Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Holiday Morning Traditions & A Giveaway

This is sponsored content by BlogHer and Kelloggs.



Amazing Cinnamon Rolls

It is safe to say we are traditionalists - to the extreme. Each year, Christmas morning proceeds in the same manner, without a single deviation to the routine. After breakfast, which always includes cinnamon rolls drizzled in a maple glaze, we move onto stockings, presents, and one very unusual family tradition, which I will tell you about a little later.

My husband and I are lucky to have families that actually like each other. Every since we married, 11 years ago, we have spent Christmas altogether. That's right - my family, his family, altogether. Since we all live in different cities (or countries, for that matter), we rotate between three cities - Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and Victoria, Canada. It is fun, it is joyful, and it teaches our two boys to really appreciate the best part of Christmas - family and friends. We realize how lucky we are and we treasure each year that we are able to continue the tradition.

During the second Christmas that we spent together, the two grandmothers (my mum and my husband's mum) disappeared into the guest room for about 15 minutes. There was plenty of giggling from behind the closed door and we were instructed to have our cameras at the ready. Finally, the door opened to the sound of jingle bells ringing and out came the two cutest reindeer you ever will see, shaking their little red tails at us. Dressed in matching white fleece jumpsuits, antlers, and red noses, the grandmothers were the spitting images of that famous red-nosed reindeer. The performance was such a hit that it was declared an instant tradition. Now the kids are in on the act and, occasionally, an unsuspecting dog or two.

Kelloggs12-1

Since that first reindeer Christmas, the reindeer costume has gone through several changes. One year, we were surprised with cheerleading reindeer, another year the theme was "Christmas hits Hawaii" and included bikini tops (over the fleece jumpsuits), leis, and a rousing rendition of the hula. We always look forward to the next incarnation of Rudolph-in-drag.

For a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card, please answer the following question in the comments section:

"What is one of the holiday traditions that your family participates in (can be Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc.)?"

Please, no duplicate comments.

For a second entry, you can:

Tweet about this post with a link to it (and put your tweet URL in a separate comment below)
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This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
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You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Please head to the BlogHer.com Kellogg exclusive offers page for 24 additional chances to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Sweepstakes ends 5pm EST on November 1, 2010.

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100 comments:

Heather (Creative Family Moments) said...

We do cinnamon rolls first thing the morning after Thanksgiving and decorate the tree... usually as early as 8 a.m. Our tree is not beautiful, its eclectic, entirely screaming, "We have kids and kid ornaments!" Then when we're done the youngest usually sighs and says something to the effect of, "It needs presents underneath." Thus beginning the countdown to Christmas.

Mami2jcn said...

At Thanksgiving we always go around the table and each say what we're thankful for.

mami2jcn at gmail dot com

Suburban prep said...

When we were growing up and even after some of us were married (I have 6 younger siblings), we would come home from the late Christmas Eve mass and make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. When we were younger it would mean warm cookies for Santa and when were got older it gave us a chance to catch up. We would also open one gift from under the tree.

msgb245 at gmail dot com

Ashley said...

At Easter we always make a bunny cake.

hewella1 at gmail dot com

anonymous said...

Having a family dinner and opening presents at Christmas. Not very unique, but it's an annual tradition.

meeyeehere said...

We open our presents on Christmas eve and open presents from Santa on Christmas.We have always opened family gifts on Christmas eve.Not a bad tradition,HUH??
jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

meeyeehere said...

http://twitter.com/meeyeehere/status/28822526219
tweeted too
jacksoncrisman@yahoo.com

Haven said...

TURKEY!!! Haha

Haven said...

I tweeted

http://twitter.com/HavensTwit/status/28833037080

Tim said...

At Thanksgiving we always have homemade apple pie with fresh picked apples.

tahearn at roadrunner dot com

Tim said...

I tweeted at

http://twitter.com/tahearn/status/28842212471

tahearn at roadrunner dot com

Tammigirl said...

We all get together for the holidays. I mean ALL of us. There are four generations of us. And if my kids had followed in our footsteps there would be plenty of a fifth generation already! It's a big old bunch of people, and it is what Christmas (and Thanksgiving, and Easter) is all about.

Tabathia B said...

Halloween, its my daughter's birthday and of course, Christmas
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Tabathia B said...

tweet
http://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/28849014746
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

Natalia said...

I bake special Bloody Ghosts cookies for Halloween.
natatheangel at yahoo dot com

TruthHole said...

We really don't have a tradition.I guess we do make cookies to leave for santa claus the night before Christmas so maybe that is our tradition

truthhole@gmail.com

TruthHole said...

We do a traditional hay ride on Halloween with all the neighborhood kids

truthhole@gmail.com

Hillary said...

During christmas the whole family gets together on christmas eve and open are presents.

hillaryanna at yahoo dot com

Hillary said...

Tweeted
http://twitter.com/Hillary82/status/28899402026

hillaryanna at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

On Easter we always have an Easter bunny pinata filled with a lot of candy.

MCantu1019@aol.com

Anonymous said...

http://twitter.com/tigergal01/status/28919424950

tweet

~eunice b
tigergal01 @gmail .com

Anonymous said...

We enjoy Christmas caroling to the elderly & seeing Christmas lights on Christmas eve...we drive around through the neighborhood.

~eunice b
tigergal01 @gmail .com

Kaizen Fashion Project said...

We have a scavenger hunt for our Easter baskets with the kiddos. We hide papers with riddle clues that lead them all over the house and property then eventually to their baskets!

heatheranne99 at gmail dot com

Kaizen Fashion Project said...

Tweet!
http://twitter.com/ScoomerBlog/status/28920402333

heatheranne99 at gmail dot com

Katy said...

We have a tradition we started a few years ago- making Berries & Cream French Toast on Christmas morning!

Xandra said...

When I was little, my grandmother always got a bunny cake covered with coconut shavings. It was always exciting to see how cute it was but every time I tried to eat it I would hate the taste!

When my daughter gets older we will do a chocolate egg hunt/easter baskets like my parents did for me when I was little.

ale.runawaybunny@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

We have a special Christmas morning strata and white cocoa with peppermint.
Then we lookat photos from previous Holidays.
tattgiff at centurytel dot net

Unknown said...

OH my gosh that cinny roll picture looks so GOOD! We have sweet rolls but er...um...BUY them. but we always make heart shaped waffles, strawberries and cream, baked omelets and breakfast meats...then graze on holiday homemade treats all day.
the kids love to help with the waffles because the maker has a little birdie "Beep" that lets you know when done! other tradition is dressing up to go to Christmas eve service...taking turns to open gifts (youngest on up rotation) and spending ALL day watching movies and playing with new gifts...NO travel! It's awesome!

thanks so much!

ejrichter60 at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

tweeted this!

http://twitter.com/2sic2mooov/status/28964091523

ejrichter60 at gmail dot com

thanks!

Kristi said...

We do breakfast casserole and french toast for Christmas morning! After stockings and presents, of course! Makes something special to remember!

The Sunshyn said...

We really haven't developed much for morning traditions at this point. Used to be we'd get donuts and/or cinnamon bunns every Christmas but some issues with sugar developed so we haven't really been doing that anymore.
chainmail(at) iwon(dot) com

The Sunshyn said...

I tweeted this
http://twitter.com/The_Sunshyn/status/29013851065

jakiesmom said...

we open one present on christmas eve
nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net

hendy said...

Every Christmas since I was a child we would open presents and then travel down to Pittsburg (no "h"), KS to our grandparents house and open more presents. I mean really, how can Christmas not be the best day of the year.
hmhenderson AT yahoo DOT com

hendy said...

tweeted
http://twitter.com/HendyMartin/status/29059842683
hmhenderson AT yahoo DOt com

Anonymous said...

One of our Christmas traditions is to have our extended families over for Christmas lunch. My husband usually fries a turkey. Thanks for the great giveaway!

Anonymous said...

Tweeted - http://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/29074376233
maddiemb (at) comcast (dot) net

Darcy said...

Christmas morning always means quiche and homemade cinnamon rolls!

The Fam said...

We each have our favorite sugary (bad!) cereal wrapped under the tree, after we open all of our gifts (and cereal) on Christmas morning we all get to eat a big bowl of our favorite treat cereal!

shannoncarman at yahoo dot com

sodahoney said...

Christmas day is the only time. I host the family brunch.

sodahoney said...

http://twitter.com/sodahoney/status/29116549495

Kelly Massman said...

Don't have any yearly special breakfast traditions, but we usually have special breakfast days on the weekend with pancakes, bacon and eggs! :-) That is also the only time I allow myself the treat of having coffee! Thanks! kmassman gmail

sunnymum said...

Most of my family spend the day after Thanksgiving getting a head start on the Christmas-season baking. Cookies, cookies and more cookies...but since everyone's full of turkey, they don't get eaten before being carefully stashed in tins and the freezer.
cbeargie at yahoo dot com.

sunnymum said...

Also tweeted: http://twitter.com/sunnymum/status/29139872245

Tracy R said...

Major holiday mornings are just a bowl of cereal, because we want to save our appetites for all of the goodies that start coming a little bit later in the day!

Racingjourno said...

Weekends and holidays are for bacon and eggs after healthy weekday breakfasts.

Racingjourno said...

Tweet
http://twitter.com/LuigiFranco/status/29147040281

scoopster(nospam)at yahoo dot com

sustahl said...

Every July 4th, my family gets together at my parents house and we make fudge. We pour most of it into a pan to harden, but we leave some to dip bananas into. So delicious!

prizeentry @ wesharewithyou dot com

Janice said...

no special breakfast tradition, but we always eat breakfast as a family on weekends. That's nice since we can't do that on weekdays (work)

m8usi@yahoo.com

Janice said...

tweeted:
http://twitter.com/cappytweet/status/29152298315

m8usi@yahoo.com

Leah @ A Butterfly In My Stomach said...

We have a beautiful Thanksgiving meal with all the traditional food...I love that tradition! We have French Toast Casserole!

leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com

Anonymous said...

For birthdays my wife makes chocolate french toast.
hmman (at) centurytel (dot) net

Leah @ A Butterfly In My Stomach said...

http://twitter.com/#!/leahforlove/status/29189589355

leahforlove(at)aol(dot)com

oneordinaryday said...

We make reindeer food with all the kids on Christmas Eve, then take them outside in their pjs to sprinkle it all over the yard. :)

susan1215 said...

Christmas mornings I make cinnamon rolls and a breakfast casserole

s2s2 at comcast dot net

susan1215 said...

http://twitter.com/susan1215/status/29194313315

Jennifer said...

Christmas Eve we serve a HUGE breakfast that morning and then skip lunch because we have a big supper that night at my parents!

SensiblySara said...

Tweet! http://twitter.com/Doodle741/status/29199354784

residentmayor at satx.rr.com

ms-texas said...

we open presents early Christmas morning and then enjoy a traditional meal for lunch

On Christmas eve, we get to open one present!

debbiebellows[at]gmail[dot]com

ms-texas said...

tweeted!

http://twitter.com/bellows22/statuses/29206510056

debbiebellows[at]gmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

Christmas morning is the certainly my favorite morning. My kids are early morning risers, and Christmas morning is no different. They are up usually at about 6am. We watch them open all their presents while my husband and I drink our coffee. The stash of new toys keeps them busy while I start cooking breakfast. Our tradition is french toast (made with my mother's homemade Challah bread), bacon, eggs, and homemade home fries. We feast and it usually keeps us full and satisfied until Christmas dinner is ready!

LAMusing said...

Easter breakfast is always ham and eggs, OJ and warm cinnamon rolls
adrianecoros(at)gmail(dot)com

Norma said...

New Years morning we always go out for breakfast
bingomamanorma(at)gmail(dot)com

LAMusing said...

tweet!
http://twitter.com/LAMusing/status/29222567715
adrianecoros(at)gmail(dot)com

Betty C said...

When our children were young my husband was in the military. That meant he had to work either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We taught our children early on that we needed to be flexible. Sometimes that meant presents were opened on Christmas Eve and other times they had to wait till Christmas Day. If they had to wait they always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve. They knew what the gift would be but they were still happy. The gift? New pajamas every Christmas Eve.

Betty C said...

Tweet - http://twitter.com/willitara/status/29223576920

Aisha said...

On Christmas morning, my husband and I make big breakfast for his family. We love having people over just to talk and serve them.

April Yedinak said...

Holiday breakfasts I make homemade waffles and we have orange juice (we don't usually have it around for regular breakfast, because the kids drink it all as soon as it is bought).
ape2016(at)aol(dot)com

marcia goss said...

On Chrismas morning, we make coffee and open presents. Then I make a big breakfast for everyone, usually scrambled eggs, bacon, and French Toast.
marcia.goss@gmail.com

marcia goss said...

Tweet.
http://twitter.com/mgoss123/status/29276916831
marcia.goss@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Love all the holiday dinners and everyone participates one way or the other.
gmissycat yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

Tweeted here too!
http://twitter.com/gmissycat/status/29286116064
gmissycat at yahoo dot com

marybug2 said...

Our favorite breakfast is on New Years day. A big breakfast to start out the New Year.
marybug2@yahoo.com

marybug2 said...

I tweeted your giveaway
http://swistlereviews.blogspot.com/2010/10/kelloggs-week-twelve-morning-rituals.html
marybug2 at yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

We don't do any holiday breakfasts, just eggs and waffles every sunday! scg00387 at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

On Christmas morning, we open presents first, then we eat breakafast, much, much, later. Usually everyone is so excited that food is the last thing on our minds. So, breakfast usally doesn’t happen until 11 or so. I make pancakes later on.

pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Anonymous said...

http://twitter.com/lpauld68/status/29305350397

pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com

Betty N said...

Christmas eve was always a time to go to church and then come home to my mother's homemade doughnuts and open all except the Santa Claus presents.

Betty N said...

tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/Grandma3710/status/29311136505

Wander said...

Love the cinnamon rolls!
We like to have monkey bread on holiday mornings. It's our family tradition (even though our kids are college/high school).

Kerry said...

I usually make the breakfast casserole that you let set overnight with the eggs and bread in it. It’s so easy to pop in the oven in the morning and that gives me more time to spend with the family!
nuthouse(at)centurytel(dot)net

Kerry said...

tweeted: http://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/29333278893
nuthouse(at)centurytel(dot)net

The Need 2 Read said...

We always have breakfast at my house Christmas morning! We invite my aunt and uncle, mom and dad, grandparents - and everyone sits down for a nice family breakfast and my 5 year old son gets to show off his gifts from Santa! This year we'll have a new addition - I have a baby due in a week, so it will be a little more challenging, but definitely special! I'll be out on unpaid maternity leave through Christmas, so I would LOVE to win this to help actually purchase our breakfast items. Thanks for the chance! Here's crossing my fingers!! :)

jamieandandre at bellsouth dot net

The Need 2 Read said...

Tweet Tweet!

http://twitter.com/ChampagneWisdom/status/29334403936

jamieandandre at bellsouth dot net

JJ said...

Our Special breakfast day is Easter, Christmas, and a couple unplanned days every couple of months we have breakfast casserole

JJ said...

Tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/jjudy04/status/29397618005

Unknown said...

My family goes to IHOP every Christmas morning for breakfast
shopgurl101 at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

tweet http://twitter.com/shopgurl/status/29397812407

shopgurl101@gmail.com

Unknown said...

blogged: http://sweetqt.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/win-visa-gc-from-kellogs-and-blogher/

shopgurl101@gmail.com

Scott said...

I love the morning of Thanksgiving day! We always have some pumpkin bread and hot spiced cider while making the big lunch!
Scott
nynekats at aol dot com

Scott said...

tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/RePurrPussed/status/29399371346
Scott
nynekats at aol dot com

angie lilly said...

I tweeted here:
http://twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/29399911804
Angie
one 4 earth at aol dot com

Kathleen said...

Each year on Thanksgiving we go to my future mother-in-laws house and everyone bring a dish. We have tons of food, set up a huge tent outside and eat, eat, eat.

Sparklezstars@cfl.rr.com

Kathleen said...

http://twitter.com/Sparklezstars/statuses/29403592342

Tweeted

Sparklezstars@cfl.rr.com

KaHolly said...

Holidays and Sunday mornings are always a special morning. We have a big breakfast that varies from week to week as we each take turns picking our favorites! Now that we are older, we all take turns preparing the meal. We turn off the telephone, gather as a family, and share our stories, joke around, and spend quality time together.

Unknown said...

We always have sliced beef gravy with biscuits before we open any presents on Christmas morning.

Unknown said...

Tweeted

http://twitter.com/jillyrh/status/29411853468

Amanda said...

We love to have a day with immediate family around Christmas where we just give thanks to Jesus! No gifts, so commercialism, no hyped up stuff. Just the celebration of our Savior!

Blessings-
Amanda

bdiane34 said...

We love making puppy chow for xmas
sweokgrl@gmail.com

bdiane34 said...

I tweeted
sweokgrl@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/bdiane34/status/29414057017