Family Holiday Tradition: Horses and a Pickle

November 26th, 2010 · No Comments

We received another great Family Holiday Tradition submission from Ginger S. in Austin, TX. Thank you for sharing, Ginger! Everyone, keep these family tradition memories coming. We love them!

Two of my favorite family Christmas traditions are: The hanging of the pickle ornament and a surprise for the individual that finds it and horses.

The pickle tradition came from my husband’s family. After we married, his Mom gifted us with a pickle ornament for our own tree. One of the first things our family does on Christmas morning is look for the Christmas Pickle.

I suppose I have always had a tremendous love of horses. Growing up, my brother and I always wanted a horse. When I was about 8, I awoke on Christmas morning, looked out my window and saw a real horse tied to a tree in our back yard. My brother and I spent the day wearing the horse out as we rode around our yard and up and down the neighborhood streets. Late in the evening our Uncle appeared and offered to keep the horse at his farm. We often spent many fun days at his farm riding our Christmas horse.

My daughter’s love for horses surfaced before her first Christmas. She constantly chose horse toys to play with and picked out pictures of horses from books and magazines. She started her riding lessons at age 6, saved enough money to buy her own horse at age 9, and owned 5 horses by the time she went to college on a scholarship she earned through her horse projects. Beginning with her first Christmas, Santa put a horse ornament in her Christmas stocking. This Christmas Santa will leave her 41st horse ornament.

My granddaughter continues the tradition with a great love for horses. Santa now also places a horse ornament in her Christmas stocking each year.