My perfect Christmas season starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It’s the perfect time to cut down the perfect Christmas Tree. My family and I like to pick different tree farms we go to each year. Our favorite is Deals Orchard in Jefferson. There we go out, cut down the best-looking tree and bring it home.

Usually, we have to let the tree sit and settle for a full day before decorating. While waiting for the tree to settle, it is the perfect time to pick out a theme for the tree. We usually pick from three themes: firefighter, homemade ornaments, and a white and red Christmas tree. My personal favorite is the firefighter theme because of the meaning behind it.

We started collecting firefighter décor ever since my father started volunteering at our local fire department. Now, he is the chief firefighter, so it is a way to give back to him and celebrate his accomplishments.

The following tradition starts on Christmas Eve. This is a chaotic day in our household, baking cookies, spending time with family, church and Christmas lights.

Starting the morning with rolling out cookie dough and cutting out Christmas cookies. My sisters’ and I’s favorite part of rolling out the cookie dough is sneaking a few bites before my mom notices. Once they are cooled, we spend all afternoon making sure the cookies are perfectly decorated for everyone to eat.

The next step in the day is to go to my grandmother’s house for a family dinner. We get there pretty early to start making the meal. During this time, we play card games, socialize, watch movies and eat plenty of food. My favorite food during this time is ham and rolls.

Once dinner is finished and cleaned up, we all get bundled up to attend our local church’s annual Christmas program. Since my sister and I are too old to perform, we go back every year to watch the program.

After church, we see the Christmas lights that fill the whole park. We fill up our cars and experience the lights as a whole family.

Our night does not stop there. We then go back to my grandmother’s house, spend time with each other for a few more hours, and go home late on Christmas Eve.

Next is Christmas morning!  

Christmas morning, my little sister never lets us down by waking us up at the crack of dawn. We had to make a rule that we are not allowed to wake the parents up until at least 6:30, and even then, they do not get up until 7 at the earliest.

Once everyone is up, it is time to look in our stockings and the presents. My favorite part of this morning is watching my dogs get the toys out of their stockings. They get more excited than we do!

The rest of the day is spent with the family talking and spending time with each other. We typically go sledding or do some activity outside if it is snowing. If there is no snow, we will all bundle up and take the dogs for a walk.