John Cain Photography Team Holiday Traditions

To some, there’s absolutely nothing more sacred than a Christmas tradition that dates back to their youth. Some of the most formative childhood memories we have revolve around Holiday celebrations with the whole family. Below, you’ll find each of the favorite Holiday habituals of our team members, along with some indispensable visual aids. 

Stephanie

“At our house, Christmas started without fail on Thanksgiving Day with the hanging of the lights. Every year as the turkey cooked, the lights would get stretched across the yard and checked for burnt out bulbs. Then, Dad and all four of us kids would meticulously string lights up on every awning, eave and window, plus every bush, both palm trees, and clear to the top of the huge pine tree in the front yard. As we grew, so did that massive pine. To get lights to the tippy top, my little brother would shimmy up the trunk and decorate from the inside of the tree. Soon, the tree was taller than our two story house, and Dad, an electrician, started bringing home a cherry picker from work to help put up the lights. 20ft, 40ft, 75ft in the air, we would ride in the basket to make sure not a single bough was missed. When we were done, we’d stand in the road and admire our handiwork, thrilled with the luminescent onset of the Christmas season.”

Matt

“We always listened to the same Christmas album, and it became a staple in our home- The Carpenter’s Christmas Carols. This was before Spotfiy or ipods so we stuck to albums. We also always opened one present on Christmas eve. But now, being a parent and having my own traditions to create, we now always bake cookies on Christmas eve and make chili. Christmas rules.”

John

“I am the youngest of three brothers, and even until I was in high school met mom would get us in matching Christmas shirts or PJs. My birthday is three days after Christmas. The most memorable one ever will always be the day that Brittany delivered our first son on the birthday we now share.”

Rebecca

“My favorite Christmas tradition growing up was the party that my parents threw every year on Christmas Eve. They would invite all of our family friends and neighbors over for drinks and desserts. Everyone was welcome and welcome to bring any extra family in town. The more the merrier! My mother would spend the whole week before the party baking all kinds of cookies and cakes for the occasion. After Christmas eve dinner (which was a 7 course event itself) our house would fill up with people, the dining table would be covered in homemade desserts, and the Champagne would be flowing! Our home always felt so full of life that night!”

Anna

“Christmas is an especially festive time of year for me, as I was born just a few days before. We enjoy lots of family togetherness, and the pinnacle of our get-togethers, Christmas Eve dinner is as chaotic as it is delightful. My mom will be in the kitchen, frantically trying to get every element of our feast ready, while my cousins pester and disrupt her as much as they humanly can (it’s tradition). The same albums my mom fell in love with in the eighties and nineties play every year throughout the whole house, while The Muppets Christmas Carol loops repeatedly in the den. Dinner together is a cut-throat competition of wit, followed by a gift exchange that seems to get louder with every minute. It’s noisy, erratic, hilarious, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Katy Lou

“On Christmas morning my family always would wake up super early to start cooking a big Christmas breakfast with homemade apple cider before my whole family gathers around opening our stockings and presents. One of my favorite holiday traditions as a child was sitting on my Dad’s lap as he sang “the Donkey Song” and read all of us the Christmas story. My family always ends Christmas day with a themed white elephant gift exchange that gets pretty intense.”

Brittany

“Putting the angel on top of the tree was and still is a tradition in the Blum household. My dad would lift us up after we decorated the entire tree and we would get to put the angle on before we turned the tree lights on to see it all come together. Every Christmas Eve we grew up going to a friend’s house after the evening church service. We gathered for tamales, hand decorated Christmas cookies and all the sugary treats. Now, with kids whoever is in town we still go and it is moms, kids, babies. Everyone goes through life each year and we all get together on Christmas Eve to rehash and it feels like it was yesterday that we were all together at the last one.”

Sami

“One of my favorite pastimes was helping my mom decorate an illuminated North Pole village on top of our piano – complete with little elves, rotating skiers, fake snow and Santa & his reindeer spinning around in non-stop circles. Once Christmas Day comes, my whole family is guaranteed to remain in pajamas all day long, and every year we end up baking an overly-excessive dessert bar that rarely gets eaten because we eat too much at dinner! Leftovers for everyone!”

Emily

“Since my brother and I were little, one of us would always wake up super early to check if Santa had come yet, but we would first run into the other sibling’s room so we could go downstairs and check together. As we got older, the enthusiasm to wake up at 4am for Santa died down a bit, but then when we both moved into high school/college age we revived the tradition again in the spirit of annoying each other by waking up super early.”

Jenn

“Each year, my family would come together on Christmas Eve to celebrate. We always reserved one family-given gift to be opened on the 24th, in a sense teasing what’s to come Christmas morning. We stay in our pajamas all day long on Christmas, and enjoy each other’s company.”