Closed Cookie's Celebratory Compositions

[Fayt]

The holiday season brings many together with joy and laughter. I always spend this time happily with my girlfriend. She is the absolute best and my favorite in the world. I am so thankful and thrilled to spend Christmas with her every year since we've been dating and look forward to it every year and with her wonderful family who I see as my own. This year I helped decorate the tree in their home which was a gorgeous pink and white/silver themed and it was really fun. Christmas trees are always a big deal in their house and they always do such a great job with it. I am beyond grateful I get to take part in these experiences with them. It is also a very nice time because she has two cats that are so adorable and they always like to hide under the trees and sometimes cause mischief with the Christmas decorations. Last year one of the cats was found inside the tree climbing to become the true star. So far, every year has been an absolute gorgeous of a tree, so I really am already looking forward to what next year's tree will bring and can't wait to be with her again to decorate it. Merry Christmas. (2nd photo just a zoom of name)

 

[Mairmalade]

The holiday season brings many together with joy and laughter. I always spend this time happily with my girlfriend. She is the absolute best and my favorite in the world. I am so thankful and thrilled to spend Christmas with her every year since we've been dating and look forward to it every year and with her wonderful family who I see as my own. This year I helped decorate the tree in their home which was a gorgeous pink and white/silver themed and it was really fun. Christmas trees are always a big deal in their house and they always do such a great job with it. I am beyond grateful I get to take part in these experiences with them. It is also a very nice time because she has two cats that are so adorable and they always like to hide under the trees and sometimes cause mischief with the Christmas decorations. Last year one of the cats was found inside the tree climbing to become the true star. So far, every year has been an absolute gorgeous of a tree, so I really am already looking forward to what next year's tree will bring and can't wait to be with her again to decorate it. Merry Christmas.View attachment 419567

That's so cool that the tree theme changes each year! While this is a gorgeous photograph, If you choose to take a photograph for this event, a physical name card with your TBT username on it must be within the photo itself.

You are welcome to update your picture within your post so I may accept your entry - thank you!

 

[xSuperMario64x]

as I mentioned before I started a new tradition for myself a few days ago. up until a few years ago I would always go to my grandma's house with my immediate family for Christmas, and it was always a fun time. but years go by and things change. my mom's health has been declining over the last decade or so, making it nearly impossible to make long trips, much less a 3 hour trip to my grandma's. I also publicly came out as non-binary back in June and since my dad reacted horribly I couldn't imagine how is overly traditional mother would react. I'm sure she still loves me but I'm still afraid to go visit now, especially without my mom there to back me up.

this past Sunday I began a new holiday tradition for myself. in September I started interning with a local symphony and they held their holiday concert on December 12th. the few dayd surrounding that day I helped move decorations and ser up chairs and stands. I didn't perform in the concert or anything, I simply opened and closed the door for the conductor and guest singer. but it was such an amazing few days, I really got to know some people better and I feel closer to them now. I'm very slow to warm up to new people so this has been a great experience for me.

the concert itself was absolutely wonderful. oddly enough it was the first time I've been to their annual holiday concert. my goal is to play piano for them next year, and if I can manage to be more assertive witg my desires I'm hoping that dream will become a reality! my ultimate goal is to perform consistently with this orchestra so I'm moving in the right direction. I'm going to spend each year doing this for Christmas time, it's really such a wonderful experience. I can't wait for the next concert! ☺


I have to apologize in advance for the crudely drawn picture, I didn't take any pics at the concert apparently and I had to improvise (I'm quite proud of my angle tho)
I didn't draw a full orchestra, that's a lot of heads lol. so I just drew me bowing at the piano with some audience people. I will play at that concert someday!

Post automatically merged: Dec 15, 2021

@Mairmalade Oops I forgot my username, can I edit my post and add it in?


edit: added my username to the drawing

 

[Crash]

Spoiler: drowning in cookies

i wasn't sure if an ac screenshot also requires my username somewhere, so here's a second shot just in case to prove it's me

Spoiler: crash_rambling.jpg

my family has a couple of small "christmas traditions", all of them fairly chaotic and/or haphazard. i've started some little ones for myself over the years, like taking at least one picture of my cats under the tree (although my kitten may destroy it this year before i can even take one) and watching one christmas movie per night starting around the 15th. but one of the things i immediately think of when it comes to christmas is my mom going into Maximum Cookie Mode and baking like an absurd amount of cookies on christmas eve. she's kind of a saint and will usually give away a lot to friends and coworkers, but she tends to overdo it anyway and the kitchen becomes layered in cookies that we have to watch fervently to make sure the dogs/cats don't sneak off with one or ten. me and my brother always stay over my parents' house on christmas eve, and occasionally a few extra days if we can afford to miss work. when my little sister was young, it was especially important for us to be together because an Actual Tradition we used to have was reading her some kind of christmas-themed book before bed. these days we mostly just talk about watching a movie, argue about which movie to watch, and then inevitably stay up till 2am wrapping presents we should've wrapped three weeks ago. i'm a huge fan of halloween so people usually don't expect me to like christmas, but i actually love it and look forward to my family's holiday version of its usual chaos every year. it also gets me out of cooking dinner for at least one night, which is probably the best gift anyone could give me.

 

[oak]

Spoiler: Extra photo

Spoiler: Writing

Normally for Christmas my partner and I would go to my aunt's house for dinner, along with my mom's side of the family but since covid hit we haven't been able to all be together. Instead my partner and I have had our own smaller scale turkey dinner at home with our two rabbits and two cats for the last 2 years. There's usually a lot of left over turkey so we make turkey soup the nexy day. Every winter season we make sure to put up a real Christmas tree that our pets love to sleep under. They always mess up the tree skirt but it's worth it. My rabbit Anastasia has already chewed a hole in it but that's okay cause it adds character. Each year we bake various Christmas cookies through out the month. All of them have a handmade look rather then being pretty but at least they taste good. Chocolate dipped short seem to be our favourite to make, probably cause it's an easy recipe. Our holiday season isn't very fancy but just being together has been enough to make it special. Luckily we will be able to reunite with my whole family again this Christmas day for dinner.

 

[FlimsyAxe]

I don't celebrate on the 25th but my favourite part of the holiday season isn't christmas day itself, but the days leading up to it. I especially love planning out what kind of gifts to get best and for whom. I set a day or two to shop for presents. Going to the mall to shop is much more enjoyable for me and therapeutic in some way, but what with the pandemic and all, I had to settle with online shopping. I have an empty room in my home that gets converted into a messy "santa's workshop" where I do my gift-wrapping, letter writing, and whatnot . I can't unfortunately share an actual picture of this room since it has some identifying items, but I've recreated the scene in acnh!

Two things in this room Id like to point out: The radio - in real life this is just spotify playing christmas songs to get me in the festive mood. The random toys in a box - I admit that I am a serial gift-recycler and will often re-gift presents. I also rummage through my stuff for anything that can pass off as brand new. It's a way to save money

 

[_Donut_]

Christmas eve at our house is pretty standard with way too much food, the casual "food coma" as a result, opening presents and ending the evening with a movie. Some of my friends chose to eat out on christmas eve but I've always liked the cozy diner at home better. I don't mind spending a lot of time in the kitchen that day and serving the family, it feels part of the tradition. Speaking of family, we usually celebrate it with my parents, grandma and grandpa, and then on Christmas day we go to our aunt, uncle and nephews and nieces. For presents, I seem to always have a certain theme each year with this year's one being boardgames. I already bought a couple christmas themed boardgames to play in december and on Christmas eve but there are probably still some hidden wrapped under the tree. I also have a few switch games that I bought for myself. There is also always the usual underwear and pyjamas that parents buy. I'm really excited for this Christmas in particular because in the last couple years we haven't had any snow anymore during this time but weather charts are giving this year a little chance for it actually snowing on Christmas eve which would be so magical!

 

[Mairmalade]

@Mairmalade Oops I forgot my username, can I edit my post and add it in?

Hello - you may, thank you for checking first!

I've not gone to a concert myself but they sound like a treat.

 

[_Donut_]

Hello - you may, thank you for checking first!

I've not gone to a concert myself but they sound like a treat.

Just realised I also forgot to add my nametag in the picture, is it ok to change it now?

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Hello - you may, thank you for checking first!

I've not gone to a concert myself but they sound like a treat.

I went ahead and updated it with my username ^^

as a musician I've been to sooooo many concerts, hearing an orchestra perform live is awesome!

 

[Mairmalade]

Just realised I also forgot to add my nametag in the picture, is it ok to change it now?

Yes, you may adjust this to include your username on a physical name card within the photo itself.

Haven't had a chance to thoroughly read the latest entries yet, but look forward to doing so later this evening (EST)!

 

[Bekaa]

Christmas Soup​

My mom passed away in January 2020 after a long and difficult illness. I imagine, like last year, this holiday season will trigger pleasant memories and longing my mother. One of those memories, and something I miss, is my mother’s Christmas soup.

The holidays of my youth are of the Hallmark variety – Christmas Eve church service. Opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning, then off to Grandma’s house for more presents, a dining table full of good food and playtime with cousins. Very idyllic. Like an episode of the Waltons. (I know I’m very fortunate.)

All things much change, however, and my brother and I grew into adulthood, and had children of our own. My beloved grandparents passed on, with the aunts, uncles and cousins drifting away to set up their own lives. The silver lining is that my mother took this as an opportunity to start a new tradition, and she made it clear that it would be different. You see, my mother didn’t particularly enjoy cooking and did not like spending her holiday in the kitchen. She announced that she would continue to host a gathering for the family, but that meant soup and sandwiches. The focus, she said, would be on visiting and having fun, with board games at the center of the event. (We’re nuts about board games.)

So, from that time until near her death – a good 20 years or so - the Christmas holiday was a low-key, relaxing day for all. No hurry. No stress. Arrive when you can. Wear your sweatpants if you wish. No need to dress up. No need to cook and clean (much). There was always Holiday music trickling through the house, along with the aroma of homemade vegetable beef soup simmering on the stove. We circled the dining room table, not to eat, but for the board games. Of course we ate, too, but that was while we played.

I am grateful to my mother for many, many things, but something that stands out is her wisdom. My mother knew what was important and tended to focus her energies there. She also knew how to take care of herself. She had no desire to cook for a large group, so she simply said “no“. Also, it’s OK, even a good thing, to start new traditions. Thank you, Mom, for handing down your wisdom along with the recipe for that soup!

Spoiler: Christmas Soup

 

[SirQuack]

My holiday season, specifically Christmas more than New Years is celebrated a little differently for my family than compared to many others I presume. Since we live down south in the US, where it doesn't really snow too often, it's tough to feel the wintery and festive season as much as the northern states. That's why we always take time for ourselves to go to the beach at least once leading up to Christmas, and sometimes New Year's as well. We don't live too far away from one and the water is still warm enough to go in, but even if it isn't, we'll just hang out in the sand and do a bunch of different, fun games and activities together. The city is also a bit of a tourist attraction, so sometimes we'll go into the city and have some fun there too. By the end of our time there, we're always ready to go back and just hang out with family and friends, watch some Christmas movies together, and get in the holiday spirit. With only a week and a few days left to go, we've already started the packing for this year and look forward to another great trip to end of the year the best way we can!

 

[King koopa]

Holiday birthdays
When Christmas comes around, we usually do what most families do with Christmas, we decorate the tree and wrap and unwrap presents. But there's one thing we usually do right before Christmas, and that's celebrating my grandmother's birthday! Me and my cousins would always get her nice presents, like necklaces, and other jewelry. My grandma would also always make good gingerbread cookies, and even a gingerbread house! But of course, making that and the cookies always took about 3-4 hours, so me and my cousins would usually watch Christmas movies, like the grinch and nightmare before Christmas. Then, after the the gingerbread cookies and the gingerbread house were done, me and my oldest cousin would make a marble cake for her! Sometimes there would be a big mess on the floor after, (mostly because of 6 year old me dropping eggs on the floor by mistake or 6 year old me getting flour all over the counter) but my grandma never got mad. After the cake, we would start giving her our presents for her, and she would give us early Christmas presents. After everyone ate, we would usually play boardgames until it was time to go. We couldn't do the Christmas tradition last year, or this year, but I still wish my grandma a happy birthday and a merry Christmas!

 

[Moonlight.]

My main favorite thing about the holiday is decorating around the rooms with my mom. Almost the entire living room is decorated so I'll just share a photo of the table in the kitchen since it's a lot easier to fit into one photo lol.

A lot of the knick knacks are actually things that we've been decorating with for probably close to over a decade now (the train pieces in front especially). The gingerbread table mat in front is relatively newer and it's my personal favorite tbh, I also really love the mini-town setup, as I've always been a sucker for that sorta thing. Funny thing about the dolphin clock, it was one of my mom's favorite items she's ever owned and it wound up being accidentally broken by my niece (who was young at the time, so...understandable), thanks to ebay I was able to buy another one (which was not fun to find lol) and gifted it to her last year.

We always received Christmas cards from family every year but unfortunately as the years go by and people get older, there's less people to receive them from, made me feel more grateful for the ones we can still get. Some family traditions have also been lost to time but y'know, you can always make new ones to cherish.

In terms of a new tradition: the local animal shelter held a donation drive to help support their homeless animals and I ended up going out and buying some supplies they needed, it was heartwarming to see how many necessities they got from other community members as well. Hope to make donating there a yearly tradition for me (especially since all the cats I've adopted have been from there (one who unfortunately recently passed a few months back and was the main catalyst for me wanting to donate).

And here's the photo below of the table I mentioned

 

[AppleBitterCrumble]

Every Christmas Eve night for as long as I can remember, my family and 4 other families come together to celebrate. We normally will have dinner there, and while the adults stay upstairs and socialize, the kids will go into the basement to watch Christmas movies and play floor hockey. However this year is different. As my friends and I get older, we have different responsibilities. I wont be able to make the party this year because I am working full time. One of my best friends wont be able to make it because her brother is home for only one day over the holidays due to his work. And one of my other friends wont be able to make it because she too is working full time. Each year before we leave for the party, my family takes a selfie for my mom to upload to Facebook. Since we have to include our username, I decided to do my families "selfie" in Harvey's room since this will be our first year without a full family selfie. While it is a huge bummer that I wont be able to partake in this tradition this year, it makes me even more grateful for the time I do get with my family. With being away for college, and having to work to be able to pay off my debt, I have little time to spend with my parents and brother. However when I do see them, I make sure to make every second with them count.

 

[LoserMom]

The Christmas season is definitely my favorite time of the year! The end of November/beginning of December can get a little hectic in our house from the, what feels like millions, of boxes that stack up near our front door filled with Christmas gifts. I’m the queen of procrastinating so everything usually stays in their Amazon, FedEx, UPS, etc boxes until about a week to a week and a half before Christmas. My mom is really big on watching The Polar Express at least once during the month of December. I’m pretty sure she’s the only person in the family that likes that movie but no one wants to crush her dreams and tell her that. One of our traditions (that I hope never ends) is spending the night at my mom’s house on Christmas Eve, waking up on Christmas morning to open presents together, and then my mom’s fiancé makes eggnog pancakes for everyone. Those are *chefs kiss!* I have 3 siblings and 3 step siblings so there are a lot of us! And a few of us have our own kids so it’s definitely a packed house when we’re all together for the holidays but that makes it even more fun.

Spoiler: Picture

Here’s a small part of the mountain of boxes that are full of Christmas gifts that I’ll eventually take out and wrap

 

[Rosch]

Here's mine.

Spoiler: Composition

Christmas was never about parties or having an extravagant feast for me. I am working as a home-based graphic artist for many years, so my social circle has always been very small and limited to the communities I've joined online. But that doesn't mean it's any less fun than actual large gatherings.

Even if it's just me and my immediate family, I find happiness in buying groceries for all the ingredients we will need for our simple holiday dinner. I find excitement thinking about how they would react to the presents I've bought for them. I find satisfaction knowing that I wrapped those gifts without messing up. And I know I will find contentment in receiving even just a bag of salted-egg potato chips for Christmas, because I believe it's the thought that matters.

Aside from prepping food, I usually spend the rest of the day just watching videos on YouTube or just laughing my time away at memes. If I'm in the mood, I would draw and post holiday-themed artwork on social media to greet my online friends (and followers). Or play the day away to catch up with my ever-growing videogame backlog. I also throw in an hour of workout to burn the calories and make space for all the yummy carbs.

My Christmas doesn't really seem all that interesting since it's not that different from my usual daily routine. But knowing that I have a safe home and a loving family is enough to keep the spirit of the holidays within me.

Simple joys. Buying groceries for our Christmas dinner.

 

[sleepydreepy]

My family does pretty normal stuff for the holidays, and its not particularly interesting since we don’t live near our extended family so its usually just my parents, my sister, and me. We like to watch a lot of Christmas movies and cook Christmas Eve dinner as a family, which is not as nice as it sounds since none of us like to bake or cook. We also sometimes go to the outlet stores after Christmas to buy stuff on sale. But my favorite “tradition” dates back to Christmas 2004. That year my sister and I received our first video game console and game- the Gameboy Advance SP and Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green. Ever since then my parents have gotten us the newest Pokemon game every year, and every year my sister and I spend all day on the couch on Christmas day playing it. Its by far my favorite gift I receive and I always look forward to it. Even now, my sister and I are anxiously awaiting to play Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl this Christmas. It’s hard waiting that extra month or so to play it for the first time behind everyone else (since Pokemon games are usually released in mid November) but its totally worth it every time.

My picture below is my collection of Pokemon games minus Fire Red because I left it at my parent’s house!

 

[You got mail!]

My entry/story

It’s that time of the year again. December is here! Personally October is my favorite month but December comes very close. The general atmosphere surrounding December is unlike any other month. What I especially look forward to are the various pastries! Yule logs and other cake rolls are a must in this time especially with some hot drinks like apple cider and some others. I simply can’t imagine having them any other time. I also love digging into cookies that look like Christmas trees and presents. Goes very well with some milk after a long day. Holiday music is also another great thing and music in general feels more enhanced at this time. Gotta love Dean Martin’s let it snow. I’ve also seen houses around my neighborhood have decorations that are so festive and pretty. My favorite is this street lamp where the regular lights are replaced with green and red lights. It’s small but it’s something I look forward to each year and it’s the little things that makes my day a little more special. I also have family from other states come over and it’s nice to have them visit for a week and catch up after such a long year. It may not be first but December is awesome.

Spoiler: about to dig into some yule log