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First off, there are no “woods” in my neck of the woods. I live in SoCal. We have palm trees, citrus trees, and sand. Which can make our holidays different than in other parts of the country. Believe it or not, it can get chilly here (into the 40s and sometimes 30s on winter nights!), but it’s never chilly on Christmas. We still exchange sweaters and slippers and warm robes and flannel nightgowns, but it’s a just a given that on the 25th we’ll have a lovely warm spell and it will be in the 70s at the beach. Perfect for riding the new bike or skateboard!
I have been to even beachier places over the holidays. We went to Hawaii one year and I have a lovely photo of Son2, surfing, with Diamond Head behind him. Another year, we went to Mexico with a large family group and the kids were wowed by seeing Santa come parasailing over the ocean. Margaritas to the tune of “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bells.”
When I wrote a pair of Christmas/New Year’s books, I set them in SoCal, and tried to give the flavor of the holidays here in the land of sunshine and salt water. I set Must Love Mistletoe and Not Another New Year’s on Coronado Island, around the famous Hotel Del Coronado (in the first picture). The characters do SoCal things: bonfires on the beach, visit the world-famous San Diego Zoo, take a trip to a notorious nude beach (where they stay clothed!), watch hunky surfers change out of their wetsuits into street clothes with only the limited curtain of their shifting beach towels as cover (not that I’ve ever noticed this). 
Another unique-to-watery-places traditions I’ve written about is a boat parade of lights. There’s always several Christmas parades on the water and not only have I watched them, I also rode in a boat one year. Very fun. I used it as a plot element in a novella I wrote that takes place on Christmas Eve–Out on a Limb.
Does your town/neighborhood/region have any unique holiday traditions? The Ridgways and friends made up their own. On New Year’s Eve, we go to the beach and make a bonfire of our Christmas trees. Maybe your family has something special they do too. Please share!
48 Comments on “The Holidays in Your Neck of the Woods”
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Christie, funny you should mention this, but in my neck of the woods (we do have woods) Christmas is super cutesy. In fact, Time magazine declared it the #2 place in the US to get into the Christmas spirit! The museum that I work at when school isn’t in session has a christmas play that moves around the museum telling a story from Christmas Eve 1876. From Mid october on, my brain is basically set in Victorian New England. I’ve been saying Merry Christmas to people since we started rehearsals!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 8:32 am.
That sounds wonderful. I want to visit and see that play!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:08 am.
Love that Christmas tree bonfire idea!
No exciting traditions here but I usually seem to be in my home town the Saturday after Thxg when Santa parades through every street in town accompanied by the fire dept going lights and sirens tossing out candy to everyone.
Recently happened upon the Christmas Stroll in Leesburg,FL where they had made snow for kids to go sledding – the day after I read your Snow Job story (love that Lunch Hour Love Stories). It was really charming – the stroll and your book.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 8:33 am.
Hah! Love the snowscape in Florida. That kind of thing is so exciting for those of us w/o snow in our lives. And I think that’s such a sweet tradition…fire dept., Santa, candy, I can see it!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:10 am.
I would love to go to Hawaii for Christmas. Sounds fantastic.
In our neck of the woods we have woods and snow. Though I am not a fan of the white, it is always nice to have some for Christmas.
Our big tradition is game and appetizer night on Christmas Eve, then a movie on Christmas day.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 8:35 am.
We do a movie on Christmas Day too! Also try to get my boys something they can open and play with on Christmas Eve. I’m looking into new board games for this year.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:11 am.
New Guy and his family actually celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve. I think that it’s a German thing or something unique to his family I don’t know.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 8:49 am.
My husband’s family did that too. Boggled my mind. How can Christmas presents be opened before Christmas morning? In our house, we do it my way.
One gift on the Eve, all the rest in the a.m.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:12 am.
There is a town close to me that gets labeled “Christmastown, USA,” every year. People come from near and far to drive, or walk, the towns Main Street, which is lit from one end to the other. Businesses and residences alike have their houses, yards, or trees tactfully lit up, bringing smiles from everyone who visits. For a small town they really knock it out of the park. It may not be unique, but it is totally worth the trip.
Other than that I don’t really have a Christmas tradition. My family is in another state so I only get to do Christmas with them once in a while. That leaves my Better Half and I to start our own traditions. We like to wing it though, vacationing one year, staying home the next. Better Half also tries to convince me that it is okay to open presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day, but that is where I dig my heels in! That is one tradition I will stick with!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 9:58 am.
I love Christmas so I know I’d love to explore Christmastown. Closest I’ve ever been to is a kiddie ride place known as Santa’s Village.
You’ll see I’m totally with you on the Christmas a.m. opening. And it’s fun to start your own traditions, but that one I like as is too!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:15 am.
Here in Germany Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Normally the family gathers, sometimes with a very special dinner but in many families easy dishes are nornmal for Christmas Eve (potato salad and sausages come to mind) and the gift giving. The 25th and 26th often are used to visit the extended family and here more elaborate dishes are often more the norm.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 9:59 am.
Now we know that the Christmas Eve tradition is German. I could totally get into eating sausages and potato salad (Eve menu building itself in my mind). Now hungry.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:17 am.
Often, Colorado can be very traditional looking at Christmas, with pine trees and snow. Not this year, tho. We’ve had NO snow ( or rain) and the temps have been in the 60s.
The place I want to spend Christmas sometime is England. I just think it would be fun.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:13 am.
I’ll bet it would feel very Christmas-y in England. You’ve seen the movie…Holiday? With Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, right? Cameron goes to this lovely cottage in England on a house swap with Kate. Fun movie, even though I have a hard time seeing Jack Black as a romantic hero.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:19 am.
I still think that Christmas in a little cabin nestled in the Rockies would be oh so romantic! That just went on my to do list!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:46 am.
Also, I forgot to say: I LOVE that Christmas pair! Some of my favorite holiday reading!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:15 am.
Thanks!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:19 am.
In a city to the NW of us called Burnet, a small church does Main Street Bethlehem, and it is super cool! The parishoners actually dress in clothing to represent the time when Jesus was born, including Roman soldiers, innkeepers, and street gypsies selling their wares. You can buy things they make by hand, and they serve bread they make on a stone in a campfire. We haven’t been in a couple of years, but the last time we went it was really cold and windy, so the fires around the bread stand were the best place to be. You wander around the area (it’s about the size of a large parking lot), and eventually end up in a stable where the ones portraying Mary and Joseph are with their baby. The first time we went, my daughter was about 9 and was a little intimidated by the Roman soldiers because they arrest the ones portraying prophets, and it scared her a little. If any of you are in Central Texas and haven’t seen it, it’s worth the trip, but there is a long line to get in. It’s free, but they take donations. There are also a lot of really neat little shops in the area, so you can get cool gifts as well.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:36 am.
I got chills imagining being there when the arrests are made (I clearly have a huge imagination). That sounds very cool. Son2 and I went to Williamsburg, VA in October one year and went to a play about witches. Of course I knew it wasn’t real but my heart was beating so hard!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:18 am.
I have a good imagination too, I guess! I always get goose-bumpy when I’m watching renactments…times were so incredibly different, and stiffling for so many. Scary stuff… I can only imagine watching one about the witch trials. ((shudders))
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:55 am.
It was scary!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 12:08 pm.
I’m getting your Christmas novels today! Reading Christmas books this time of year helps get me in the spirit! I’m in Iowa, the middle of the country, and (usually) we have a white Christmas. It’s beautiful here when everything is covered in new snow.
Midwestern hospitality prevails this time of year and neighbors pull out the stops with Christmas parties, snowmobile riding parties, sledding parties, horse-drawn hayrack rides, you name it. There’s lots of clichés–but that’s what also makes it fun.
Harvest is over, and December is a chance for people in my area to socialize for the first time in several months. It’s a time of gathering and friends–I’ve always very much enjoyed it. In fact, we kick off with two Christmas parties this weekend, then at least one-two more per week until the holiday.
My family is big on Christmas Eve, and we always eat soup. Chili, sometype of cream based soup and oyster stew. As you can imagine, oyster stew in the middle of Iowa….(blech). However, we tried to get rid of it one year and my uncles threw a fit–so it stays. They are the only ones who eat it.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:43 am.
Haley: I love your Christmas (well, except the oyster stew). Sledding parties, hay rides. ::sigh:: And I’ve never been on a snowmobile. Sounds like such fun.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:20 am.
We’re in the process of changing traditions. We always have Christmas Eve Spaghetti, and open one present (kids are opening their new pj’s again this year). Then we’ll open presents Christmas morning. Kids also wanted jambalaya for Christmas dinner.
There’s not usually snow on Christmas here, but it is cold. Our snow usually comes in Jan and Feb.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:22 am.
When I was a kid, if we had Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle’s, we always had some sort of pasta. Uncle is Sicilian and also an avid fisherman, so pasta and some sort of fish. I’m still thinking what we’ll eat this year. Not sure my crowd would go for jambalaya. All palates at chez Ridgway not the same.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 12:10 pm.
The jambalaya was their idea! I didn’t have to sell it. My recipe is baked in the oven thus classifying it as a “one-pot meal” around here. Yeah, I can get all festive about not having to wash a ton of dishes!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 3:38 pm.
I love the pic of Hotel Del Coronado Thank you — my grandmother went there in the 50s, my DH went with his ex wife, my sister went 3 years ago, and I am hoping to head out that way soon.
I moved from a very cold can’t find your car for a month because it is buried in snow area to a very warm SoFLo. I miss the fireplace but not the cold. Around here they decorate the boats, ships, yachts and then they take the intercoastal waterway down (like a parade), they will have a toys for tots drive and bring the boat up to you to pick up a toy. Also there is a town north of here named Christmas and yes, it is Christmas all year round there.
Although I have moved I keep my family traditions – baking, cooking, even decorating. We can’t eat meat on Christmas Eve and there are a couple traditions – the seven fishes dinner and/or the homemade pizza with fried bread dough. We go to Midnight Mass. Christmas Day, homemade pasta, plenty of dessert, and much merriment.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:36 am.
Oh, yum, Carla! I want to come eat at your house. I didn’t bake last year because I had a broken leg and couldn’t stand on it, so may have to make up for it this year.
You’d love a visit to the Hotel Del! The beach is wide and beautiful and you can usually see Navy SEALs!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 12:12 pm.
Just coming from SoCal Christmases, I feel rather sad that I missed out on the tree bonfires
I still tried to maintain some of my colder climate traditions since the holidays never felt like the holidays in LA – no seasons to pass the time. So I still baked, left my heat off so I could snuggle under blankets and would open my sliding glass door to invite the semi-chill in and bedecked the place with lights and sparkly things.
I haven’t discovered anything here yet, but next year, I should be in Colorado Springs and cannot wait to hit the Broodmore and their amazing displays and the North Pole Christmas themed area and the Christmas stores and all sorts of holiday fun!
I. Can’t. Wait!!!!
The year I went to Banff was amazing. I would love to make that some sort of tradition. I think that whole area is a perfect winter wonderland.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 1:01 pm.
My mom and her husband went to Banff a few Christmases ago and said it was amazing. She’s a terrible photographer, so it must have been really outstanding because she took some great pics! We’re sorry you’ve left SoCal but can’t wait to hear about your adventures in CO.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 1:40 pm.
We set our own traditions a few years ago. Christmas we always go to the nativity service at our local church and then we have ham, egg and chips for tea. The boys love this and it is yummy then we sit by the open fire and red or play games.
We are hoping for snow this Christmas year just to add to the magic
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 1:35 pm.
Fingers crossed you get your snow, Paula! I always save a book to read for Christmas but I’m usually the only reader in the family. This year, however, Son1 actually has asked for a book, I bought one for the dh I think he’ll enjoy, so if I find the perfect story for Son2 I might see everyone reading over the holidays. That would be sweet.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 1:42 pm.
Here there’s not much that’s different, but my assistant from Pennsylvania and her family celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas, which just happens to be today! On the night before, her daughter puts out her boots for St. Nick to fill on “St. Nick’s Day.” I understand it’s common in certain regions in the U.S., not to mention in other foreign countries. I had no idea!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 3:16 pm.
Oh, fun! That’s some great double dipping on the presents!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 4:11 pm.
I know next week for several days the volunteer fire department will ride through the neighbor hoods throwing candy and such. We usually have lunch at my mothers home and open gifts. After all the hoopla, most of us will sit around talking, maybe having a little drink and just visiting, nothing specitactular, just a laid back atmosphere. I’m very fortunate that when I leave for Christmas break, probably around December 19th or 20th, I will not be back in the office until January 3rd.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 3:35 pm.
Nice to have all that time off, Ginger. The dh is a high school teacher, so he gets a break as well. I can put him to use wrapping last-minute gifts! Upthread someone else was talking about the fire dept. throwing candy. I love that!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 4:12 pm.
I am so boring! We don’t do anything special that I can think of. Does driving around Christmas night, looking at Christmas lights, count?
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 4:21 pm.
That can count! We do that too. Not on Christmas night, though, usually during the week before. There’s one of those neighborhoods nearby where everybody goes all out. Fun!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 5:49 pm.
Our Christmas is pretty typical… I live in Vancouver, BC, so there isn’t much snow at Christmas. A smattering here and there, but nothing that lasts more than a day or two… though we still have to bundle up because it’s usually really cold. We have the ‘traditional’ christmas trees here, but as I live in a townhouse, they don’t allow us to have real ones, so we have a fake one.
We never travel over the holidays, as we’ve got lots of family that we’ve got to see here. On Christmas eve we go to a big Christmas ‘party’ (aka family gathering with liquor and a buffet), where the adults mingle and the kids run around. In the morning we have our own Christmas with our kids, then we all get in the car and drive to my in-laws’ place to open gifts there, then around 10 or 11 we head to my parents’ place to open gifts and have dinner there. It’s pretty busy, but it’s lots of fun. By the time Boxing Day comes around, we’re all exhausted and ready to just stay home and enjoy our gifts!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 5:17 pm.
I wish our extended family lived closer. What you do, Cheri, sounds just like the way it was when I grew up. Now we just have our nuclear family here, and my in-laws in a nearby town. I miss the cousins and aunts and uncles being together at Christmas (we travel to see my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their kids a few days later).
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 5:52 pm.
Oh, a bonfire on the beach would be awesome! I just checked, there are only 2 beaches in LA County that have fire pits. Unfortunately, the beaches are not so good ones. I’ve been to one, and it’s icky. I fell in love with Coronado when I first visited when I was 10. I always have to stop in at The Attic to get something. What a cute shop!
As for traditions, we have a big dinner on Christmas Eve, read the Christmas story in Luke, watch It’s a Wonderful Life, and open one gift. Christmas is pretty relaxed – presents, breakfast, wear pajamas all day long, and leftovers. Oh, and I make a MASSIVE amount of fleur de sel caramels for friends, family, neighbors, and teachers.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 5:18 pm.
Janae: they really restrict the fire pits nowadays. We do the whole s’mores thing and it’s so fun…except for the year it rained on us and we hung in there and everybody got sick a few days later.
Fleur de sel caramels? Yum!!!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 5:54 pm.
Since we are relative newbies to our current neighborhood (we have only been here a little over a year and we are kind of homebodies), we aren’t sure if there are any neighborhood traditions other than the usual putting up of lights and decorations.
Other than our own family traditions of exchanging gifts, attending Christmas Eve service at church, and watching pretty much every Christmas movie we can find, we just kind of go with the flow and fly by the seat of our pants
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 9:03 pm.
I looove Christmas movies! I caught the tail end of Love, Actually the other day and now have to find the DVD so we can queue it up.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 9:45 pm.
I am also a So Cal girl. I have friends back east that I tease during winter when I send them a picture of me in a T-shirt.
Every year about 2 weeks before Christmas, Santa and friends make the rounds through the neighborhoods on several fire trucks. There are police escorts with the sirens blaring so you can hear them coming. We grab the kids and run outside to watch them drive by. We have been lucky a few times and they have stopped and handed out candy canes. Even though my kids are grown now and I may not have the grandkids handy, I still have to go outside to watch the procession. Love it!
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:56 pm.
Your SoCal Christmas sounds like our Orlando Christmas — palm trees and vaguely cool weather. Of course, we don’t need REALLY cold weather to whip out the boots, just the THOUGHT of cold weather will do it. In an adjoining state.
Posted on December 6, 2012 at 11:11 pm.
My area is big into luminaria. They try to get everyone to use them and many do. They are pretty impressive when most of the town has them out. If you go for a walk the glowing dots can be seen all over the hillsides for a mile in every direction.
I can’t imagine Christmas in a place like CA or Florida.
Posted on December 7, 2012 at 12:53 am.
This town seems to be fire works crazy. Most times I can’t even figure out what they are celebrating.
Posted on December 7, 2012 at 4:38 am.