optimistic
My friend Chickie gets together with her parents for her holidays every year. Her mother insists that they serve chili for dinner, and they also do a shrimp salad every year. Apparently her mother always had chili on the table when she was growing up in Montana, and she has passed that, rather unusual holiday food item, on to her family. I'm not so sure I would go for chili for my holiday meal, but to each their own.
My DH and I have cheese and Honey Baked Ham for dinner. I blame my mother for that - she bought us the first ham we had. They were (still are) expensive and as newly weds, we couldn't afford something like that. But she sent us a gift certificate for one, and we fell in love. We have one a year - always for the Christmas season. I'll be picking up our annual ham tomorrow morning. YUM! Add cheeses and Christmas cookies and I'll be in fine fettle to celebrate Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah and every other holiday of the season.