9 Unique Holiday Traditions From MM.LaFleur Employees
December 14, 2017 | Filed in: Humans of MM
When we interviewed Magda Pecsenye, parenting writer and author of Get Christmased, a workbook for surviving the holidays, she introduced us to a new tradition that she created as a counterpoint to the ever-expanding holiday season: Candletime.
In her own words: “I made up Candletime in 2009 to stop the Christmas season from creeping all the way back to Halloween. It celebrates the concept of coziness at home (called hygge in Scandinavian languages). Starting November 1st until American Thanksgiving, when you come home at night, light some candles and enjoy the sparkly light while drinking a beverage of your choice. Popular beverage choices include tea, hot cider, cold cider, water, wine, beer, hot cocoa, coffee, soda, and bourbon. Candletime can be celebrated alone or with others, and you can observe as many days of the holiday period as you choose.”
Inspired by this idea, we decided to poll a few of our MM colleagues to see what their unique holiday season traditions are. Read on to see our list—and we hope you’ll tell us yours.
1. Boozy Sunday
“On the second Sunday in December, I go with a few friends for a single $30 Bloody Mary at the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis Hotel, where the drink was first invented. We drink them super slowly while scarfing down free fancy bar snacks, and it never fails to make me feel cozy, a little tipsy, and very lucky to live in New York.”
—Sarah, Content Director
2. The Whole World on a Plate
“We’re a mixed-culture family (my grandmother is Japanese and my grandfather is Mexican), so for the New Year, my family makes sushi and tamales. My grandmother, the cook in the family, makes a big effort to represent both cultures, and judging by the way we devour everything, she’s mastered it.”
—Becca, PR Manager
3. Arts & Crafts & Time Alone
“I love shopping, but I hate Black Friday. Instead, my best friend and I meet up with our moms and head to an arts-and-crafts fair in Boston to do our holiday shopping and avoid the crowds. We stop at Starbucks and get our first peppermint mochas of the season, and then skip the rest of our meals so we have room for all of the artisanal samples. We’ve maintained this tradition since we were 11 years old, so a few of the vendors recognize us now.
Also, on the night before Christmas, after everyone has gone to bed, I like to take out my childhood songbook from The Nutcracker and plunk out my favorite pieces on the piano, sitting next to the tree. It’s a nice moment to have with myself.”
—Hanna, Senior Service Excellence Associate
4. Cookies for Days
“My friends and I do a cookie exchange. We started with three dozen cookies to decorate, but we are trying to reduce it to two dozen.”
—Renata, Finance Coordinator
5. The Family That Crafts Together…
“Every year, my family likes to put handmade ornaments on the Christmas tree. This year, we decorated orbs with our names on them—even my dog, Pancho, got his own. Last year, we decorated little boots. It’s a lot of fun, especially since everyone enjoys mocking my poor decorating skills.”
—Rodrigo, Software Engineer
6. Fried with Friends
“I go to my friend Shelby’s house on one of the nights of Chanukah. We make latkes in an obnoxiously large frying pan like our Bubbies used to do. We grew up together, so we feel like family.”
—Rachel, Executive Assistant
7. Getting Out of Dodge
“Around Christmastime, my friends and I like to take a short international trip for a long weekend. It’s often in the Caribbean, or somewhere in Europe, and I collect ornaments from everywhere that we visit. You get a great sense of local culture through the way that ornaments are decorated, and it’s so special to put them on the tree when we return.”
—Lu, Associate Marketing Director
8. Singing Your Heart Out
“It isn’t an official tradition yet, but this year I went with my family to the piano bar Marie’s Crisis and we loved it!”
—Caroline, Senior Marketing Associate
9. A Fancy Dinner Out
“I go out to a big dinner with a group of friends every year in the middle of December. It started because one of my friends has a birthday that’s close to Christmas, but it’s evolved into a holiday tradition in part because it’s so nice, amid the whirlwind of parties and family obligations, to spend some quality time together before we all scatter back to our respective hometowns.”
—Alex, Brand Associate
