You guys! It’s November 20th, which means it’s almost Thanksgiving, which means it’s practically Christmas already! I love the holiday season and am soooo ready for it. I think we’re all looking for a bit of magic after this long and difficult year.

One of the things that always makes the holidays feel special for me are the traditions that come with it. I love traditions and, while they aren’t exclusive to the holidays, they sure come out in full force this time of year! From the food we eat to the music we listen to, there’s something special about pulling out the old favorites.

Traditions bring a sense of comfort to an otherwise chaotic and stressful time. Don’t get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the festive stuff. But it also brings with it shopping and travel and family stuff, which can be a lot to manage all at once. I think this is part of the reason we turn to traditions. Something familiar and cozy, like a soft chair that has perfectly formed to your shape. Christmas movies are like this for me. I watch the same ones every year and, unlike other movies I’ve seen before, I don’t care that I can recite the dialogue from memory. I revel in the comfort of something familiar.

In addition to bringing a sense of comfort, traditions are also make the ordinary feel celebratory. For example, I watch football almost every weekend during the season. But watching football with my family while eating the Chex mix that my dad makes every year? Something about that feels special and makes the ordinary occurrence of watching football feel like a holiday event.

Some traditions are great because they create a space for people to come together. When I was in college we had a tradition of a white elephant gift exchange with the same group of people. The party also always featured a raucous game of Christmas-themed charades. This continued on for several years after college and it was the one night of the year that I saw some of these people, or even talked to them for that matter. We had all gone our separate ways but we could all come together for one night to laugh and revisit old jokes.

Aside from all the touchy-feely reasons we love traditions, there is also a very practical reason for them. Deciding on a tradition means taking some future decisions off the table. Traditions can make meal decisions easy, they can help corral large groups of people, and can give us a sense of familiarity when everything else is a bit chaotic.

But, I think it’s especially key this year to make sure the traditions we’ve held on to for so long are still serving us and that we aren’t doing them just for the sake of familiarity. It might not be the best idea to get the same big group of people together even if that’s what you always do. Or maybe think about skipping that one bar with the fun decorations that you always go to. Find the same comfort by treating yourself to some new festive jammies to wear at home. Tap into the celebration by looking up some festive drinks to make at home and dressing in your fanciest holiday outfit for a night in. Find new ways to bring people together, like a virtual movie watch party or a Zoom party with ugly Christmas sweaters. And if things are feeling too different, get in the car and drive around to look at lights and decorations. Not everything this year has to be new and different, but you might end up stumbling upon a new tradition that you can carry into the future.

At the end of the day, we indulge in traditions because of love for the people around us. So my reminder to you this holiday season is to remember to make it about the love…with or without the traditions.