Stories and photos submitted by readers.

The Houma-Thibodaux Moms (a group that was formed through Meetup.com) gather each year for a Christmas Cookie Swap. We each make five dozen cookies. It has become a tradition with our group. The children (who are old enough) help their moms decorate and pack up the cookies to bring to the swap. We look forward to seeing who has the cookies that get eaten first and who has the most clever cookies. Last year it was a cookie made by Jaime Faulkner and her daughters called Stain Glassed Cookies. They were sugar cookies with smashed jolly ranchers inside. Whoever hosts the event looks forward to having a house invaded by children full of sugar each December. The more the merrier is always the theme with our group.

The Houma-Thibodaux Moms

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We began decorating our home the first year we moved in.  That was 30 years ago.  Ever since, we added a little more each year until it reached
approximately 200,000 lights.  Our young children, 9 of them, enjoyed
the lights and helping Santa Claus (My husband Earl dressed up.) hand out candy to passersby.  One tradition our children grew up with is putting a shoe out the night before Christmas Eve, St. Nick night. Every Christmas Eve morning, they would have candy and some new pajamas (good for Christmas morning pictures).  If they happened not to be home, they made us promise to put their shoe out.  Now that our children are grown, we cannot stop decorating as the grandchildren (20 of them, and one great-grandchild) look forward to the lights.  And for Christmas, no presents for the children are put out before Christmas morning (wee early hours), and everything is wrapped.  What a sight—wrapping paper all over and children looking for their name tag from “Santa”. We love Christmas and the reason for the season. 

Julie McElroy

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My family hosts an annual cookie day. We have been celebrating it at the
beginning of December since 1997. We gather early on a Saturday
morning and bake and bake and bake. We have a list of cookies that must be baked in addition to a list of new recipes we want to try. We paint sugar cookies with bright colors then bake them. One of the cookies that must be done is the kitchen sink cookie. They have everything but the kitchen sink in them. These are the ones that we pack up for the soldiers each year. Our cousin has been overseas for the last three years, and we make care packages for him and his friends. 

Susan Waldron (Pictured l. to r. Eleanor Waldron and Camryn Williams)

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Every year my family watches the “Peter, Paul and Mary Christmas Special”. My father recorded it off of PBS in 1987, and we have watched it every Christmas Eve since.  Sometime in the late ‘90s he re-recorded it, due to the poor quality of the first recording.  He scanned the TV Guide for weeks before Christmas and finally found it airing at 3 a.m. When us kids moved out, he had DVDs made for us to take to our own families. Over the years this video has become a very special tradition to my family, and we plan to keep that tradition going for many years to come!” 

Reyna ONeil

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Since I was born and even before my time, my family has spent every Christmas Eve night at my grandmother’s (Mama Shirley’s) house. Twenty plus people, including kids and even a couple of dogs would fill her quaint little Slatter Street home. Upon entering, you couldn’t help but notice the aroma of Mama’s homemade meatballs (which she got up at 6 a.m. to start preparing) and of course, Sunrise Fried Chicken. No one dared to eat
all the drumsticks, because those were Mama’s favorite! But even more wonderful than her food, she would greet everyone upon entering with a big hug, a smile and a “How ya doing, Sha? Wanna eat?” Our Christmas Eve food was nothing compared to the two turkeys and ham, yams, two different kinds of stuffing, peas, cornbread, green bean casserole, fruit salad (and the list goes on) that was in store for us the following Christmas day. Mama cooked everyone’s favorite food and made sure she didn’t forget to cook at least three desserts as well. Without our Christmas Eve at Mama’s house, Christmas couldn’t happen. This is a tradition that my grandmother spent her life building and is the reason why I have such a close and wonderful family. Because of her years of selfless love and her wonderful ability to bring my family together, I am eternally grateful. This wonderful woman and the rock of our family, passed away at the age of 79 this past June. The thought of ever celebrating a Holiday, ESPECIALLY Christmas Eve, without Mama, seems next to impossible. Her love and wonderful sense of humor is what made our Christmases and our lives so special. And while we know this first Christmas without her will be so emotional and difficult, and that no Christmas will ever be the same, we owe it to her memory to continue a tradition that we know meant so much to her and that she worked so hard to bring us together for so many years. So in Loving Memory of my grandmother, a wonderful cajun woman who is dearly missed, “Merry Christmas, Sha”. 

Crystal Schouest