Holiday Traditions – What Brings You Joy During the Holidays?

Grasshopper Pie

Our holiday tradition is grasshopper pie. My mom grew up in Michigan where the famous restaurant Schuler's featured grasshopper pie. Mom always loved it, began making it, and brought it down South when she married my dad. It's a beautiful pie with a chocolate cookie crust and a pretty green color (made with crème de menthe, not grasshoppers) that everyone looks forward to at Christmas. Now that my mom is gone, my dad started making the pies for our Christmas dinners.

- Martha L. Boyd, Shareholder

Making Christmas Ornaments

I started a tradition with my daughter of making a Christmas ornament every year to decorate our tree. Last year, I put her hospital bracelet and hat in a clear ornament. This year, we'll make one with her hand/footprint that she will paint.

- Taraneh Maloney Zasada, Associate

Christmas Eve Traditions

Now that our children are teenagers, our Christmas Eve tradition begins with a matinee of It's a Wonderful Life at our favorite independent theatre, followed by the candlelight service at church. We eat dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant, and then head home to sit by a crackling fire and the Christmas tree, open one gift each, read T'was the Night Before Christmas aloud, then snuggle up and hope Santa comes!

- Christy Tosh Crider, Shareholder

We love the holidays, and have several fun traditions in my family. We make holiday sugar cookies each Christmas. This is always a very messy but fun time. We also always schedule a trip to Canton, Mississippi to view the Christmas lights. Our tradition (since I was a baby) has been to open gifts Christmas morning and then have a family breakfast. Last, we love having our neighborhood Breakfast with Santa. This is a yearly event and always a fun time because we get to see Santa, have a nice family breakfast, and get to spend time with all of our neighbors and their children.

- Wendy Huff Ellard, Shareholder