10 Things: Family Traditions

It is the tenth of the month, and that means, a big group of people share ten things... they can be ten of anything.  Shimelle started this fun project, and you can check out her post as well as many others here.

It seems that we have been on a streak of bad luck lately.  I've been trying to just get through one day at a time, so I've been a little scattered and not keeping up with my blogging.  Ugh.  I figured that this was a good opportunity to be grateful for the happy things we do have.  Growing up, my family did not have a whole lot of traditions, which I think is kind of weird.  We have an unusual family, so I guess it is just the way that it is. I've always been one that has craved traditions and always on the lookout for something new to try.  Here is a sample of our traditions...

10 Family Traditions:

1. Socks.  My daughter, Jessica, is notorious for losing her socks.  I am not sure how she does it, but she always runs out and ends up stealing mine.  I have a weird thing with socks, and if they look grungy, I don't want to wear them. Unfortunately, she always makes them look grungy, so she ends up with mine as well as hers (that are lost).  Every year, I end up buying her a package of socks for Christmas.  It is now a running joke and sometimes she gets them for her birthday as well.
2. School supplies.  We always shop for school supplies.  It doesn't matter if anyone is going to school or not.  We always stock up on cheap pens, pencils and composition books.  It is a family rule.  
3. Uncle Dan's.  We always have "Uncle Dan's" dip for the holidays; really it is made on any holiday.  It is just a garlic ranch dip packet that you find at the grocery store.  Nothing mind-blowingly special, but it is a must for us.  I'm not really sure how this started, but it is deeply entrenched in my family.  Tim is learning to accept and love this tradition... lol.  My grandma used to make the dip, and then my mom made it, and I even remember one holiday when I'd first moved out on my own, my mom was remarried and didn't make the dip.  It was horrible for all of us.  It seems silly, but that is one of *the only* traditions we really had, so it made a big difference to us when it was missed.
4. Thanksgiving Eve.  We do not cook dinner on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  We spend so much time and effort cooking on Thanksgiving (and usually prepping the day before), that we refuse to cook.  We eat out that night and save ourselves the hassle.