Christmas traditions

As I got ready to head home for Christmas this year my mom and my sister were full of questions about what needed to/could happen for the holiday. It really made me sit down and think about what were important traditions for me to experience if I was going to  feel like I had had a true Christmas. There are many things that I don't feel strongly about, after all three years ago I spend two hours in an internet cafe in Kampot, Cambodia skyping with my family and then went out for a peppercorn crab meal on the banks of the river by myself. So what is it that makes a Christmas at home Christmas? It is mass on Christmas Eve (turns out I don't care about which church since the priest I grew up with has been moved). Driving through Leisurewoods to enjoy the Christmas lights and the luminaries. Christmas Eve at my mom's house - opening presents and snacking on tamales, cheese, fresh rolls and fruit. Spending time with family. The lights on a Christmas tree. A nice family meal on Christmas Day with plenty of veggies (also turns out I don't have strong feelings about the main dish - lasagna this year). If possible going to visit the Zilker tree and trail of lights. Crisp weather many of you would think of as fall (but no snow!). Home made Christmas cookies. My mother's pumpkin bread (do I need to point out we have a lot of food traditions in our family?). Throwing sparkly puffs at my mother that turn into a fake snowball fight until we are both laughing too hard on the floor to continue. Seeing the wonder in my nieces' eyes at the magic of Christmas. All with a low refrain of religious Christmas carols in the background.