seen it. It didn’t seem right to leave it behind when they passed. So it came home with me. Every year I put it in a place of honor in my living room. When I put it out and recall all of the good times I had at Christmas as a child and remember my wonderful grandparents. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without it!

(Here is the ACNH recreation of their living room as I remember it!)​

 

[river]

Christmas with my extended family has always been a bit weird for me. There's so many people, so many old grudges and a bit of meanness going around each time. The kind of polite bitterness only privileged people get to have. And they really thought we didn't notice that as kids...

Even trading gifts was awkward because growing up we always had less money than them and always struggled with getting something nice (read: expensive) for everybody. It was also hard to reminisce and enjoy being together because it felt like no one knew me or cared about knowing me... Except for, maybe, my Aunt Cecille.

This one memory I have of her is probably my most treasured Christmas memory, and it's how I've been remembering her by since she passed away earlier this year. She was probably the one person in those parties who really knew what Christmas is supposed to be about.

I must've been 18 or 19 at the time, I know this because I was far too old to be getting dolls at that point, so when Aunt Cecille came to me with a little Hello Kitty doll on her hand I didn't know what to say, I just smiled.

Then she said in her sweet, caring voice: "I saw this and thought it was so pretty, it reminded me of you."

I'm honestly only realizing now how much those words meant to me. That someone from my family thought of me someday, looking through stuff at a store or a mall or a street somewhere. That you could cross someone's mind like that, and that they would think of you with love and kindness.

I realize now too that that is probably the moment I developed my own taste for gift giving, which is something I love to do now, more than anything. I guess that, since then, putting in the effort and care into picking out gifts for the people you love, even if they're simple or a little odd, has become my favorite Christmas tradition.

I love this gesture of letting someone know that when they're not around you still think about them, and giving them something to keep and remember you by as well, just as I remember my Aunt Cecille every time I look at the Hello Kitty doll sitting on my shelf.

​

Happy holidays everybody!

Edit: added my username to the picture, hope you can read that okay!

 

[Ryumia]

Celebrating the holidays for me has been more of the quiet and tranquil side in recent years. This is my preferred way to spend the holidays since I don't really like socializing with my family due to my awkwardness. I usually don't last that long when it comes family celebrations or social events. My limit is like thirty minutes to an hour and anything more is just too overwhelming for me.

Anyways... How I start off my holiday is dependent on what I feel like doing in that moment. One time I would watch one of my favorite Christmas movies and that is called Jingle All The Way. Sometimes it might be a different Christmas movie if I don't feel like watching Jingle All The Way and would rather watch something else. Another time I would go on YouTube to see if any YouTubers that I subscribed to had uploaded some festive content on their YouTube channel. I may not have a set holiday routine; however, I can always count on spending some time playing Fire Emblem Heroes. They always got some nice Christmas and New Year's units every year. It always nice to be able to get the these units. That's especially true for units that I have a high preference for.

I may not spend time with family during the holidays due to my disdain of family celebrations, but I do my best to give them holiday gifts whenever I got the time to do so. Those presents are placed under my Christmas Tree until I got the time to deliver the presents to them.

Spoiler: My Image Entry for the Cookie's Celebratory Compositions

 

[rubyy]

my christmas’ are super interesting to bc of having both chinese n british culture as my mom’s side is chinese but my stepdad’s side is white british :3 esp since my fav part about xmas is 100% the food!! we have loads of variety of food every year from traditional british turkey xmas dinner with crackers n roast potatos!!, to chinese style duck as our main and hot pot on the table (it’s so much fun to watch the food cook in front of you!!)

for me, christmas is busy for the 3 days of christmas eve, christmas and boxing day, it’s a yearly rotation! christmas eve we celebrate with my dad’s family a little further away from home near the beach and its sm fun with loads of extended family gathering. christmas day is with my mom’s side which is the side i’m closest to so it feels the most at home and boxing day i’m usually with my boyfriend’s family the entire day as i’m also super close to them!!

although this xmas eve, my dad’s family had covid so we unfortunately wasn’t able to see them this year, so i spent my xmas eve working (aaa) and then when i got home, me and my boyfriend spent a good 3 hours wrapping presents (we get competitive on wrapping to see who can wrap the neatest etc..) and spending the evening relaxing snd getting excited about santa to my little sister who’s 7 ;3
she actually made my dad get us matching stockings the other days with our names on!!

also side note!! i heard there’s no “boxing day” in america / it isn’t recognised as a holiday?;o i have a lot of long distance american friends and everytime I mention boxing day they have noooo idea what i’m taking about??>_< ooo plus boxing day sales are also something to enjoy <33

happy holidays everyone <3

here’s a picture of the stockings she got for us ;o