It’s funny how some holiday traditions are tried and true over the years and some happen very spontaneously and somehow become ritualist when you’re least paying expecting it.

Watching the Polar Express on Thanksgiving Night is a tradition that I started intentionally and one that we look forward to every year.  Heading to the Beverly Tree Farm the day after Thanksgiving to find our perfect tree is also something that we chose as a tradition and are sure to repeat each year in the hopes of building memories for the boys.  Christmas wouldn’t be the same without my mom’s coffee cake….and my boys look forward to pulling and kneading the dough for their fried dough after opening their stockings each year.

The Great Light Fight….well, that is a tradition, maybe just as special to the boys, that has just kind of happened….with no planning, no forethought, no intention.

So….last night, there we were again, all of sudden snuggled on the couch watching the new season of The Great Light Fight.  I grabbed Finn at the hockey rink after his practice, cooked brussel sprouts upon his request, and then hunkered down to watch the first episode of the new season of the Great Light Fight.   I didn’t know it was on….hadn’t bothered to actually check any kind of programming….but, when Finn somehow heard a promo, we were both pretty excited.  Thatch rolled in an hour later and plopped himself down immediately.  And then, just like last year and the years before that, we started our familiar routine of choosing which light display we liked the most, who we thought would win, how they might spread more good cheer with their winnings….and where we might drive to see some lights this weekend.

It is so, so silly….but yet someone these often quirky strangers, these Captains of Christmas and Directors of Decorations, always manage to teach Thatch and Finn something about the true holiday spirit and about family ties and bonds.  One contestant said last night, “The family who displays together, stays together.”  No doubt.

I’m happy that while those families share their traditions with their communities….and now national television….we can at least pop a squat on the sofa and have a mini tradition of our own.

Sometimes the littlest things are the best.

READ MORE ABOUT THE SHOW HERE

The Great Christmas Light Fight showcases the wildest and most spectacular Christmas displays in America. In each one-hour episode, four families from all around the country decorate their homes to the extreme in the hopes of winning the coveted Light Fight trophy and a $50,000 prize, with a total of $300,000 given away for the season. As the temperature cools down, the competition heats up when families invite us from out of the snow inside their homes to witness their fanatic Christmas décor for the very first time. In addition to all of the stunning inside/outside displays, the first ever “Heavyweights” episode will showcase light shows that have grown too large for any home.