Tuesday, December 14, 2010

All part of the experience

Not all Christmas traditions are family traditions, are they?  Of course our earliest ones are.  As children, we had no idea how much joy it brought our parents to see us excited about Christmas.  As they took around to look at lights, decorate our tree, and of course saw us open our presents, they would glow just watching us glow.

But over time, we develop more traditions, and one of my favorites is tonight.  Ever since my friend Tommy came home to Montgomery to lead YoungLife, he and his wife Andrea have hosted a Christmas party for YL leaders at their house.  He cooks very spicy and delicious chili - as I am only an hour or so from eating it, I can almost taste it now.  Grilled cheese sandwiches.  There are the usual delicious Christmas treats.  We talk, play games, and just hang out as a leadership team, and I always look forward to it.  And then, we always top off the night with our annual viewing of Christmas Vacation.

It's a classic and leaves me in stitches..  Along with Elf and It's a Wonderful Life, it is a must-see for Christmas season.  Fortunately, because of our tradition, I don't have to worry about when I'll fit it in.

So, as I head out for Tommy's house, I'll leave you with a quote from the movie:
Ellen: Clark, Audrey's frozen from the waist down. 
Clark: That's all part of the experience, honey.
Yes, it is all part of the experience.  And I love it.

1 comment:

  1. Awesome! We had a great tradition in Montgomery that we haven't really kept up here, but it was my favorite.

    Every year I would make a ton of gingerbread. Then we would invite our group of friends over and they all had to bring some sort of decorating item and we would have a gingerbread man making contest. We would sit and decorate for hours and then I would bake everyone's "creations" in the oven. At the end we all judged to see who made the best one. And then whoever could stay later would stay and watch, "Elf." That was the best.

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