I love Christmas – almost to a terrifying degree. I’m that friend who declares it Christmas the moment the kids are done trick or treating. Literally, the minute we are home and they are in jammies, I’m putting on Christmas music. And Nov. 1, the Christmas decorations are coming out.
I could honestly write a whole series of blogs on Christmas and the various traditions that my family takes part in but one of my favorites is the Christmas Pickle.
Now … if you love pickles and think that I’m going to incorporate some kind of pickle dish into your Christmas eve dinner, I’m sorry. But, let’s chat later because I love pickles too. This wasn’t a tradition that I grew up with but one that my little immediate family adopted a few years ago. In fact, I remember thinking how strange it was to actively start a tradition – it felt wrong. Most of our traditions are either carryovers from our childhood or something that just organically happened. But this is not the case of the Christmas Pickle.
The Christmas Pickle is a glass ornament of … well … a pickle.
While some say that this is a German tradition, Wikipedia actually says it originated in the US in the 16 century #themoreyouknow. The way the pickle is supposed to work is that it gets hidden on Christmas Eve somewhere in the tree. The next morning, the first person to find it either gets a special prize or gets to open the first present.
Honestly, this can be tricky to navigate with two kids close in age. My boys are 2 years apart and very much in competition – I have to be very careful to get them the exact same things, right down to the color. So, with the pickle, I am in danger of having a pouty pants on my hands. This year, I plan to hide the pickle OFF the tree and put their stockings with the pickle so it’s fun for both of them to find.
I love holiday traditions and I’m always trying to find fun things to bring into our celebrations so the pickle is perfect for us – especially because it’s a one night only commitment, unlike a certain Elf who shall not be named …
