We usually celebrate the holidays with families gathered around the Xmas trees that our mom set up a good two months too early. The tree is plastic, and gets re-used every year. It has bobbles, flowers, little gingerbread men and that star on top. But that’s about as far as the ‘traditional Christmas’ goes in our household…
Christmas morning, we get woken up by a hunting klaxon blaring upstairs from our Xmas mad stepfather, he blasts not once, not twice, but four times and quickly runs into our rooms to shake up awake and sprinkle glitter all over us.
Now up, we scrabble downstairs to find a train track set up and a working, miniature train running around the entire first floor of the house, using the Christmas tree as a roundabout (and obstacle). The train caboose is full of presents and you have to dash after it to grab what you can. It speeds along at a good 6mph, so you have to be quick! Then, when you finally do catch up with it, more often than not the presents are intended for someone else, so you have keep up a good jog to finally land onto one whose rightful owner is yourself.
The laughter and glee is inescapable as many of the presents wind up being gag guns that fire foam projectiles. These are quickly snatched up by the adults who shoot them at the children, who are desperately clawing their way through wrapping paper that is almost impossible to get off the toy hidden inside. The wrapping paper is less paper and more tape – whole rolls of tape. No one wants to make it too easy, or for the fun to end.
After about an hour or so of running, screaming and dashing wildly about, the children all move off outside to play with their newest prized possessions while the adults make lunch and retire to the hot tub outside, where they’ll reside for most of the day. A cooler sits next to the tub with assorted liquid adult treats and, and barring the one or two interruptions by the children bugging Grandma to jump into the tub (Grandma stays with the kids at all times), the greater mass of aunts, uncles, moms and dads sit and sweat in the freezing weather, swapping stories and watching the children run amock.
It may not be the most typical, traditional Christmas ever but it’s the way we do things. And as it turns out, our friends over at Jack Daniel’s have always done things their way too. They don’t have a train (well, maybe they do…) but they do take their decorations to a whole new level. As hey describe it:
“Here at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery we’ve never been the type to follow the norm. That could be why our ‘tree’ is anything but traditional. Standing 26ft tall and made entirely of barrels, it’s a seasonal sign of good times, good friends and damn good whiskey. Despite its unconventional nature it has a way of drawing folks closer together, much like the spirit it once housed.”
Every family (even one comprised of non-fraternal friends) has a tradition. So, what’s yours? Share it with everyone at Traditions.JackDaniels.com/
Celebrate Joyfully. Drink Responsibly.
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