Every Christmas season as children, Erin and her siblings would go in a car ride with their parents around the surrounding neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights and decorations on houses.  They referred to this as a “jammy ride,” as they would wear their pajamas during the journey.  The term “jammy” refers to the pajamas they wore.

Erin said this tradition was a very important part of her Christmas season when she was a child.  They would go on one “jammy ride” every year and the children looked forward to it every time.  She remembers being in awe at some of the lights that decorated houses in some neighborhoods.  Her father, Barry, would read the local newspaper for houses that won awards for best decorations in their neighborhood and would take them to those houses as a special treat.  This tradition came from her mother, who did the same thing with her parents and sisters growing up in Tustin, California.

When she entered high school, Erin and her siblings stopped wearing their pajamas but still went on the annual jaunt.  Nowadays, Erin and her siblings have gone back to wearing their pajamas and restoring the tradition.  Erin says the trip is more for nostalgic purposes that entertainment as it takes her back to the times when she was a child with no worries in life and could spend hours staring at Christmas lights around the neighborhood.

I think this is a very quaint tradition that I hope Erin and her siblings continue with their children in the future.  I believe traditions like this to be a good way to connect the family together during a season focused around the family.