At the Van Winkle house, the holiday season is all about family and the array of time-honored traditions we look forward to year after year—fromChristmas Vacationviewings to basement dance parties with the kids to Nana’s bourbon-spiked eggnog (recipe included)! 

Our holiday season is built on tradition—and time spent with family. Once the shopping is done and the presents are wrapped, the festivities kick-off with a Christmas Eve bash at our great-aunt and uncle’s house in Louisville, where our extended family and close friends gather around the table laden with beef tenderloin and butter buns and our great-aunt’s signature carrot dip. A mix of grated carrots, mayonnaise, and parmesan cheese, it’s tastier than it sounds we promise! Before calling it a night, we toast the spirit of the season and the joy of being together with a cup or two of our Nana’s famous bourbon-spiked eggnog. (Get the recipe,here.) 

Christmas Day is lazier these days as our siblings and their families trickle home to our parents’ house for breakfast casserole and mimosas and the obligatory kringle. The day ends when we reconvene for a casual Christmas dinner around our parent's table before migrating to the basement for Motown dance parties around the jukebox or vintage VHS home movie marathons. And you can count on someone putting onChristmas Vacationbefore the night is finished, guaranteeing the evening ends with laughter.    

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

—Louise, Carrie, and Chenault