We watch all theatrical Star Wars movies. We do it in chronological order: 1, 2, 3, Solo, R1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Phantom Menace plays while we're decorating so we don't really have to pay attention. Make snacks and cookies though episode 3. Sit down and watch R1 on the nice TV with popcorn. 4-6 when we have time, and then we do the sequels in the background while doing other things. Usually takes us a few weeks, not rigidly planned out. Always fun though.

Tried to add Andor in, just doesn't fit in the time, so movies only.

baking christmas cookies, i make 8-9 different kinds every year in big quantities and then ship boxes to all my friends :3

edit: and i'm done baking!

We cook bacon until we're tired of eating bacon. I got a pretty ceramic grease pot with a filter one year as a gift, alongside the means to fill it up, so... we did that.

Candlelight dinner with the family

I love our Norwegian rice pudding with cherries. My mother hides a single blanched almond in there. Whoever finds it gets a present. It's always very competitive. And everyone watches with eagle eyes to make sure that the portions are sized equally.

Going out and cutting the tree with the kid.

I couldn't care less about it, but she enjoys it and it kicks off the season on black Friday in a nice way.

Decorating the tree. We have ornaments from friends and family that have passed, places we’ve travelled to or lived, ones our daughter made, ones I made when I was a kid, really old ones from my parents trees when they were kids, beautiful handmade ones from friends. As we unwrap them and put them on the tree I get to think about all those memories and people I love. That is the spirit of Christmas to me.

We actually decorated the tree last night and later as I was trying to sleep (thanks insomnia!) I was thinking about all the people that I love that I can’t see now. Either from distance or political reasons, or they’ve passed on. It was sad but I also felt so loved and lucky that I had/have them in my life. I so so so hope that the US gets its shit together, a lot of my heart is scattered around down there.

putting up the tree with everything

never gets old

I miss the smell of a real tree. When I was a kid, my grandparents always had a real tree and that pine smell was heavily tied to the memory of Christmas. I tried to do that for my son but Christmas trees don't really smell that strong anymore. It's just sad that I can't give that experience anymore.

Turning on the 24 hour marathon of “A Christmas Story” right as it starts at 8 o’clock on Christmas Eve with my family.

Been doing it since I can remember and even got to watch it in theaters a couple years ago! One of the very rare times I didn’t need caption glasses as I knew every single line lmao