Some of my happiest childhood memories were during the holiday season in my hometown of Ida Grove, Iowa. There were weeks of festive cookies, a real Christmas tree decorated to perfection, visits with loved ones, white blankets of snow and evenings spent opening advent calendars and Christmas cards. My mother would decorate the entire house so beautifully that holiday parties were an absolute must. On Christmas Eve, we would watch Christmas Vacation, eat Rueben sandwiches for dinner and attend the evening service at St Paul Lutheran Church to sing classic hymns in a candlelit sanctuary. To me, the holidays were truly magical and those family traditions made it so.

However, families naturally evolve: babies are born, loved ones pass on, folks marry in and people move away. My family is no exception. I live in Dallas, my brother’s family lives in Florida and the majority of my relatives are back in the Midwest. Unfortunately, a mega-trip to Iowa is not feasible every December and my family understands.

Over the last two years, this complicated geographic situation has given me the idea to come up with some of my own holiday traditions. I’m not sure what the final catalyst was—if it was the fact I’m becoming more and more like my mother every day OR if it was that my apartment seemed to lack the magic of my home in Iowa—but whatever it was, I’m glad it happened. Here are some of the holiday traditions I’m beginning…