LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Waiting at the top of the stairs for Santa. Matching Christmas PJs. Shrimp and prime rib for dinner. Christmas trees with white and blue lights. Peppermint flavored cocoa. Caroling in the streets. Church services on Christmas Eve night. Watching Christmas Vacation and Frosty the Snowman.
Families have their yearly traditions when it comes to the holidays. Some are normal, some not so normal. But because they are traditions, they continue to be passed down generation to generation.
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Little Sleepies, a retail website for men’s and women’s sleepwear and bedroom and nursery accessories, did a report recently based on Google Trends search data to find the most popular Christmas traditions by state, region and nationwide.
The most popular tradition nationwide turned out to be White Elephant Christmas parties. The game, which is also called “Yankee Swap” or “Dirty Santa” has participants drawing numbers to determine the order in which they select wrapped gifts from a pile. Players can choose a new gift or “steal” one that someone else has already opened.
Some families buy cool and/or expensive gifts. Others have a $5 or $10 limit to make it interesting. Things can get wild, especially if participants have been drinking a little too much liquid holiday cheer. Families can end up fighting for duck soap dispensers, lottery tickets, decorative towels and bags of Snickers.
Other popular Christmas traditions in the report include wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, personalizing Christmas stockings, opening advent calendars and putting up Elf on a Shelf.
According to Little Sleepies, Midwesterners seem to prefer a combination of both cringeworthy and classic, as wearing ugly Christmas sweaters was tied in popularity with personalizing Christmas stockings.
In Michigan, wearing ugly Christmas sweaters came in at #1.
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But, alas, it’s the most wonderful time of the year – no matter how ugly your sweater is.
Merry Christmas!
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