Everyone’s family is its own special kind of eccentric; and nothing brings it out more than the holidays. Family, friends, dinners, presents, decorating, cooking, the list of traditions goes on and on, unique to us and our loved ones. In my life, I’ve created some very special customs.
Some date back to when I was young that were indoctrinated in me by my parents, and others I’ve created with friends to ensure we all get the most joy and love from the holidays.
Having an allergy around this time of year can be a big burden, especially when so many events center around food. Well allow me to kindly disagree. Although it can seem overwhelming at times, let me share with you some of my favorite traditions, made better and more special by my food allergies.
Potlucks: Every year my friends and I get together to celebrate the holidays. Over the years, traditions have developed amongst ourselves ranging from ugly sweaters to Secret Santa gift exchanges. The biggest tradition we have is sitting around a table or hanging out in the kitchen while sharing delicious foods with each other. Potlucks can be a stressful event if you have a food allergy. We always have to be mindful of ingredients and cross-contamination because every platter or covered serving dish holds a certain level of uncertainty and concern. It can make a holiday party less enjoyable and stressful. A tradition we’ve created to combat a mystery plate is to list the ingredients of your dish. Whether it be in an email, a fancy place card accompanying your dish or giving out the actual recipe, we let everyone know what the dish is and what’s in it. You never want to be speculating or guessing what’s on your plate. Everyone likes surprises during the holidays but not like this. Even though we may want to keep our prized recipes secret, we choose to take surprise out of that tuna surprise casserole and promise not to tell anyone the secret ingredient.
Getting into the spirit might mean partaking in one or two spirits. If there are mixed punches or festive beverages being shared, ask for the ingredients. Different alcohols can have different ingredients and they are not always labelled. It’s important to do some research into the different breweries, wineries, etc. to ensure your allergens aren’t present. An important rule and one we should all follow regardless of an allergy, is don’t share your drink, or leave it unattended. Use red “solo” cups with your name written on it or wine glass identifiers to better distinguish your wine or eggnog glass when you put it down to unwrap a gift or hug an old friend.
Boxes are made for sharing: One beautiful tradition my family has come to cherish is ordering, sharing and enjoying Vermont Nut Free Chocolates together. When we discovered this company, it was incredible. Growing up we didn’t have the opportunity to eat many treats that weren’t made by my mom or grandma. Since then, we’ve discovered several safe places to buy and eat from but the tradition of reading the brochure and choosing our favorites chocolate (mine is the maple creams) remains. Come Christmas morning/afternoon after all the presents are unwrapped we’d each open our box of chocolate, mixing and matching with each other while we showed off our gifts and shared the moment together.
It’s easy to let our food allergies consume us with stress and anger around this time of year. We may think it’s better to shut ourselves off from others to avoid friends and parties with food because we’re worried or scared. Whether it’s with our immediate family or the friends we choose to call so, the holidays are time best spent with the people we love. We should never let our food allergies get in the way of the people we cherish or look forward to seeing each year. Tradition can come in many forms during the holidays making them much more meaningful and special. So, raise a glass, eat a cookie and hug your friends because you’d be surprised what can eventually become a tradition.
- Arianne K.