Festive Connections

The experiences we have while growing up profoundly shape how we celebrate holidays today. Some families choose to recreate cherished childhood traditions, passing down the joy and warmth of those moments. Others embrace the opportunity to start new customs each year, infusing fresh excitement into their holiday celebrations.

Here are heartfelt stories from families across our region that beautifully illustrate how we each make the holidays our own. Despite our diverse approaches, one common theme resonates throughout: There’s strength in togetherness.

This bond not only enriches our celebrations but also fosters a sense of belonging that carries us through the season and beyond.

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Singing loud for all to hear

the mesiti family

Jocelyn Mesiti’s mom loved to decorate for Christmas. Despite a difficult upbringing, Jocelyn has fond memories of the Christmas season, including a toy train around their Christmas tree. “I remember sitting on the stairs as a little girl, peeking down at all the lights. It was a lovely time.” Nostalgic scenes like this impacted Jocelyn’s love for the holidays she now shares with her husband, David, and their three children.

On November 1st every year, the Mesiti family trims their Christmas tree, a practice of anticipation and hope. Jocelyn beams just talking about it, saying, “I get these mini Christmas heart attacks; it’s like my heart skips a beat.”

In December 2018, Jocelyn invited her neighbors, family, and friends to go Christmas caroling together. Since watching Christmas with the Kranks, Jocelyn wondered, “Why don’t people go caroling anymore? We should do that!” With 30-40 people each year since, the family has caroled around their Rochester neighborhood.

“One family value we emphasize is to do things for others, with others, and singing around our neighborhood follows that same golden thread. The kids look forward to going door-to-door, and we love seeing the joy on their faces. There’s a sense of wonder when we invite people into what we love.”

Jocelyn quotes Home Alone: “‘This is Christmas, the season of perpetual hope,’” adding that “Christmas is a time to remember that something better is coming and to share that hope with others.”

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THERE'S ALWAYS ENOUGH

THE KREIDER FAMILY

Joel and Kelly Kreider have firsthand experience about inviting others in; they are full-time foster parents. Kelly says, “Growing up, I didn’t have a stable family, but I always had loving people invite me in. I always had a safe place to be.” So when Kelly and Joel married and had kids, they wanted to provide the same kind of space for other kids in need.

Noting the approximately 390,000 kids in the U.S. foster care system, Kelly says,

“There are countless ways to volunteer, and for us, we want to provide a safe home for children to just be, especially around the holidays.”

Joel and Kelly currently foster two baby girls and have two biological children of their own. As parents, they make it a point to not “other” the kids they foster, instead working to cultivate a sense of belonging. For Christmas, they bless their foster daughters the same way they bless their biological children. This includes Christmas presents and Kreider family traditions while also incorporating some of the girls’ individual culture and background.

Kelly says, “I’ve been thinking about the term radical hospitality, and what it looks like to extend generosity even when it’s uncomfortable. It takes faith to invite the brokenness into our home, trusting there will be enough space, time, resources, and love for the kids we welcome in.”

Etched in ink on Kelly’s arm are the words, “There’s always enough.” This is the belief Joel and Kelly live by. As they welcome children home, enough-ness is an extension of that faith.

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Tamales for christmas

Danyra (dany) chavez & family

Danyra (Dany) Chavez makes a traditional Mexican dish – tamales, spreading ¼ cup of homemade masa dough of ground corn moistened with water onto a dried corn husk she wraps around savory fillings of beef, julienned carrots, and thin potato strips. Dany drives 45 minutes to source specific ingredients from a specialty Mexican grocery store.

Dany is from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, where a lot of her family still resides. Much of her extended family lives within minutes of each other, so Christmas was an all-day affair, with relatives coming and going, squeezing into Grandma Lupe’s small kitchen.

“We would cook and eat at the same time. It was a small space, but that didn’t matter, we were together,” Dany says. “When we made tamales, the house was crowded, and it got really hot inside. So I consider the dish cold-weather comfort food. We usually make them in large batches to enjoy all winter long.”

Dany and her husband, Brad Grattan, have two young boys and live near Rochester, far from Mexico. Despite the distance, the couple makes it a priority to visit Nogales for the holidays every other year. “I want our boys to know this kind of togetherness,” Dany says with emotion. “While my kids never got a chance to meet my Nana Lupe, I want her spirit to live on by remembering all the things she taught me.”

Dany’s son Theo enters the kitchen. “Mom, I want to help!” he exclaims. She helps Theo assemble one tamal with scents from her childhood. This is the place where Dany can pass down her Mexican heritage, the space where her sons can feel at home.