Some of my favorite memories and traditions from growing up, and even today, revolve around the holiday season. I remember my mother putting the holiday turkey in the oven on the evening before the holiday and hearing her get up throughout the night to baste it.

I remember hanging stockings and opening one gift on Christmas Eve and that gift ALWAYS was pajamas. With a family of my own, I have carried over traditions from those early years, trying to make the holidays as special for my children as they were for me.

Betty Turgeon, Lewiston, ME:

“Now that my children are older, they point out to me what has become a tradition, those things that they want repeated or hung on to year to year. For instance, my daughter, Jen, 26, who is now married with a child of her own, insists no gifts be placed under the tree until Christmas Eve.

The first things to be opened are the stockings and everyone has to be together. Our Christmas mornings, even before our grandson, Cole, was born, were never days for sleeping in.

My son Stephen’s traditions revolve around the food, of course. We must have the turkey dinner with all the same sides or it’s not tradition. No new recipes are to be tried.

And, for the past 15 years, my dad, Richard Wawrzynek, who lives in North Tonamanda, New York, has made wooden toys, puzzles, and now, with the help of an upgraded scroll saw, intricately-designed ornaments and crosses for the family. He’s gotten very creative and I have enough ornaments to fill an entire tree. Now that Jen has a family, she has her own collection and Cole will have one, too.”

Suzanne Greenwood, Greene, ME:

Suzanne Greenwood of Greene, Maine, continues traditions that started when she was a child. “I make all my own bows for all the presents. No stick-on bows. I organize and wrap all the gifts and when it’s time, I take each one and decorate them with real ribbon.

When my grandchildren were young, they would sleep downstairs from the living room in wait for Santa. When they were asleep, I’d take a Polaroid picture of them sleeping and put it by Santa’s cookies and milk. When they woke up Christmas morning, they were so excited that Santa took their picture.

We never wrap the gifts from Santa, only the ones from each other. Everyone has their own chair and their gifts from Santa are placed on their chairs for Christmas morning.”

Kathy Davis, Peabody, MA, visitor to Maine during the holidays:

Kathy Davis of Peabody, MA recalls visiting her cousins’ home in Maine during the Christmas holidays. “Christmas in Maine with my cousins and our families is one of my happiest memories ever. I remember the excitement of the morning, all six of us kids waking up and rushing to the living room to see what Santa brought.

We could only open our stockings and then we had to eat breakfast and wait for our parents to get their coffee. Our parents would laugh because we couldn’t get that cereal into us quick enough. And, every year my aunt and uncle would have a huge tree and some years it was a ‘Charlie Brown’ kind of tree that my uncle cut down in the woods, always with the silver garland icicles tossed on the branches. Their dog, Sabrina, would run around the tree and the icicles would stick to her and she would track it everywhere!”

Sue Montminy, Bowdoin, ME:

“Every year my family, all my brothers, sisters, their spouses, their children, my mother, aunts, and uncles, gather at my mother’s for Christmas Eve.

Everyone brings a dish and the must-haves are meat pie, finger rolls, and sweets for the kids. Someone plays Santa and hands out all the gifts – we open all our gifts that night. The music is always the old Christmas favorites: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Johnny Mathis, Elvis’ “Blue Christmas,” and Bing Crosby.

My mother always has an extra gift wrapped for an unexpected guest because she wants to be sure everyone has a present. Now I do the same, just in case.”

Jean Adamen, Turner, ME:

“Growing up in my house, the tradition was my father and I getting up early before any of my other brothers and sisters. I was the youngest of the kids and I remember some years I couldn’t get down the stairs because there were so many presents.

My dad would always let me open a gift before everyone got up. Then he would tell me to go wake everyone up. Of course he had slept all night while my mom was still wrapping. She had probably just gone to bed.”