Winter

THERE’S SOMETHING MAGICAL ABOUT THAT FIRST FROST OF WINTER.

When those first snow flurries fall, with them come enchanting feelings of childhood memories. ’Tis the season of ritual, as we look to re-create those emotions of holidays past.

Some of my favorite holiday memories center around my grandmother’s dining room table. For Christmas Eve dinner, she would adorn her formal table with figurines of carolers, china embellished with Christmas trees, and red-stemmed water glasses. When I was little, she let me craft place cards with each family member’s name, and occasionally she’d spring a game on us during dinner—asking us to say something we were thankful for or something we loved about the person next to us. Then we would move into the den, where my grandmother would linger in the doorway in her poinsettia apron while my grandfather read the Christmas story of baby Jesus and the youngest grandchild set up the nativity.

Now, as an adult with my own growing family, I cherish the customs and celebrations of my childhood but am intentional about creating new traditions of our own that will foster lasting memories for my children.