Holiday Traditions That Sleigh
From our ROW family to yours
12.15.2021
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” If you sang that lyric instead of reading it, then you are, quite simply, one of us. In honor of this wonderful season and the myriad of tenants and cultures we have here at our little downtown hub, we wanted to celebrate the many ways we take advantage of this time through traditions that have been carried down from generation to generation.
And so, we asked our tenants: "What is one holiday tradition you always look forward to this time of year?"
This is what they had to say:
Holiday time is a family time, and we love the extra feel of togetherness we feel during this time of year. On a more personal note, we look forward to extra time spent with our kids over family meals, funny movies, holiday treats, and, sometimes, a peaceful snowfall.
Watching the “koh-haku (red/white)” singing competition on TV while eating “toshi-koshi (year crossing)” soba noodles as we welcome the New Year with family is our favorite holiday tradition. Since my family is in Japan and I don’t always get to go back every year, I sometimes gather with Japanese friends to eat soba and the traditional New Year Dish “ozo-ni '' which is soup with mochi.
My family lives all over the country (literally CA,TX & NJ), so we always try to do some sort of quality time outing or activity all together. But one of my favorite traditions is when it’s just my mom and me. She’s a museum pass holder so we HAVE TO hit the art museums wherever i’m in town and it's something special for just the two of us that we share and enjoy. My next favorite tradition is getting to play with my super cute little niece. Whether it’s fort building, tie dye, or making squishy toys with water beads, we always have a ball doing something crafty or creative.
We go up to our Sea Ranch home, 3 hrs north of San Francisco where the whole family gathers. We love the hustle and bustle of the whole family. We take turns usually cooking up a really big meal the whole time we are there and take walks during the day and play board games and jigsaw puzzles and listen to music by the fire at night. When the family goes home, that's when our friends come up to spend the new year in the beautiful surroundings. It's such a nice time to relax and spend time with loved ones after the busy holiday season.
I love taking my kids to Disneyland during the holidays. The park is beautiful this time of year and it gives us a chance to be together all day without any obligations or distractions. I secretly love standing in line for rides because we have each other’s full attention. There’s something for everyone to enjoy and we always leave with a little bit of that Disney “magic.”
Having grown up in a household decorated to the nines and energized by making and hunting gifts, I love this time of year for the same reasons. Ok, so the cycle of cloying holiday music does my brain in so I ban it in the showroom. But I love getting out our many boxes of decorations; organizing bags of donation gifts for a mother-child shelter near and dear to me; strategizing unusual gifts for family and friends; dressing up and hitting holiday shows and parties; and the general effervescent reverie that is this season. Bah humbug to those who won’t get into the spirit!