From snow to beaches, skis to surfboards, many people are missing their traditional holiday vacations this year. So, this cold winter season, let’s reminisce with Bruce and Sarah on past holiday vacations. 

No matter what age you may be, I think we’ve all dreamt of a glistening white Christmas at least once in our lives. Snow blanketing the rooftops and falling softly onto our tongues, dark evergreen christmas trees covered in fine powder. However, there seems to be one problem… we live in Texas, which is not necessarily known for its extensive snowstorms (unless of course you live in the panhandle). Therefore, families often choose to spend the holiday season in a colder location. Bruce shares his experience vacationing in Steamboat, Colorado.

“I always love going there cause I get to ski and see live music,” he says. “Usually in Steamboat I’ll go with my mom to ski for a few hours. Then after that we’ll have lunch and meet up with my dad to go see him play and see other shows as well. I prefer traveling during winter break because we don’t get snow in Texas. ” 

Sarah’s family prefers the wintery weather as well; they normally drive up to New Mexico to visit her grandparents. “There’s a lot to be said about the comfort of spending the holidays at home, but New Mexico does have more family and gorgeous mountains and snow. I think I prefer traveling over winter break to traveling over the summer break because, while it is super chilly, it usually means I’ll get to see family that I haven’t seen for a while.”

As said in the classic Christmas movie, The Polar Express, “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” While everyone looks forward to the wonderful gifts on Christmas morning, family traditions are truly what makes the season special. “My family doesn’t have a whole bunch of holiday traditions besides just gathering together, but I’ve always liked that we open the presents slowly so that we have time to be grateful for each one,” Sarah says. “My brother and I even swap presents on Christmas Eve and do an activity that uses each gift. In order to make taking down the Christmas tree as fun as putting it up, my family likes to play How the Grinch Stole Christmas in the background. We also give each other gifts anonymously by signing the tag as various public figures even if they were born in the 1800s or are fictional.”

“We don’t have many specific holiday traditions,” Bruce shares. “We celebrate Christmas and it is just so nice to be able to do that as a family. Christmas morning at my house always has us getting up early and seeing what we got. Then we have breakfast and spend the day as a family.”

Though you may be missing the travels and get-togethers this year, I encourage you to pause and remember the joyful moments from the past and look towards a brighter future. After all, 2021 is right around the corner!