There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Most of us think about our homes most towards the end of the year, with lots of guests for meals and extended family visits. You might have the biggest dining room for holiday meals. And many families rotate large gatherings so everyone takes a turn preparing and cleaning up. There's no place like home when it comes to these special events, and yet we sometimes overlook what's most important.

Our homes are really an extension of who we are. From the neighborhood where we live, to the style of home we pick and how we decorate our houses. Our memories of home are about the people we love and the things we've done at home together. So we're going to explore holiday traditions at home, ones that offer the opportunity to create great memoires you'll enjoy for years to come.

There's No Place Like Home: Kitchens & Holidays

Gathering family and friends together almost always includes great food. If guests are bringing special holiday dishes, there's planning involved. Then there's baking weeks in advance. For many families, this is an important holiday tradition that involves the kids, whether you're baking cookies or decorating gingerbread houses (click for my gingerbread recipe).

It would be foolish to suggest dishes for your family's holiday meal because they're all different. Just make sure your children learn where your family traditions come from, to help them carry them into the future with their children. We had au pairs for many years, so our tradition revolved around their country and family traditions. Inger was from Norway so we learned to make rice cream for dessert. Chrissie was from England so we had mini-sausages wrapped in bacon (we call them pigs in a blanket) and gosh, they don't mash their potatoes … they roast them.

Holiday Activities Remind Us There's No Place Like Home

When I was little there weren't any electronic games so board games ruled. I don't know about you but in my family, we held a marathon Monopoly game between Christmas and New Years, because we didn't have school and it was too cold to stay outdoors all day. We even had checkbooks which we thought was pretty exciting, as we pretended to be real estate tycoons.

Things have changed a lot but board games are a great way for families to spend time together on a Friday night. We now decorate our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, so we can enjoy the twinkling lights while we eat dinner … and yes, play at least one board game each week throughout the holiday season.

Monopoly Board GameJenga Classic GameUno Card GameRisk Global Domination

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