Holiday Traditions - Horse Doover Nite

This has to be, hands down, my family's favorite part of Christmas.  We prepare lots of tasty hors d'oeuvres, literally translated as horse doovers (after a goofy friend of mine called them that eons ago) and spread them out on the dining room table.  We make up some fancy beverages in fancy glasses and put out little plates and napkins to eat with. 

Next we put some old George Strait & Alabama Christmas CDs on the stereo and hit the "random play" button.  Honestly, the only time I listen to country music is at the holidays.  It just seems right for some reason and the girls really look forward to it.  My youngest says that anytime she hears country music it always reminds her of Christmas. 

Then we haul out the big red tote of Christmas decorations and set up the tree.  With music playing in the background we settle in for a lot of fun untangling tree lights and troubleshooting the ones that worked just fine last year but aren't this year, for some reason.   Reminiscing about where certain ornaments came from, especially the ones when the kids were babies, and seeing the ones they made at daycare and school when they were really little.  They love it when I share stories of spending Christmas with my family when I was a young girl and how everyone would congregate at my grandparent's house.  Of course, we can't help but remember the loved ones that have left us and gone on to greater things. 

We eat, we decorate, we sing and dance to the music on the stereo, we laugh and act silly.  It is a very special time at our house.