Merry christmas from the best beach in northeastern wisconsin

Holiday traditions are an obvious thing to include in a written family history. I suggest also including stories from when the tradition looked a little different:

For the legendary Sanderfoot round-robins, which took place a few days after Christmas, the whole clan would travel to each of the siblings’ houses to see everyone’s Christmas trees and decorations. The party got progressively more raucous at each house and with every year until the infamous “beach party.” That year, Ron and Faye were scheduled to be the last house (the sixth). Unbeknownst to them, the fifth house was skipped—everyone went to their house from the fourth house. By the time Ron and Faye were informed and got to their house, everybody else was having a full-blown luau! People were wearing beach attire, blaring Carribbean music, and, best of all, enjoying the two feet of sand dumped into their toasty warm garage. While the snow was flying outside, Grandpa was wearing a Spuds MacKenzie t-shirt and dipping his toes in a water-filled pool. Cyndi doesn’t know how long it took to clean the last of the sand tracked through the house, but the “aloha” sign hung in Ron and Faye’s garage for years!

Dear Lord, please let my children be fun like my aunts and uncles were. Let them know the joy of an absurd, over-the-top, and well-planned prank. But if it’s very messy, Lord, please let them do it after they move out of my house.