The hustle and bustle of the holiday season fills our to-do lists with gifts to grab, homes to decorate, meals to prepare and family to entertain. It is only natural that we quickly find ourselves exhausted from trying to do so much for the people around us that we forget the most important thing: spending real, quality time with the people we love.
It’s a time to cherish the memories, sit in the emotions and enjoy the traditions. It’s a practice of mindfulness. It’s a practice that can also be used to help limit the holiday treats.
Every Christmas since I was little I remember waking up and chowing down on my grandma’s homemade cinnamon rolls. She only made them once a year, and boy oh boy those apple filled servings of goodness were something I looked forward to every year. When I was old enough, I started spending Christmas Eve day with her, learning to make her delicious goodie.
It was a process. We made the dough, we let it rise. We rolled the dough, filled it with cinnamon, sugar, butter, and apples, and let it rise again. We baked them and boy we baked a lot of them, for our WHOLE family. It was an all day process. It was a day I got to spend with my grandma. A day her and I got to bond.
She passed away 7 years ago and boy do I miss her. I was the only one in the family that she taught this recipe too and the only one left to carry on the family tradition. So every year, I spend Christmas Eve day making her special cinnamon rolls with my kids. And every Christmas morning my family wakes up and chows down on this special treat. But it’s not a special treat because it taste’s so good. It’s a special treat because it reminds me of my grandmother. It is something I can do to honor her and pass on this family tradition.
Holiday’s are all about family traditions. They aren’t about the food itself, but the memories we create around the food. Remember that as you head into the holiday’s. Enjoy those special treats that remind you of family traditions, the ones you only get once a year. Those treats and the memories are the ones you should let yourself indulge in. You can have a chocolate chip cookies anytime, so while your trying staying on track, pass on the cookies, indulge on the special treats, and cherish the memories, not the food!