This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine. I’m partnering with Folgers® at Walmart through the Share A Cup & A Story campaign, to celebrate new and old holiday traditions.
Holiday traditions are so important to our family and as the holiday season approaches, it’s always fun to look back on holidays past and remember the great times that have come to define my favorite family memories. Hands down, my favorite tradition is our family’s annual Christmas Eve breakfast, which started back in the late 1980s. My parents were so brave to take on BOTH sides of the family and host everyone for breakfast on Christmas Eve. I can remember the night before was always filled with lots of prep work. My mama washed her special holiday dishes she would serve everyone from, and my dad took care of setting up the big coffee pot and running to the store for last minute items for my mama. At the time, all this prep work just seemed like stuff the adults did, and I wouldn’t come to fully appreciate everything that went into pulling off this breakfast for so many people until I was much older.
When Christmas Eve morning rolled around, I would awaken to the sound of my mama frying up bacon, ham, and eggs and the smell of fresh Folgers® Classic Roast.
I would quickly get dressed and make my way to the kitchen where the “early bird” family members were already gathering. Some of them had to work on Christmas Eve, so my parents started serving breakfast early around 6:00 AM so the early guests could enjoy it as well.
My uncle from one side of the family and my aunt from the other side of the family
My daddy (on the right) and his best friend.
An hour or so later, my aunts, uncles, grandmothers, cousins and a few family friends would start trickling in and filling our home with conversation and laughter. My mama stood on her feet for hours serving up eggs made to order, bacon, ham, biscuits, and hot fruit and my dad made sure the coffee kept brewing. I am seriously not exaggerating when I say that probably around 30 or more people enjoyed that breakfast, each time, over the years. It was something we all looked forward to and the philosophy was, “the more the merrier.”
Thirty years later, the Christmas Eve Breakfast has changed a little, but we still enjoy carrying on this beloved holiday tradition. The crowd for breakfast has gotten smaller. We’ve lost family members, a lot of the younger generation has moved away, and my mama has scaled back breakfast to make it easier on herself. Thank goodness for festive holiday paper plates! One thing that hasn’t changed in over thirty years, though, is that Folgers Classic Roast is still brewed up fresh for every guest that still comes to my mama’s house on Christmas Eve morning.
I am so excited about the upcoming holiday season, so my mama and I sat down recently and visited the Christmas Eve breakfasts of the past by reminiscing over old photos of the occasion through the years and sharing a cup of Folgers coffee.
I had to wonder how my parents fit all those people in their little home because the big crowds in the earlier years were before my parents built on to their house. We laughed about one year that my mom was feeling a little stressed about this breakfast and I suggested that perhaps we could make it a drive-thru occasion that year since they had a kitchen window. Everyone could just pull up to the window under the carport and we could hand them a bag of breakfast, fast food style. This amused my mom so much and we still laugh about it to this day. One huge part of this special holiday tradition that is missing now is my daddy. His passing two years ago has really left a void. My daddy was the biggest coffee drinker in the house, and I still can’t look at a pot of coffee brewing without thinking about him. However, these pictures and memories of holidays past are the things that fills our hearts with thankfulness, and I am so appreciative that these holiday traditions were a part of my childhood and now a part of my son’s life. When I asked my mama if she and my daddy intended for this breakfast to become a yearly affair, she couldn’t remember. It just happened like this, and I think some of the best holiday traditions are those that aren’t really planned. They just happen, everyone enjoys them, and it makes you want to continue to do it.
As you prepare for the holiday season that’s quickly approaching, pick up some Folgers Classic Roast coffee at Walmart in the coffee aisle and share a cup with a friend or family and reminisce about holidays past. It will certainly help
you appreciate the memories you’ve made and inspire you to make new ones as well.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
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