As much as I occasionally throw tradition out the window (as I mentioned a few weeks ago), there are some traditions that I hold tightly to.
… Our annual Rainbow Cake Party to celebrate the end of the school year
… Costco’s pumpkin pie during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving
… and eggnog during the month of December
To name just a few.
Eggnog, or as the folks at International Delight refer to it, Nog is a must.
Super chilled.
Over ice.
Perhaps a dash of cinnamon on the top.
Not every day.
Of course.
But just enough to throw that “this is it, the holidays are here,” just like that first snow fall and crack of a roaring fire.
It just all goes together.
And, of course, once we kick off the holiday season, the rest of our favorite traditions start flying fast and furious.
A visit to Santa (the same one for the past twelve years).
Our food-and-drink themed-Christmas tree going up in the kitchen (a peek at last year’s version).
A quick photo shoot to capture the perfect picture for our Christmas cards.
The holiday parade downtown.
A trip to see the gingerbread creations at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.
And, of course, the mad dash to get all of our holiday shopping done before the big day. We have gotten a slightly late start on decorating for Christmas this year. Some areas (our mantle and railings, for example) are completely done. Other areas (our main tree and our kitchen tree) are not done because the trees fell victim to a flood last year and need to be replaced. On our agenda for this weekend! 
When it comes to the tradition of “nog,” the kids are late adopters, as I was as well, but are now fully along for the ride.
Just last week, I caught them sticking candy cane “stirrers” in their glasses and dumping marshmallows on the top.
To each nog their own.
I, for one, like to keep my holiday drinks classic and traditional, but if you’re the experimenting type or want to buck tradition, there are two new products to try out … Milk Hot Chocolate and Dark Hot Chocolate. Flavors that my little chocoholics were all over.
Milk Hot Chocolate topped with soft mini marshmallows is pretty darn hard to resist, and since both kids have hot chocolate several times a week (and, believe it or not, even during the summer!), they are all over this.
When you have a minute, pop onto International Delight’s site to learn how to capture the spirit of the season with a chance to win a holiday brunch for friends and family hosted by International Delight!
Want to track down their newest flavors? You can do what I did, and use their Store Locator to find product near you.
Before you go… I’d love to hear about YOUR holiday traditions.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.
They call it ‘Nog’ because they (and many other companies) have removed eggs from the recipe since eggs are currently so expensive. I haven’t tried any of the eggless nogs yet – I guess you don’t miss the eggs?
I like to buy my eggnog is the liquor store. I don’t think there are any eggs in that version either but you definitely don’t miss them lol.