Happy New Year!

By Linda Patterson, LSW, Ohio Adoption Assessor/Birth Family Advocate

As the new year gets underway, I find myself reflecting on how many things have changed since the pandemic began almost two years ago. With so many of us working remotely, I realized one of the things I miss most is gathering with my co-workers in the break room and listening to how they celebrated the holidays.

Determined to maintain that connection, I asked staff to share their holiday family traditions with me via email or Slack. And staff did not disappoint! As I read each message, I felt a renewed sense of connection with my "work family." I realized how grateful I am to work with such an amazing group of people and wished that everyone knew how truly special they are. 

It is in that spirit of pride, that I share with you, what my co-workers shared with me. My hope is that as you read over these traditions, you'll find joy, sentiment, and a glimpse of what makes the people at Adoption STAR so wonderful. And who knows...maybe you'll discover a new activity to add to your own family holiday traditions for the coming years!

Wishing you a bright and happy New Year!

"My family always gifts Christmas pajamas to open on Christmas Eve, and we read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” before going to bed."

Emily Ward

"Honestly we don't do anything too crazy, just get together with family and friends and eat, cook, celebrate, open presents and chill...."

Lucy Shaw

"The holidays have changed drastically over the last 5-10 years due to relocations, deaths, additional family members, pandemics, etc. But here are some small traditions that have remained the same.

The kids open matching pajamas on Christmas Eve.

We always serve the same “Christmas Casserole” Christmas morning.

When at my in-laws, all the grandkids take a photo on the stairs. They try to even all sit in the same spot, though that too has changed over time as additional babies are born and the little one grow."

Sue Reardon

"So for my family’s tradition, we always make food! Each of us has a special recipe that we only make during Christmas. I make torrone which is a sweet Italian nougat with almonds and pistachios. My sister always makes her Christmas cookie tree which is a big hit with my family."

Claire Cappellino

"My mom experienced a “weird” event this past Chanukah….My mother had expected to return to her home in Florida before Chanukah, but her travel back to the warm climate was delayed. She remained in Buffalo, NY and one Chanukah evening she was alone and realized she didn’t have a menorah to light. She was thinking about going out to purchase one, wondering if Target sold them. But it was cold and getting dark, and she’s not comfortable driving at night. All of a sudden the doorbell rang (she was not expecting anyone) and when she opened the door there was a man with his children. He turned out to be the son of a rabbi she knew in the community. He came bearing gifts…. sufganiyot (fried donuts filled with jelly… a traditional Chanukah dessert), dreidels, and a Chanukah menorah and candles! Chanukah is about miracles and this surprise visit felt like one too!"

Michele Fried

"This year has been very different in good and not so good ways; it’s the first Christmas since our Mom passed away the year before, so we all tried to round together to do things that we’d usually do with Mom. This year, we continued the tradition of baking cookies on our Decorating Day. While my younger sisters decorated the house, me and my older sister did a marathon baking session ahead of the Christmas holiday with the littles, including sugar cut-out cookies of course. It was challenging this year to recreate recipes without Mom’s guidance (she was never one to write things down), but we did our best and think she’d be proud of our efforts."

Kim Bundy

"We leave cookies and milk out for Santa. My husband and I chow down 

on the cookies. What’s less fun is eating the raw carrots that my son leaves out for the reindeer. They are whole carrots, greens and all. It’s so funny, us standing 

there making it look like the reindeer gnawed at the carrots, hovering over the 

plate at midnight. It’s worth it to see Jackson GASP at the little nubs 

of carrots left on the plate."

Shaun Doyle

"My family does one late night present after our family party on Christmas Eve and I’ve always loved that : ) "

Maddie Dulle

"Every year, my husband and I wait to exchange our gifts until the evening of Christmas Day when all of our festivities are over and the hustle and bustle has died down a bit. That way, we don’t have to rush through and we can really appreciate the giving and receiving. It’s the part of the holiday we look most forward to each year!"

Carly Story

"My family's holiday tradition consists of us cooking together and eating together. For Christmas, we made a seafood boil for the first time at home and it was delicious. Now instead of purchasing expensive seafood trays from restaurants, we can make it at home and really enjoy it."

Sylvia Appolon

"Our family has a tradition that involves hiding an ornament in the Christmas tree for each child in the family. The ornament is a green pickle, so that makes it more of a challenge for the kids to find. The ornaments are hidden in the tree near bedtime on Christmas eve. Once each child finds their pickle ornament they receive a small gift, which is the first gift of Christmas for each child."

Carol Lamb

"My family has spent every Thanksgiving in a Cabin at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV. This tradition is approaching 40 years!"

Kim Wilder

"Every Christmas Eve, my family brings an ornament that relates to something exciting that happened that year to put on my parents tree. It has been fun to look every year and reflect/remember all of the memories over the years."

Erica Curella

"Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year! There are so many things that 

make it special. One of my favorites is a tradition we started years ago when our children were young. Instead of whisking them away from all of their gifts to visit 

with family on Christmas, we decided to make all the family visits on Christmas Eve. Since we were always so tired from the previous days' festivities, we slept in 

and stayed in our pajamas all day, eating breakfast for dinner! Over the years, this 

has evolved into my entire extended family coming to my house for 

Christmas dinner/breakfast in their pajamas!"

Linda Patterson

"My favorite holiday tradition is my mother’s Christmas cookie baking. She bakes DOZENS and DOZENS of cookies, probably 20 different varieties, to give to family and friends during the holiday season. After Christmas Day dinner is over, we don’t worry too much about any sort of fancy dessert. It’s usually just coffee, milk, or hot chocolate and a GIGANTIC tray of my Mom’s cookies to sample from and enjoy - a perfect way to end Christmas in my humble opinion."

Michael Hill, Executive Director