In Print: A Christmas in Calgary

One of the greatest joys of being an adult is cherry-picking the traditions of your childhood to suit your current tastes. Right? My husband and I have carried forward some of our favourite family Christmas traditions, including choosing the perfect real tree together and re-creating each delicious holiday recipe from our mothers and grandmothers. (Overeating can be a tradition, no?)

Other traditions, we’ve adjusted. My family opened all our gifts on Christmas Eve, while my husband’s family joyfully tore them open on Christmas morning. Now, we do one gift each on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning (in orderly fashion—change is hard).

We’ve also added some new traditions. The Nutcracker Ballet on December 23, outdoor skating on Christmas Eve, stomach flu some time around Boxing Day. (Please, let this be the year that we break that tradition.)

For Vern. Magazine, I was able to write about finding the perfect real tree in Calgary (and yes, we’ve already picked ours out together, a lovely 8-footer from Eastern Nova Scotia) and some of Calgary’s best holiday traditions to enjoy as a family. I hope they bring you joy!