I love holiday traditions as much as the next person, but I also love mixing things up – somewhat.

I say “somewhat” because I look forward to having turkey and dressing every year. And if you’re like my family, the holidays are the only time you eat turkey, other than the turkey you get from the deli to make sandwiches with. So, we always have turkey on Thanksgiving, because Thanksgiving just feels weird without it.

And then you have ham, another staple of the holiday season. Here’s another area where my family doesn’t mix things up. We always have ham, black eyed peas and cabbage on New Year’s Day because doing so supposedly has some sort of mystical ability to bring us good luck for the year. I can honestly say we’ve had pretty mixed results with that.

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So, that leaves my family with our biggest decision of the holiday season: what to have for Christmas Dinner? Our way of thinking is that we just ate our weight in turkey less than a month earlier and will be loading up on ham in a week, so let’s do something different.

Last year, I smoked a brisket for Christmas. My wife made a big ol’ pot of beans and potato salad and we celebrated like true Texans. And just like turkey on Thanksgiving, I ate way too much and nibbled on leftovers for days – and I couldn’t have been any happier.

But this year’s choice is my favorite by far. That’s because I love Mexican food and every other year my wife and mother-in-law make enchiladas and my mother-in-law’s good friend hooks us up with homemade tamales. I actually look forward to the meal as much, if not more, than getting presents. It’s that good.

So, with that being said, it got me to wondering just what kind of non-traditional holiday meals our listeners and readers go for this time of year.

We would love to hear just what kind of unique holiday meal tradition you have. Just drop us a line on Facebook or in the comments section.

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