By Chef Trinity

As Christmas and the New Year approach, we want to share with you our family traditions and the way we make the holiday season extra special. As we’ve gotten older, and life has made it harder to get together as often, these traditions are important to us now more than ever. While some have evolved as my brother and I have grown up, they still capture the magic of Christmas that we loved so much as little kids!

Cutting the Tree

Each year, no matter how cold it is, we cut down our own tree. Whether I rolled out of bed in middle school and watched my dad (a.k.a. Chef Andrew) cut down the tree in my winter coat and reindeer pajama pants or I came home from college and bundled up in as many layers as possible to cut down the tree with him, this tradition has always been one of my favorites. It’s certainly not warm and cozy to trek through snow that’s over my knees, getting hit in the face with tree branch after tree branch, but the effort that we put into picking out and cutting down the perfect tree makes every moment I look at it, once we’re warm and toasty, that much more special.

Decorating the Tree

Once the tree is cut, dried, and we’ve gone through the arduous process of getting it to stand up straight, and hopefully stay up, comes the decorating. While cutting the tree down is technically the beginning of getting ready for Christmas, decorating the tree is how I mark the true beginning of Christmas in our house. Part of what makes it so special for us is that we always wait until it can be a whole family event. Usually, with all of the wide-ranging travel and work schedules, it’s the first night that we’re all back home. We make a big batch of hot chocolate, and sometimes we do eggnog now that my brother and I are old enough to partake, we dig out our Santa hats (some of which are as old as me), put on our Christmas playlists, and set to work. Our tree is never overly manicured or neat, all of our ornaments have been collected throughout the years, going as far back to both of my parents’ childhoods. As we put up each ornament we take the time to reminisce over ornaments we made in kindergarten or picked up somewhere on our travels. It certainly isn’t the most uniform Christmas tree you’ll see, but it’s full of our family’s memories and fun together which makes it all the more special for us as we spend the holiday together!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve comes with a couple of traditions that we’ve enjoyed, with some variation, since I was little. We like to get a little dressed up, nothing more than a nice sweater and a good pair of jeans, but enough to make it feel special. Each of us takes on a different task for making our fresh lobster and homemade pasta dinner, you can find the full menu and recipes here. My dad and I work together to make the fresh pasta, bread, and prepare the lobster, while my mom and brother set out food for our cocktail hour, set the table, start a fire, and make the salad. After cocktail hour (usually Dad’s Manhattans), which we are never afraid to linger over, we sit down for dinner. There’s no shortage of wine, conversation, or laughter as we eat and more often than not loudly debate over history, literature, and family lore.

Our family is very into movies and Christmas time is no exception. The absolute must of Christmas Eve is to watch The Polar Express, even if that’s the only movie we get to once we finally disembark from the dinner table, we will be sure to stay up for that. We typically watch some of the other full length Christmas movies like It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf in the days leading up to Christmas and use Christmas Eve for the shorter classics. Alongside The Polar Express we try to fit in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (the original animation), Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, and The Year Without a Santa Claus. We settle with plenty of blankets, numerous cups of tea, and something sweet which alternates between Christmas cookies or cupcakes depending on that year’s inclination and enjoy!

Christmas Morning

The pinnacle moment of Christmas has arrived! As we’ve gotten older we have allowed ourselves more of a sleep-in than we did when my brother and I were little. After a round of shouting through the house (or more recently texting) to make sure everyone’s awake, we all make our way to the living room for the reveal of the presents under the tree (we like to keep the Santa magic alive). My dad builds a roaring fire beneath the stockings, the Chieftains’ Bells of Dublin provides our soundtrack, and my mom and I set about making our signature “Lifty Lattes,” which are a mix of coffee and hot chocolate topped with homemade whipped cream. Once everyone has their drinks and are settled around the living room in their most festive pajamas, we start opening presents. We like to savor the presents, opening them one at a time. There’s absolutely no rush and we’re more than happy to start telling stories and derail the process for a while in order to chat.

Breakfast is a similarly leisurely affair. Each of us chips in to help with cooking, setting the table, and readying everyone’s drinks. The meal itself is, in part, a favorite go to of ours, bacon and eggs with english muffins. For Christmas we add half grapefruits with a maraschino cherry in the center to the meal and mimosas in festive glasses to elevate the holiday vibe. We take our time eating and talking more and by the end we’re all ready to sit by the fire to read, talk, and move as little as possible until dinner.

Christmas Day Dinner

Christmas dinner is one of my favorite meals of the year, closely followed by Christmas Eve dinner and birthday ribs (see Dad’s rib recipe here)! As with most of our family meals, we all help in some way to prepare for our meal of beef wellingtons and delicious sides. Find the full recipe here! Dad and I take charge of the food preparation, while Mom and my brother, similarly to Christmas Eve, set up our cocktail hour, set the table, start the fire, and take charge of the music. Dinner, as any dinner where all of us are at the table, is both a warm and loud affair as each of us were gifted with “naturally elevated voices” and a penchant for using them to talk over one another. 

During the day, my mom and I bake the Yule log, or bûche de Noël, which you can find here! Since we make it earlier, we keep the log and the frosting separate and wait to frost it until after dinner. Once it’s frosted and dusted with powdered sugar, we show it off a little before cutting it up for everyone. Depending on the year, we enjoy our dessert with the remaining wine, an after dinner drink of choice (usually either port or cognac), or just a nice cup of tea. Afterwards, we’ll move back to the living room to open stockings. Like the presents, we open our stockings one at a time and don’t feel the need to rush through the process, especially since we’re all full, warm, and cozy after a full day of food and festivities.

New Year’s Eve Dinner

We like to keep New Year’s Eve simple. Nowadays, it tends to be one of the last days we’re all home, so it’s a nice night to spend all together in celebration. My dad makes homemade pizzas, some with extra cheese for my mom and some with bacon or hot peppers depending on the mood of the group. We accompany it with champagne and a movie that’s agreed upon, usually after a good deal of negotiation. A little before midnight we’ll pause whatever we’re watching early enough to open a fresh bottle of champagne if necessary and switch over to the Times Square ball drop and count down to the new year. We toast and hug and call anyone who’s not with us to wish them a “Happy New Year” (unless we called them earlier based on time zones) and then we get back to our film. It’s a very cozy way to start the new year. 

There’s nothing like being with the family you love at Christmas, having amazing food with them makes it even better! We have been able to enjoy coming home for the holidays to the max and these traditions bring us closer to each other every year. Everyone has their own family traditions, but if you’re looking to add something new or want to mix it up this year, we invite you to join us in our family traditions!