http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063 Do you have any special traditions you look forward to - or not - this holiday season? How about any special ethnic foods&nbsp; you can't wait to&nbsp; make and eat - or not? Is anyone out there interested in sharing their Kwanza or Hanukkah traditions with us? &nbsp; What plans do you have to make your holiday season special? We look forward to hearing from you, and wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season! &nbsp; &nbsp; Do you have any special traditions you look forward to - or not - this holiday season? How about any special ethnic foods&nbsp; you can't wait to&nbsp; make and eat - or not? Is anyone out there interested in sharing their Kwanza or Hanukkah traditions with us? &nbsp; What plans do you have to make your holiday season special? We look forward to hearing from you, and wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season! &nbsp; &nbsp; en-us I come from a non-religious family, although my parents&nbsp;always celebrated Christmas so as to not have us kids feel left out.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; My mom would play Christmas songs for weeks, it's still her favorite time of year if for anything else.. the music.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although I would have to say my favorite holiday tradition is our annual trips to celebrate life in the snow.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the 2nd week of&nbsp;December we always go to the mountains to play in the snow, mostly on&nbsp;California mountains, although sometimes we&nbsp;have a&nbsp;huge family gathering in Austria.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have grown to love the sound of my mom saying &quot;Are you ready to celebrate life?&quot;&nbsp; OH YEAH!!!! http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9534 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9534 I come from a non-religious family, although my parents&nbsp;always celebrated Christmas so as to not have us kids feel left out.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; My mom would play Christmas songs for weeks, it's still her favorite time of year if for anything else.. the music.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although I would have to say my favorite holiday tradition is our annual trips to celebrate life in the snow.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the 2nd week of&nbsp;December we always go to the mountains to play in the snow, mostly on&nbsp;California mountains, although sometimes we&nbsp;have a&nbsp;huge family gathering in Austria.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have grown to love the sound of my mom saying &quot;Are you ready to celebrate life?&quot;&nbsp; OH YEAH!!!! I love building Christian Nativity scenes around town to remind everyone what Christmas is really about. http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9536 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9536 I love building Christian Nativity scenes around town to remind everyone what Christmas is really about. <font size="3"><strong><em>On a personal note: <br /> </em></strong></font><font size="4"><font size="3">Since&nbsp; my husband and both of my kids were born and raised in Maui, we have a&nbsp; 5-foot Hawaiian-Style Santa and a lighted palm tree as the centerpiece of our holiday decorations.<br /> I also like to go crazy baking decadent goodies for friends and co-workers...it eases my guilt over continuosly devouring anything chocolate for a solid month.&nbsp; <br /> Mele Kalikimaka and Haouli Makahiki Hou to all! &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> &nbsp;</font></font> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9539 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9539 <font size="3"><strong><em>On a personal note: <br /> </em></strong></font><font size="4"><font size="3">Since&nbsp; my husband and both of my kids were born and raised in Maui, we have a&nbsp; 5-foot Hawaiian-Style Santa and a lighted palm tree as the centerpiece of our holiday decorations.<br /> I also like to go crazy baking decadent goodies for friends and co-workers...it eases my guilt over continuosly devouring anything chocolate for a solid month.&nbsp; <br /> Mele Kalikimaka and Haouli Makahiki Hou to all! &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> &nbsp;</font></font> Baking traditional christmas cookies are a big tradition in my family. For some reason I inherited my grandmas springerlie roller and I make this cookie every year. I don't really care for them but enjoy the tradition. There are only three people left (my sisters) who like them and I have a huge extended family. The springerlies have become (think Fruitcake) a family joke. Every year I say -this is the last year I make these awful cookies! I mean it yet I still continue to get badgered by the sisters to make them. As I love the springerlie roller and the memories attached to it I can't relinquish the roller so I guess until I can give it up to one of them I will make these cookies. http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9557 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9557 Baking traditional christmas cookies are a big tradition in my family. For some reason I inherited my grandmas springerlie roller and I make this cookie every year. I don't really care for them but enjoy the tradition. There are only three people left (my sisters) who like them and I have a huge extended family. The springerlies have become (think Fruitcake) a family joke. Every year I say -this is the last year I make these awful cookies! I mean it yet I still continue to get badgered by the sisters to make them. As I love the springerlie roller and the memories attached to it I can't relinquish the roller so I guess until I can give it up to one of them I will make these cookies. The Christmas tradition I look most forward is making new ornaments for the Christmas tree. Every year, my mom and I would think of a new kind of ornament to make for the tree. Some of the came out quite beautifully. Others were just silly and I laugh when I look at them. Though the last time my mom and I were able to make ornaments together was in 2000, I still have dozens of homemade ornaments made by us over the years. I am able to look through them and remember all those times we spent together. And best of all, even though my daughter doesn't remember her, I can say, &quot;Look at what beautiful things my mom and I did together.&quot; And this is the first year my daughter is really old enough and interested enough to help me make ornaments, so the tradition can continue. http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9562 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9562 The Christmas tradition I look most forward is making new ornaments for the Christmas tree. Every year, my mom and I would think of a new kind of ornament to make for the tree. Some of the came out quite beautifully. Others were just silly and I laugh when I look at them. Though the last time my mom and I were able to make ornaments together was in 2000, I still have dozens of homemade ornaments made by us over the years. I am able to look through them and remember all those times we spent together. And best of all, even though my daughter doesn't remember her, I can say, &quot;Look at what beautiful things my mom and I did together.&quot; And this is the first year my daughter is really old enough and interested enough to help me make ornaments, so the tradition can continue. <p>Man...where do i start.&nbsp; Since my little granny died, Christmas has never been the same.&nbsp; Her house was the core of what held our immediate and not so immediate family together.&nbsp; I miss the crocheted slippers she made us EVERY year, I hated getting them at the time but i miss them now.&nbsp; Homemade Christmas candy and breads, the crooked tree she put up every year.&nbsp; I neve knew how much i would miss all of that, until right now.&nbsp; I live in San Diego, it's always summer here....my son and daughter in law and grandson are in Tehachapi and me and my young son are here.&nbsp; We plan on making the trip up for Christmas.&nbsp; So my holiday will consist of traffic, travel, no rest and $$$$.&nbsp; But i believe in God and i cant wait to sit in traffic for 7 hours (typical travel time for the holiday), as long as i get to see my kids and celebrate this spiritual day with my family.&nbsp; God bless everyone this year and always.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9568 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/editor/1063/#c_9568 <p>Man...where do i start.&nbsp; Since my little granny died, Christmas has never been the same.&nbsp; Her house was the core of what held our immediate and not so immediate family together.&nbsp; I miss the crocheted slippers she made us EVERY year, I hated getting them at the time but i miss them now.&nbsp; Homemade Christmas candy and breads, the crooked tree she put up every year.&nbsp; I neve knew how much i would miss all of that, until right now.&nbsp; I live in San Diego, it's always summer here....my son and daughter in law and grandson are in Tehachapi and me and my young son are here.&nbsp; We plan on making the trip up for Christmas.&nbsp; So my holiday will consist of traffic, travel, no rest and $$$$.&nbsp; But i believe in God and i cant wait to sit in traffic for 7 hours (typical travel time for the holiday), as long as i get to see my kids and celebrate this spiritual day with my family.&nbsp; God bless everyone this year and always.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>