The Iceberg Team’s 2021 Holiday Traditions 

There are so many things that make this time of year special. So the Iceberg team decided to share some of our favorite holiday traditions.

 

There are so many things that make this time of year special. So the Iceberg team decided to share some of our favorite holiday traditions from our childhood and today.

 

CeCe Talbot- Web Designer

My favorite tradition growing up was the days leading up to Christmas, snooping around my parents’ closet to get a preview of the presents. There were times me and my brother tag-teamed it! But the best part was Christmas morning waking up my brother (he sleeps in). What makes holidays the best are your siblings, families, and pets!

 

Jessie Gutzwiller- Customer Service Representative

My favorite tradition growing up was getting and decorating our tree, we would always go out and get a real tree, and it had such a lovely smell and was so pretty to look at. Also, we mastered the craft of making the gifts look like they had not been opened for a teeny tiny little peek!

Mariann Martin- Project Manager

My favorite Christmas tradition growing up was the advent calendar.  We had one that told the Christmas story and counted down days until Christmas, and then we had one with little doors that my mom would put little treats and trinkets in.  We would rotate who read the storybook for the day and who got to open the door.

Hattie McCoy- SEO & Marketing Strategist

For many years of my childhood, my family insisted on getting a real tree. We would go to a different tree farm almost every year, sometimes as far as an hour away. My sister and I would cram into my dad’s truck, have hot chocolate, and pick out a tree. Then, we had an obligatory picture of us dragging the tree into the house. Then we all would avoid Dad, as he usually had a heck of a time trying to get the tree into the stand. It was best just to keep a distance, ha-ha.

Shane Bader- VP of Sales & Marketing

Growing up, I loved all the amazing food everyone brought—and of course, opening gifts.

 

Kyle Teeter- Website Developer

One of my favorite holiday traditions actually starts several weeks before Christmas when my family starts to read a little portion of the Christmas story every day leading up the Christmas Eve.

 

Jessi Gurr-Owner & CEO

When I was young, one of my favorite things to do around the holidays was listening to records in front of the Christmas tree. I would turn off all the lights in the house and turn on the tree lights. Then I’d put on the old holiday classics – The Osmond’s, The Carpenters, Johnny Mathis. I could listen to these records for hours.

Heather Erickson- SEO Content Writer

Growing up, my sister and I had enormous Christmas stockings! I always imagined they had been Santa’s stockings (I also thought he was a giant). So, when I had kids, I took my childhood stocking, used it as a pattern, and made every family member a giant quilted stocking. My third child was born just before Christmas, so we took a photo of him inside his stocking. Last year my kids decided to put our gifts in our stockings and skip the larger gifts. It saves on wrapping paper, and it’s like going back in time to when we were children.

Jessie Gutzwiller- Customer Service Representative

Today, my favorite tradition is mine and my daughters’ annual ornament party. It is the perfect chance to get together with friends and family you may not see at Christmas and is ALWAYS filled with laughter! I really love this because I know my daughter will continue this tradition!

Kari Sletten- VP of Operations

My favorite Christmas Tradition is lighting the Advent candles. I love starting with four brand new candles that are all the same size and then watching them get smaller and smaller as it gets closer to Christmas. When I was growing up, when we would light the new candle each Sunday, we would also read part of the Christmas story from the Bible and then add the corresponding characters to our Nativity set. For my family now, our tradition is a little bit different.

When we light the candles, we sing “O Come, O Come Emanuel.” We start with the first candle on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and we sing only one small part of the song. For the whole week, whenever our whole family has dinner together, we light the candle and sing the first verse. Most of the time, it is goofy and terribly off-key. Then on Sunday, we light the first and second candles and add a verse to the song. By the time it is Christmas Eve, we light all four Candles and finally get to sing the entire song. I just love everything about this tradition. I love looking back at the candles and seeing how much we were able to be together as a family. Some of the weeks have many more family dinners than others, and you can tell by the difference in candle heights. I also love putting together the Advent wreath, trying to find the right size and shape of candles each year, and trying to get the dang things to stand up straight, which usually involves Play-Doh, gum, fancy space adhesive, or a hot glue gun.

 

Joshua Smith-Senior Web Developer

Our Christmas traditions have changed a bit over the years. Still, there are some Christmas traditions that I always enjoy… lighting candles & singing Silent Night at the Christmas Eve service, watching old Christmas movies, baking Christmas cookies, and gathering with family & friends.

Kyle Teeter- Website Developer

Another tradition that I really love is the actual Christmas dinner. Instead of doing a traditional menu, we typically try to make dishes that we haven’t tried before or comfort food from our childhoods.

 

Shane Bader- VP of Sales & Marketing

These days, my favorite traditions are being able to spend so much time with your family, our gift exchange, and cooking something non-traditional on Christmas. We’ve done crab boils, had oyster stew, and even steak!

 

Hattie McCoy- SEO & Marketing Strategist

My favorite tradition now has to be putting up the tree (even though I haven’t had a real tree in years). I like looking at all the ornaments and what different years represented by the decoration.. I look forward to sharing some of the memories with my son as he grows up! I also have to say baking gets an honorable mention, as some favorite cookies, this time of year are a must! 

Jessi Gurr-Owner & CEO

The first silent, magical snowfall of the year. Unwrapping ornaments, remembering where they came from, and hanging them on the tree. Chex Mix. Making lefse. The bright eyes of a child as they come downstairs on Christmas morning. There are so many things that make this time of year special!

From Our Team to Yours

Although some traditions change, the most important things stay the same. We wish you the very best this holiday season and into 2022!

If we can help you with anything, contact us or just give us a call! 763-350-8762