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It will shock and surprise literally no one that I'm not much for traditions. At least, not the traditions that I didn't have a hand in creating.

For a while in college, some friends and I did a thing we simply called "tradition," where we went to some chain restaurant and ordered a couple of appetizers, ridiculous cocktails, and a couple of desserts. And when our meal was done, we'd head on over to the Books-A-Million to browse magazines and such.

It was a lovely. I'm not sure why we called it tradition, simply because it existed for approximately two years of our lives, and then just fell by the wayside.

(SIDE NOTE: I think maybe it might be fun to organize a big reading/writing retreat someday where we eat good food and talk books and maybe write if we like doing that. Please don't hold me to this any time soon. I have zero event planning skills.)

Another tradition I love is Christmas date. It's something Chris and I do every year and it's one of my favorite things about the holiday.

If you didn't know, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas as a holiday. I understand that it holds a special meaning for a lot of people, but to me, it feels overly commercial and just very stressful. I'm trying to find a way to celebrate this holiday for me, but it's a work-in-progress.

Christmas date is something I do enjoy about the holiday though. One year, Chris and I went to Turner Falls and just hiked and enjoyed the day. (December in Oklahoma is pretty mild, so it's not hard to go outside and have some fun.) Another year, we cooked a prime rib roast and watched a Christmas movie on Netflix.

What we do doesn't really matter. It's just time we set aside to hang out on purpose. And I look forward to it every year.

So, let this be a little reminder that you can make up your own holiday traditions. If the stress of decorating or shopping or making that special recipe that has 478 ingredients and takes half a week to make is ruining the season for you, just make a new tradition that you can enjoy.

Chris and I will be going on our Christmas date next Saturday. And I'd love to hear any recommendations you have for a fun Christmas date night. Hit reply and let me know some of your favorite seasonal dates, or foods to make, or activities you like to do to get in the holiday spirit.

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Marisa 

MarisaMohi.com

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