Family Matters

From Tree Trimming to Charity Work, These Time-Honored Traditions Will Help You Savor the Season

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Remember when Christmas meant baking cookies with mom or a cherished trip into manhattan to see the rockefeller center tree? This year, before you get caught up in the holiday frenzy, think back to a simpler time. there’s nothing like an old-fashioned family tradition to get us back to the heart of the season. We hope these firsthand examples will inspire you to slow down, de-stress and maybe create a tradition or two of your own at this magical time of year.

Make a Family Tree
For years, Melanie Smith, a Westport/Fairfield Realtor and active community member, has created a special Christmas tree adorned with photos of her parents, children and grandchildren. That way, even when the whole family can’t be together, Melanie feels that the missing members are still nearby during the holiday season.

“My family means the world to me,” says Melanie. “So I like to create a tree with reflections of each special person. This is one of many traditions that I hope will go on for generations, just as I have continued ones from my parents and grandparents.”

Other Smith family traditions include tossing a sprig of holly into the fire and making a wish on New Year’s Eve (a practice inherited from her grandmother’s family) and decorating her house with fresh garlands and greenery. She also enjoys baking Christmas cookies — all from her mother’s recipes — with the entire family. “This year, I’m hoping my grandchildren, at least the older two, will participate,” says Melanie, eager to inspire the next generation to carry on family traditions.

Spice Up Your Home
Carrie Gilbertie, the daughter of herb magnate Sal Gilbertie, spent her childhood working on the family farm. For Carrie, the holiday traditions of taking cuttings and making wreaths bring back fond memories of her youth. For thirty years, Gilbertie’s in Westport has hosted seasonal decorating and wreath-making workshops for those who want to create handmade wreaths for their homes or to give as gifts. Says Gilbertie: “We cut all of the herbs in Easton and harvest them in the fall. We get a lot of mothers and daughters who make a visit here part of their annual tradition.”

If you decide to join the fun, get ready for a heavenly assault on your senses as you weave lavender, thyme, sage and red peppers into wreaths you can actually use in your kitchen in lieu of a spice rack. Or mix fragrant juniper, balsam and berries with white pine and boxwood to create custom pieces to complement your décor. Call Gilbertie’s at 227-4175 for more information.

Turn Grief Into Giving
One Westport family turned the sad death of their beloved fifteen-month-old daughter, Rebecca, into a ceremony of thanks. For thirteen years, the Rebecca Chusid Holiday Toy Drive has benefited more than 1,000 children from more than twenty agencies in and around our area — including Jewish, Christian and other child-centered hospitals and organizations.

Starting in November, the Chusids, along with the Conservative Synagogue, the Learning Community, Temple Israel, Dynamic Martial Arts and Westport Music Center, collect toys and raise money during the holidays. “This has really inspired the community,” says Monica Chusid, Rebecca’s mom.   

Rabbi Tobin, of the Conservative Synagogue in Westport, says, “Rebecca’s memory continues to motivate and bless this family and this community through this enormous event.” The Chusids’ teenage daughters have learned a lot of valuable lessons from the holiday tradition of giving and have gone on to contribute their time to helping kids with special needs. To donate, contact Monica Chusid at monica.chusid@g3global.com.

Spread Holiday Cheer
If baking cookies is a labor of love, there must be a whole lotta lovin’ going on at Christ and Holy Trinity Church’s annual Christmas Cookie Exchange in Westport. Jennifer Brockman of Fairfield runs this grassroots program, a holiday custom for decades. First, members bake multiple batches of their best cookies, brownies, bars and fudge; then they bring them to the church to be packaged and gift-wrapped.

“We set up a bunch of tables and create an assembly line,” Jennifer explains. “Then volunteers go around the tables loading up platters with two of these, three of those, until each platter is full.”

Once the cookies are wrapped and ribboned, a small army of volunteer drivers deliver them to homebound or hospital-bound parishioners, from the elderly to little kids. Says Jennifer, “I take my daughter, Keleigh, who’s in sixth grade. In the beginning she thought it was fun to bake cookies and see the pretty platters, but now she really understands. She gets that it’s about doing the right thing and making someone’s holiday a little brighter.”

Involve the Kids
To home-and-garden expert Mar Jennings, the holidays offer the perfect excuse to do what he does naturally — put on the Ritz. The Westport-based TV personality and author of Life on Mar’s: A Four-Season Garden has a special tradition when it comes to tree trimming.

“Each year,” he says, “I invite friends and their children to join me in decorating my tree. I find that children enjoy participating in the small but important rituals.”

To create your own tree-trimming memories, he advises, “Mom or Dad should place the lights and garland, and then let the little ones place the unbreakable ornaments on the branches they can reach. Each year, buy a special ornament that captures an important event, such as a new baby, a new pet or a graduation. As you hang your ornaments, tell the story of each, letting the ornament take you back to that special time and place.” He reminds us, “For hardworking parents, the holidays can be time-consuming and exhausting. Try to keep a happy and joyful attitude. Your children’s memories depend on your making the season special for them.”