Joy & Cheer
Holiday Gift Guide | Edition 2021
The most wonderful time of the year is upon us! Queue the holiday music, ugly sweater parties, Hallmark movies, peppermint mochas, and let us not forget–the sheer chaos. As much as we say we are going to shop early, somehow we still manage to be running around the week before trying to find that perfect gift. So, we got you covered with some of our favorite holiday gifts this season for everyone in your life from the coffee addict to the exercise guru. Our team shared some of their most memorable holiday traditions and the strangest gifts they have received to get you into the holiday spirit. Maybe, just maybe, you will find some inspiration in those as well!
What is your most memorable family tradition?
“My mom’s side of the family has some Norwegian blood running through their veins.. The week before Christmas we have a lefse making party! Everyone wears a funny apron and we all have our designated roles (dough maker, dough roller, wine pourer, wine drinker..) to ensure the annual operation runs smoothly”
“My mom’s side of the family is Italian, so every Christmas Eve we get together and make homemade pizzas - I look forward to it every year! ”
“I really liked the time that we made our Christmas tree for the year. We usually shop for decorations together and then all of my family members gathered together and decorated it. My dad came with tteokbokki (our favorite) and snacks for the day on the way home! ”
“My dad was the biggest believer in Santa Claus that I’ve ever met. Growing up, he made Xmas Eve so special and memorable. It all started with him placing a “call” to the airport to ask if there had been any sightings of Santa. Then we’d eat dinner and go out and look for sightings ourselves for Santa. This entailed him driving like crazy all over town and asking us to keep our eyes peeled in the sky for red lights to see if we could see Santa and his sleigh. He would speed up if he thought we were on to him and really get us excited. The most memorable year was when the chase for Santa ended up at our local airport, where we found sleigh tracks and found our presents scattered out on the runway.. It was so cool!!”
“In order to accommodate our huge family, we have an Early Christmas with my dad’s side of the family. Instead of traditional holiday food, we pick a new theme every year usually based on travels or memorable events and cook a meal based around that.”
“After we open presents, my kids would bundle up and we would all go outside to shovel and create an ice rink on the lake (thus the need for an electric pump!). We would skate all day. Some years it would snow like we were in a snowglobe! It was Amazing!”
What is the strangest gift you’ve received?
“Giraffe suit from my sister”
“A ream of printer paper”
“An electric pump to manually zamboni our ice rink on the lake”
