celebrating the holiday with just 2,800 of my closest friends

As Dan and I’ve grown older, and our kids have started families of their own, we’ve come to realize that traditional holiday celebrations have – out of necessity – had to change.  When the kids were little and living at home, Easter Sunday meant going to Church, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt in the yard and a family dinner.  Thanksgiving meant a traditional turkey dinner and watching football in the afternoon.  Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner was Potato Latkes with Sour Cream and Applesauce; then we’d head off to Midnight Mass.  Christmas morning we’d open gifts … then everyone would just enjoy their goodies and one another until our dinner of Prime Rib and the trimmings.
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But, as I said, things change once the kids start their own families.  They hold on to some of the traditions they had as children, combining them with those of their spouse’s family – and they create new ones for themselves.  For example, our youngest daughter and her husband’s Christmas dinner is pizza (with beer for mom and dad). 

Last year, Dan and I decided to start some new traditions and, since cruising is our favorite pastime, we booked a Thanksgiving Cruise to the Caribbean.  Our son, who hasn’t started a family yet, joined us.  It really was a great experience!  We had lots of time and adventures at each of the ports during our 7-day cruise, fun together on sea days and, of course, a traditional turkey dinner (one of many options available that evening!).

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For several years, Dan and I have celebrated our birthdays at sea as often as possible.  It’s been a tradition of ours to visit Key West, as a port-of-call, to have a birthday beer at Sloppy Joes.  Since my birthday is in February and Dan’s is in October, it’s kind of nice to break up the year a bit with our celebrations.
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This year, we’re trying a different holiday cruise:  Halloween.  I LOVE dressing up in costumes – but, as we’ve gotten older, there aren’t as many opportunities available for us.  I’ve wanted to do a Halloween cruise for years and we’re finally doing one!  We’ve got our costumes ready for the Halloween Deck Party and, as it turns out, they also have an 80’s Rock Party onboard so I dusted off my Cyndi Lauper garb!  Stay tuned for photos!

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​I’m not sure Dan and I are quite ready to forego Easter or Christmas with our kids (or, more accurately, navigating around their schedules), especially when we have grandchildren with whom we want to celebrate!   But it’s nice to have options.  And, one of these days (God willing), we’ll be able to take the entire family on a holiday cruise. 

Perhaps, that will help them start a new family tradition.
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So … question for you:  have you ever sailed on a holiday?  If not, would you and which holiday?  We’d love to hear from you!