From turkey legs to tacos, the editorial team at The City Journals shares their favorite traditions. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season. 

Travis Barton (editor):

The “Sword and the Stone” is not my favorite animated movie from when I was a kid or even in my top 10. But there’s a scene where one of the villainous henchmen is in a castle and eats the meat of a turkey leg right off the bone, full cartoon style. I don’t know why but as a tiny kid I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So every Thanksgiving and Christmas when my family has turkey, I always eat a turkey leg. Thank you, “Sword and the Stone,” for teaching me how to eat turkey.

Rebecca Olds (staff writer):

My family never had normal holiday traditions, though I tried to make Christmas Eve pajamas a thing. Instead, our Christmas traditions were mostly food-focused. Christmas morning starts with waffles topped with peanut butter, strawberries, syrup and whipped cream, with whipped cream in our orange juice. For dinner, we make a German meal with Rouladen, Rotkohl, and Spaetzle. My favorite new tradition from my in-laws is baking and decorating sugar cookies together – the best ones I’ll ever probably have. Looking back, it’s no wonder I’m a foodie; it’s become my own kind of tradition.

Bailey Chism (staff writer):

Christmas Eve is always taco night in my family. It doesn’t matter what day it is, we’ll have taco night on Christmas Eve and watch a movie together while we eat in matching pajamas. And it doesn’t matter how old us kids are, we still wake up at the crack of dawn to sit around the Christmas tree sipping coffee and opening gifts together.

Tom Haraldsen (staff writer):

When I was a young child (up to age 8), we always went to my Grandparents’ home and spent the night. The next morning, my grandmother made hot orange rolls and hot chocolate that we ate before opening presents in the living room. That always included a couple of new gifts wrapped in brown paper that were from Santa. That’s how I knew he’d brought them in the night. And of course, I left him some cookies and milk. I remember those Christmas Eves and mornings like they were yesterday, even though they were more than 60 years ago.

Peri Kinder (staff writer)

When I was a kid, Mom spent several days making every kind of Christmas treat imaginable. Sugar and gingerbread cookies, oatmeal caramel bars, walnut fudge, divinity, buttery spritz cookies and chocolate pinwheels filled every space in our kitchen. The house was lightly coated with flour all through December. We then spent an afternoon arranging plates of sweets we’d deliver to neighbors. In return, we received holiday treats from our friends, guaranteeing a steady supply of Christmas cookies throughout the month. λ