This is the perfect time of year to stop, reflect, and think about traditions. Not only are traditions prevalent in my world, but there are also cultural traditions that are embedded in the world I grew up in. Jill at Follow your Bliss is having a Celebration of Traditions today, so I thought I would join her and share a bit about traditions that are still alive within my family…(bunuelos below)
I have to say, some things never change. You see, my three siblings and I are not married people (and have never been married). I am the oldest, then there is my sister Kristen, and then my brother Adam. We have a mother and a father who have been married longer than each of them care to remember, hee hee. Of course, none of us live at home anymore, but, we all hop in our cars and drive to our parents home, for the holidays. It is so wonderful and quite funny how when we get to our parents home, it is almost like we never left. WE all have our rooms there, we all play and carry on.
My dad plays his Christmas music. Bing Crosby always, and on repeat.
I think I could sing you melikalikimaka backwards. Anyhow, the traditions are a plenty, but there is one that has been excatly the same our whole lives… Santa always visits us & leaves our gifts while we sleep. ALWAYS. I used to be the one to wake up first and wake up my brother and sister. But, last year, the munchkin boy woke up first, which woke up this munchkin girl, we grabbed our munchkin sister and to the living room we tiptoed at 5:30 a.m.
On Christmas eve we always have an outrageous formal dinner in my mom’s dining room after mass. Mass is in the most amazing Catholic church in the village I grew up in. It is quaint and majestic all at once. Sometimes my mom’s youngest sister & her husband, come over with their children for dinner. The town lights from my parents house are marvelous. Way in the distance, the lights you see are in Mexico…
On Christmas morning when we wake up, there are gifts cookies candies! But best of all, candied ham, scalloped potatoes, rolls and such are left over from the dinner before. The whole thing is a deja vu moment over and over every year. I love it!!
I am in the country right now, so I don’t have all my pictures of us as kids with me… I will share a few someday… Needless to say, we have the same Christmas day that we had as children. I think that highly influences our creative sides. We all have a love of magical and childlike things. But it is mainly because our childlike selves have never been squashed. As a matter of fact, that side of us is constantly nurtured… A blessing in itself…
After we open all of our gifts we sit around eating and talking. Drinking coffee… Exchanging gifts Santa did not bring… Last, we get dressed and go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house (mom’s parents). Where we have been having the same Christmas there every year since birth. There is Menudo and Tamales abound. My grandmother Josephina (people call her Pini), makes her own Menudo and Tamales. She is so chic yet will do anything in the name of making her traditional food. There will also be a huge pot of amazing beans on this stove she cooks on…
She has a regular stove and such, but she prefers this stove. I will always remember her, putting on her mit, to lift the wood trap with her special cast iron tool, slowly putting in pieces of wood from a pile my grandfather had made for her… Through that little white oven door you will always find mexican buttered breads, ready for dunking in your menudo, or for slathering with beans…
Oh, and as you can imagine, my mom has been in her studio creating away, and I hear the tree is red red red this year!!! (Photos of tree above are from last year) She has a fun crazy studio! I guess you know where the love of creating comes from now…
She says she has been decorating for a whole week non stop! I can’t wait to see it!!! I will make sure to take many more photos this year to share!!! 😉
That is the tip of the iceberg of the Holiday tradtions in this family… The kids from yesterday might be grown up, but they still play. Blissful holiday tradtions make us all so content… I hope the children in our family today, have as many memories to bottle up as I did… From the looks of it below, they will…. (don’t worry, it is the gift opening that has her exhausted, she was not sampling the wine, I hope!!!)
PS: Party here on Tuedsay December 11th. My Birthday! Bring a cake, bring glitter, bring streamers, but by golly, bring yourself!! Help me celebrate!! 32 years!
Eeeeeep! This is all magic!!! 🙂 I’ll be here for the party!! 🙂 eeeeeep!
Loved reading about your wonderful holiday traditions! Sounds like so much fun with your family. Love the glittery gnome homes from your previous post also. Happy wintery holidays to you!!
Your traditions all sound so wonderful. You obviously have a loving family and lots of great memories. Your mom’s home is beautiful!
How lucky you are to have those traditions and still do them today in the same home! Your parents must be awesome people!
PS I love your glitter houses! I’ve been making them too – so fun!
Merry Christmas!
Robin
Wow! I want to go to Christmas with you! This sounds so magical, and to be surrounded by all this magic and enthusiasm and fun! Oh boy Vanessa! Thanks for sharing!
I will be away on Tuesday, but I’ll stop by on Wednesday to wish you a happy day!
Merry, merry!
wow – miss fancy – this is so deLIGHTful – but of course I am not surprised – everything is always so magical here – and fanciful – I’m coming with Leslie – what fun and yumminess…
xox – eb.
Magical indeed! What wonderful traditions your family has. And thank goodness your childlike qualities have never been squashed! What would the world be like without those wonderful beliefs??? Thanks for being a part of the celebration! Have a very Merry Christmas!
xoxox Jill
What a wonderful WONderFULL tradition! ..Okay..now …having lived in Phoenix…I experienced Traditional Mexican Christmas food like Tamales! Yum However,,the Menudo freaked me OUT! Bunuelos..Awesome! . It was such a gorgeous time in Arizona at Christmas././ I loved the luminerias and the Saguaro all decorated in lights! THe desert is beautiful! What an awesome sight! It is so very special that your family is so close in every sense of the word! That is what it is all about!
very beautiful house of fairy, kisses for your birthday 🙂
I hope Santa is really good to your brother and sister and you this year. 🙂 I’ll have to keep up the stockings long after my kids leave home, too. In this world where there are school shootings, mall shootings, and our country is at war, we NEED a little Christmas: for hope, for joy, and for the magic that it brings. Merry Christmas, and thanks for sharing your traditions.
I loved reading about your Christmases over the years… and Menudo and Tamales??? Can I come too with Leslie??? I am so glad you have these special times and thank you so for sharing them with us. They are beautiful. Have a wonder-filled time with all those you love!
I loved reading about your Christmases over the years… and Menudo and Tamales??? Can I come too with Leslie??? I am so glad you have these special times and thank you so for sharing them with us. They are beautiful. Have a wonder-filled time with all those you love!
i am totally obsessed with tamales. i want to make a huge pile of them and then eat them everyday for a year straight.
HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!
woohoo!
32!
This looks and sounds magical…a birthday you say? On Tuesday?!? Oh I shall be here!!
It sound so wonderful, I remember my Aunt’s making bunuelos too, with lots of cinnamon! Boy, haven’t had one of those in a long time!
Sandra Evertson
I’m so ready for good mexican food…..since we are far away from the west coast, we can’t find good eats here in Ohio. oh, well we make up for it when we visit.
Your traditions post is fun…
Kara
I WANT A BUNNUELO!!!! uh, Yum!!!
What is a bunneulo really? Whatever it is though, i still want it!
I also want your grandmothers’ recipe for beans! Do you have it, or is it a closely guarded family secret? I’m nuts about beans, haha!
Oh, and you can count on me for celebrating your 32nd year on Planet Fanciful Twist!
I really want to see some photos of you all enjoying your warm and lovely family Christmases- you must show some when you can!
And on Tuesday you know you’re going to have to show some photos of you growing up too.
xxxx
Oh we have our own traditions in my family as well…I will certainly have to do a post about them soon! It’s so lovely and comforting to have traditions to count on every year..
I am so excited about your party on the 11th!! I MUST go find something to wear…
…and then I will go play in the snow…because it’s coming down again and starting to stick…
Dear Vanessa!!!
I see where Sooo many of your creative, fanciful characterstics come from!! Look at that decorating…those fabulous curvy mirrors!!!
Your holiday tradtions are so rich, so much a part of your family, I think it’s incredible that you are all still so close…in relationship as well as proximity!!
happy happy ms fanciful AND….happy birthday soon!!!
Your so lucky to have a family..I can feel the warmth!
Wow!! That food looks great. My husband’s fathers side is Mexican and Ive never seen those before..I’ll have to bug him about that. What beautiful homes your parents have and that view in the evening is so serene!
My husband (bf at the time) and I spent a Christmas (three weeks actually) several years ago going through Jalisco, Guanajaurto,(forgive the spelling), Michiocan, etc and loved it. We went with his co-worker who had family in San Juan de Los Lagos and the people were so focused on family and church and we didn’t want to leave. I’m so glad you carry on some of your family traditions.
Happy Early Bday!!We’ll all be back to bug you on your day:)
~Christine
Awww….this is such a great story! It’s so cute and magical!
oh- you baby girl you-your going to be 32- you where a christmas baby- i love reading about your world- im coming to the birthday party -i will bring lots of fairy cakes and lemonade for our dolly- oh are you dressing your dollys up in there party dress’s.oh my dollys might like to have there nails painted-
Your family has the best traditions! I still want to climb up into your grandmother’s attic, scorpions or no scorpions. And a birthday treat is winging its way to the fabulously gorgeous and talented birthday girl. xoxox
Beautiful pictures……I will be back on your Birthday!!!!!!
XOX…..Kimberlee
Miss V!
You are a true believe of the MAGIC!!!!
I Adore that about you!!!!
I wish that all of my girls could come home for Christmas and sleep in their rooms.
Thanks for being who you are!!!!
Hugs!
Michelle
Wow, christmas at your parents place sounds absolutely marvellous. I wish Santa still came to me! I used to love Christmas as a child, and I still do but it hasn’t been the same since my parents got divorced a couple of years ago – now we have to split time between both of my parents (who do not speak to each other at all!) and Ben’s family. I always feel like I am letting someone down. This Christmas will be the very first that I haven’t been able to spend any time with my mother or my brother – I’m so sad about it – but we’re having our own Christmas day on Saturday to make up for it, and I have to remember to count all of my blessings!
In the face of the Christmas confusion that happens around here I have created my own traditions – I *always* put up a tree in the first week of December (although I went late November this year!), we always put up lights outside, and I love festive crafts. Plus Christmas Eve is always spent watching carols on TV and making food for lunch the next day. Prawns are a must on Christmas day (it is summer here!) no matter where I am, so I often get to bring them!
I loved reading about your family traditions – your family sounds really awesome, and your mum’s home is sooo beautiful – wow!
O! Everything LOOKs soOOOoOooO Yummy and Swank!!! I LOVE, LOVE your grandma’s stove!!! O! Let me taste her cooking!!! YUmmy breads and beans!!! I’ll be back for the party!!! A birthday baby, how SWEET YOU look in that pic with a crown too! tee hee
Oh, wonderful! I’ll have to write about our family Christmas fun as well, as we have a kind of yearly tradition thing as well 🙂 Traditions with people you enjoy are so happy and wonderful and fulfilling. We just watched Holiday Inn last night while we were decorating our Christmas Tree! Wonderful movie 🙂 I just love 1930’s and 1940’s films, they are just so great. I mean, nobody writes films with exploding peach preserves anymore. Geez. Your grandmother’s stove is amazing! It’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing all that, and yay for a birthday in two days! WHEE!
The tone of your post is so light and joyful, your traditions so rich. I was grinning ear to ear by the time I reached the end.
What a beautiful post! What a wonderful job you mom has done in giving you such consistent fabulous memories! And you birthday girly you! Oh, what fun,what can we think of to celebrate Miss Vanessa’s big day? It should be something really wonderful!
Oh V thank you so much for taking me on a trip through your familytraditions!!!it was such a beautiful ride.And 32 wow what a great age you are looking forward to.I hope you have a wonderful evening and a great celebration at 00.00!!!!Big kiss from me already,and a hug and kiss for mr Loveee and the critters too!xoxo
You always have the most amazing details to share; Photos and otherwise!
Cannot wait to celebrate your birthday!
Me and Menudo don’t get along very well Curiosa…
Oh your birthday will be the most wonderfulest day! And I got you something this weekend…but I have to do something to it…oh hurry up me!
What lovely traditions!!! Thanks for sharing them… I always love hearing about how others celebrate their holidays. 🙂 And I love the fact that the child-like wonderment was never squashed for you–my mother tried to never do that with my sis and I either! 🙂
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY (a day early…)!!!!!!!! Did I hear *CAKE*?! Count me in! hehe!
You just have the most adorable family I have ever come across. I can’t wait to celebrate your birthday on Tuesday!!
Your parent’s house is gorgeous! Can I come and have some bunuelos and tamales too? Yummy!
What a great post! My family is quite small, and this is our first Christmas without my Mamma, but we have decided to go ahead with the Christmas we had planned for her anyway, but this is involving that dreaded thing… the Christmas Eve flight…
loved reading about your family and the magical traditions you all still share 🙂 thank you for sharing 🙂 i can’t wait to get my cards!! the strange beautiful lady is coming to live with me and i can’t wait to see her person 🙂
now i can see where all of your creative energy comes from 🙂
hugs dear heart…
shelbi
mmm…tamales and menudo! i have promised to my daughter already so i have to find time for this! the photos are so pretty. and i like you slippers! diamonds on the toes of her shoes! ;]
Your birthday tomorrow? How exciting will be back, couldn’t miss a party now could I?
Gracious! What an awesome post. My mouth is watering for tamales… my son has been giving me big ojos and asking, “When are we going to start the tamales?” I am looking forward to returning to your blog and delving in to all of your creative posts.
And the academy award of blogs goes to….Vanessa Valencia, for her remarkable and fanciful ability to entertain! Merry Christmas! And of course, as of tomorrow, Happy Birthday!
Christine
Wonderful having traditions! We didn’t have a lot of them, but Grandma’s House was one! we went to the Christmas Eve Dinner, and poker party at my dad’s parents, and A HUGE Christmas Feast at my mom’s Parents. The memories are the best. Every one being happy to be together. I can’t wait to see the pictures from this year. I will be sharing the mess that happens here every Dec. 25th. Paper and ribbons everywhere! OHHH and and a Birthday tomorrow! How FUN I can’t wait!
Love Erin~
sounds like so much fun…my holiday is quiet…i’ll bring the cake tomorrow…hugs, r
You birthday?!?!?!
Thanks for letting us know!
I will be here for sure to celebrate with you 😉
P.S. I make my own tamales, too.
Your families traditions are inspiring and what a treat to hear Bing Crosby. Now that brings back a ton of memories!:) Happy Birthday and I hope your day is filled with joy. xo
What a lucky girl you are! It sounds as though Christmas is always a magical time for you. It used to be my fav holiday and I guess still is but with my parents and brother gone – my step-father too stubborn to let us bring him here from NC even for a day, and our kids and grandkids all on different schedules – it makes keeping traditions a little difficult. Although now with our three furkids (or whatever ones we happen to have at Christmas) I do make sure to hang their stockings and fill them. And I’ve made new stockings for my grandkids every year since they were born. And I do have a wonderful magical Christmas story that really happened about 20 years ago right after we adopted our daughter. So I think about that every year with joy.
I hope you have a most wonderful birthday tomorrow! I’ll be thinking of you while I’m working and will send streamers, gifts, and cake and icecream to you in my thoughts!
Jill
What a magical post! Your parent’s home looks both retro glamorous but warm and fun all at the same time. The view is pretty too. Is this the San Diego area? One of my favorite things when we lived in that area, the hilltops always twinkled at night like holiday trees, all year round. But especially during the holidays.
I thought I knew all my Mexican culinary choices but I’ve not heard of buneulos – is that a fry bread or is it fried tortillas with cinnamon and sugar?
Give your grandmother Josephina a hug from me. I was named after my grandmother Josephine and I have a dear (ex) mother-in-law, also Josephine. And my other grandmother, Isabel, was such an amazing lady – she was both sophisticated and well bred, spoke five languages, but could don an apron and garden and cook the pants off any farm wife. I adored her.
Traditions are so important. We have so many in our family. Maybe I’ll take a stab at posting about some of them too.
I wanted a red red red tree this year too (must be something in the air) but I’ll settle for putting up the ornaments my family expects to see – I’ve tried changing that tradition before and there was a huge uproar.
Your parent’s house is wonderful, with such a beautiful tradition and childhood I can see why you never want to grow up. Sounds like bliss :)-I am out partying tomorrow, will remember you sweetie.
That was soooooooo fun!!
I LOVE tamales…
You are a very lucky girl and I hope you have a happy happy happy birthday tomorrow.
I love traditions…Your Mother’s home looks beautiful and the decorations are amazing.
Happy Birthday xoxox
Tomorrow I start a yearly tradition on my blog… I think you will like it 🙂
Holy cow…Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Frank and Bing. Not at all!
I love your Mom and Dad’s house! It is amazing!!!
We always pop open the Christmas Crackers and wear the paper hats on our heads during dinner. You HAVE to wear it, or you are a big party pooper.
I love your traditions, Vanessa, thanks for sharing!!!
xoxoo Much love to you and yours.
Gillian
Oh My Gosh! What wonderful traditions. It sounds like you had a wonderful childhood. Thank you for sharing with us!
Penny
Happy birthday tomorrow! I will come with glitter!!!!!!!
Oh how wonderful! Ahh this brings back so many fond memories of childhood Christmas’s! My Mom always had a way of making everything so magical! Hard to capture that with my own family! We still decorate our tree Thanksgiving evening just as I did when I was a child! New magic and memories are fun to make too! Thank you for sharing your magic Vanessa! I will definately be back to celebrate your birthday with cupcakes and lots of sprinkles!! xo
First of HAAAAPPY BIIIRTHDAY! Hooray! I’ll be back for the festivities, you better believe it. I’ll bring the cupcakes! And I loved reading about your Christmas traditions. Such a wonderful post.
You forgot to mention my favorite part…the potatoe salad!!!!!! I usually am so excited to go home for x-mas, but I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had a chance to really accept the fact that it’s only 2 weeks away. I only have one gift, yours. I need to go shopping. Only one 20 page paper left…
Hope you have a Happy Birthday!!!
Dear VV,
You add such joy and pleasure to our world!! Happy Birthday Vanessa!! Just think! Thirty two and terrific!!
You touch and delight me in wonderful ways. You add sparkle to my life. You have talent and you possess humility. When I read your posts it brings me joy. You have and enchanted life. You appreciate your life and your family to include your Lovee. It makes me always happy to come here to see what’s cookin’. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I’m glad you were born! May this be the first day of the best year yet!!
with love,
Constance
PS I’ll come back to see what you post today!!
Happy Birthday and your journal is absolutely beautiful
It’s Tuesday 11th Dec here in England – HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANESSA
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Vanessa
Happy Birthday to you
Hip hip hoorah
Hip hip hoorah
For she’s a jolly good fellow…
and so say all of us.
Now it’s time for the bumps, 32 did you say?
Happy Birthday Vanessa! I just blogged about you and I borrowed a picture of one of your cards(I hope you won’t mind). I also just bought some for myself. I hope you have a wonderful day!
To a very special blogger on a Birthday. Wishing you an array of goodness and magic wishes.
Take care and have a great day…Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday Dear Vanessa Happy Birthday to you…
Suzie Sews
Happy Birthday Vanessa! Since I cant sing I’m sending this little diddy by Altered Images. It always plays in my mind when I hear “Happy Birthday”. Great 80’s tune- I was only 10 or 11 when it came but its a classic now !:)You can play it super loud and do some 80’s dancing without any shame!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgqD826HGuI&feature=related
happy birthday, you lovely little thing!
i wish you all the luck and success and good health ever!
and i adore this post. it has resulted in a severe yearning for luxury and excessive banquets.
enjoy!!!!!!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Happy Birthday!
My son should thank you for giving me the extra *kick!*… I bought everything I need to get those tamales rolling!
Estas son las mananitas que cantaba el rey David, hoy por ser tu cumpleanos, te las cantamos a ti,
Despierta Vanessa Despierta…
Happy Birthday !!!!
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR VANESSA! I hope you have a magical, mystical, wonderful faery tale birthday!
xxxooo
Happy! Happy! Happy Birthday!!!!! Yeah!Hope you are doing something wonderful today. My mom says you should automatically get you birthday off work, like a national holiday! Have a wonderful one!
Traditions are so special and comforting. I could relate to the enjoying the sameness every year. Oh how I long for some of ours that have faded a bit. My grandparents were the center of our family but they have since passed. I had the same as you, always the same and always wonderful and exciting.
xo