I believe that traditions are the foundation of strong family bonds. They do not have to be complex, time-consuming, or expensive in order to be special.
Family rituals build powerful interpersonal connections and strengthen the bonds you have between each other, creating a stronger sense of belonging to the family.
Tom and I try to foster a collective sense of identity for our family. Since both our families live abroad, we created our own Epperson traditions by doing the same activities every year as a family. We come together as a group with our own unique identity: “We are a family that rocks the holidays!” Haha!
An Epperson Christmas is simple, fun, stress-free but special, just how the holidays should be.
Like what I said, holidays are stress-free at Maison Epperson:
Dads make the best pillows! Tom and Dylan watching a Christmas film. Very, very light relaxation lang. I am glad I captured this moment on the camera! Priceless!
I redecorated Maison Epperson for the holidays. This year’s theme is Winter Wonderland. Nothing extravagant, I just moved some artwork around and changed our throw pillows and curtains.
I’m constantly changing the look of Maison Epperson. I believe that when it comes to family traditions, it is rooted from doing family activities over and over but when it comes to our space, it should constantly evolve depending on our needs and mood.
I like redecorating our home. It's a fun and creative process for me. Moving things around in our home and changing accessories create an inspiring space. It doesn't take much but the positive impact on my family is great.
One of the things that make our holidays special too is the table setting for Christmas Eve dinner. Playing “plato-platuhan” is a tradition that I inherited from my mom and my grandmother. They were big on collecting beautiful china but, unlike them, I use ours everyday.
The sets of holiday plates I have are special because I only bust them out during the holiday season.
Make simple meals special by using holiday plates!
I hope to pass on some of my tableware collection to my daughter Aryanna. For now, she helps me set the table. I believe that the best way to teach our kids is through experience, like setting up the table and observing proper table manners.
For Christmas Eve dinner, we used the Spode “Christmas Tree” collection. It took me 5-6 years to build this set and it’s almost complete!
My mantra when it comes to building a collection is "slowly and beautifully". The fun is always in the hunt!
Tom gave me roses for Christmas. I used them as our centerpiece.
The mint julep cups are my favorite vase! They are perfect for the dining table as they do not overpower my beautiful plates.
Our family is half American so we cook turkey for Christmas instead of lechon. Besides, the only part I like in a lechon is the crispy skin. No one in my family likes it too so turkey it is!
Tom cooks a perfect turkey every time. He also does it effortlessly! According to him, the secret is cooking with love and using a good meat thermometer. Pak!
When there’s turkey, there’s mash!
I made this mashed potato soufflé to go with our turkey. I only cook this once a year because this dish is dangerous — it has all the bad ingredients that makes it so good: heavy cream, whole milk, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, salt, and more butter! Haha!
Sidings
Tom made Italian sausage stuffing with celery, onion, chestnuts, Italian bread and fresh sage. The rice is for our helpers and the veggies are just display to make us feel good, but no one eats them. Haha!
Like what I wrote, we make simple, satisfying and stress-free Christmas Eve dinner:
Tom and I love to cook but the less time we spend in the kitchen, the more time we can hangout as a family.
Meet the Eppersons!
Christmas Eve dinner with the family includes our extended family, our helpers. We all share a meal, say a prayer and make a Christmas wish.
From left: Aryanna, Tom, yaya Gina, and "The Liza 2000"
Tom made pumpkin pie for dessert and the rest of us attacked this gingerbread house!
All day, all night movie watching.
After seeing all our favorite Christmas films, we decided to watch a non-Christmas movie: 'Paris When it Sizzles'
Since Aryanna was a kid, we would camp out in our living room and wait for Santa. Up to now, she still awaits the arrival of Santa, especially that she has a more personal relationship with him. It’s more fun now as we are passing on the Santa Stakeout tradition to Dylan.
Our Marshmallow Palace in the living room
The kids left out milk and cookies for Santa. Next year, we’ll leave out reindeer food (whatever that is) too.
Lighting a peppermint-scented candle sets the mood for the holidays.
Ready for lights out! Santa's coming to town!
Christmas morning is the most anticipated day of the year!
Ever since we moved to a smaller place, we all agreed to give each other less but more meaningful gifts. That way we avoid clutter and we think of more creative and special gifts for everyone.
Christmas Day madness at Maison Epperson
On Santa’s ‘Nice’ List: The Eppersons
Christmas brunch!
We skip the traditional Noche Buena for a hefty Christmas brunch for health reasons. Ayaw ng empatso. Haha!
Christmas morning brunch set-up:
Gilt-y pleasure: Plato-platuhan!
According to Coco Chanel, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” So we dine using gold and eat in pajamas! LOL
Christmas Day at Maison Epperson is all about pajamas, presents and plato-platuhan!
We were so hungry that I forgot to take photos of our food! Ugh. Anyway, we had store-bought honey-glazed ham, breakfast sausages, buttermilk pancakes, eggs, fresh OJ, brewed coffee, and steamed rice.
From Maison Epperson to your home, Merry Christmas!!!
The key to a happy Dylan is a few Matchbox cars, Thomas the Train and a lot of playtime!
A new family obsession:
FujiFilm Instax Mini
(Photo taken using Instagram)
The Eppersons have always been a fan of analog photography. The FujiFilm Instax is a fun addition to our growing analog camera collection.
The family is working on a project using Aryanna's new Instax. Once we're done, I'll blog about it.
(Photo taken using Instagram)
May your days be merry and bright!
According to writer Denise Whitmer, “family traditions help your teen with his/her identity. It helps to know that you ‘belong’ when you are trying to figure out who you are, which is a main job of the adolescent. A family that encourages a teen to be a part of it and its traditions provides a strong foundation for teens to stand on when they’re searching and defining their sense of self. It also help parents impart the family’s values to their children. To start, you get more time to model your family values to your teen. Showing your teen what having the ability to love is all about happens naturally when you spend quality time together – like during a traditional family activity. You will also find more opportunities to talk to your teen about serious issues and keep the conversations light when you observe a family traditions.”
We hope you all had a meaningful Christmas with your family, friends and loved ones. Let’s all remember that “man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!”
Happy holidays my lovely readers!
Shoppingera/shoppingero, it’s never too early or too late to start your own family traditions. Please share with me some of your Christmas family rituals.
