By By Adam Prestridge
Everyone has his or her own Christmas traditions. Whether it's loading up the family in the ole' front-wheel sleigh and driving off into the winter majesty to pick out a Christmas tree or fighting the crowds at the mall to do your holiday shopping, all families have after-Thanksgiving traditions.
Some may think it's an odd Christmas tradition, but for years now I've watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while putting up the Christmas tree. My wife thought it was kind of odd the first few years we were dating and even during our first Christmas, but Sunday night she seemed to really enjoy it. Hopefully she did because it's quite possible that I will watch it five or six more times before the New Year.
Clark Griswald may have to step aside this Christmas if Saturday doesn't go as planned. A few weeks ago my wife went on one of those "I have to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things" trips to Bay Minette and came back with bags and bags full of Christmas lights and other festive decoration for outside our home. It will be my first attempt at hanging lights on a house, so it could get interesting. Hopefully I can stay on the ladder and prevent angering the next-door neighbors.
Our whacky holiday activities may end Saturday when the lights are hung from the house with care, but it began Thanksgiving Day, as most do. It's a task each year to travel to Birmingham and make it from house to house to visit every single relative between both families. It would be a lot easier if everyone on each side of the family met at one location each year making it only two stops. One of the best parts about the holiday, besides being able to visit with family, is you have the opportunity to stuff yourself as full as Jolly Ole' St. Nick with some good home cooking.
It's always comedic to watch the elders in your family argue among each other. Even more funny is that they can't even hear each others reasoning for the arguments and thankfully can't hear the others in the family getting tickled over it.
This year one of my aunts who rarely visits, attended Thanksgiving and to see her and her sister (my grandmother) argue over a 96-year-old houseguest was rather amusing. I must say that even though they are both in their upper 80's, they still have it.
Fortunately, no Christmas trees were burned down or squad units called during the festivities. The only problem we had was trying to come down off the sugar overload we all were in after all the sweets and coffee we had.
Hopefully Saturday, I won't fall off the ladder and break any bones or Heaven forbid any of the hundreds of lights she bought be broken during my fall. So if you really want to see a comedy act, you may want to stop by, I can promise there will be one.
Adam Prestridge is publisher of the Atmore Advance. His column appears weekly.