Wacky family traditions

Every family has some, right? Our family has quite a few at Christmastime! Has anyone ever heard of the Christmas Pickle? I've never really taken the time to get the story behind it, but in our family it basically goes like this: Dad hides the pickle somewhere in the Christmas tree, and Mom times us kids as we take turns looking for it. Peter wins every single time, usually finding it within 2.4 seconds. Emily and I, on the other hand, search for 5 minutes, get 3 hints, still can't find it, and tie for last place. Same story this year, except this time we threw Mike into the mix and Dad was EXTRA tricky!

Usually, it's hidden somewhere in the tree like this. But, as I sadly discovered after 2 minutes and 5 seconds of searching (and a hint).....


It was on top of the tree!










Tricky tricky! Peter saw the second he walked into the room. But, we still all got presents regardless :)

Another wacky (or maybe just Polish) tradition:

Shots?
Ahh yes, with some verrryy interesting Polish potato vodka. Right before we eat Christmas eve dinner, we all cheers "Na zdrowie" (Polish for "to your health") and down it goes! There is something a little strange about taking a shot with your entire family...

These are our "santa sacks". I believe this tradition started when "Santa" got tired of wrapping and labeling a zillion toys, so he (or she) put 0ur presents in these sacks with our names on them. But, 10 years and three almost-adult children later, the sacks remain. And presents are still found inside. Apparently some families just put their presents under the tree...who knew??

And finally, we always watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Not that its wacky, but this version is. Enjoy :)