“The Code of Christmas” by Brea Behn

This Christmas season, I’ve decided to do something a little different. I’ve invited 24 authors to share some of their favorite things about the holidays. I hope you enjoy the 24 days of Christmas countdown with “These are a few of my Favorite Things.” Enjoy! ~Casey Hays

*Be sure to look for a GIVEWAY at the end of each segment.*

 

“The Code of Christmas”

Sponsored by http://www.midlifebloggers.com

Christmas is that holiday every year that has become the stable feel good time of year for our family. Like many families, mine has been through a lot. Marriages, divorces, moving away, new careers, health issues and even deaths. Yet through the chaos, there are two times a year we put all the drama and stress aside to come together for a meal and fun. Christmas is one of those times.

Since I was a kid, Christmas was a holiday that meant the house filled up with people, food and of course presents! There are a lot of us. I have two older brothers, a twin brother who is now in heaven, two step-sisters and a step-brother. Now we all have kids and even our kids are starting to have their own (my first great-nephew will be here soon!). Our family is a bit complicated and a bit divided now, but one thing we all know to anticipate and expect in our family Christmas is “the code”.

The code started when my older brothers were kids. They made it their mission to find our mom’s stash of presents. One year she even wrapped them, but they figured out who got which wrapping paper! My mom decided to work with them instead of against them and turned it into a game. She wrapped all of our presents in different wrapping paper with no easy way to figure out who got what paper. Think pink princess paper for my brothers and Ninja Turtle paper for me. Ha! Then, she made up a code to write on all the gifts. It worked! My brothers thought it was fun so they left the presents alone.

Now it has become the thing to expect every Christmas. The code changes every year and we have to figure it out before we know what presents are for who. Here are some examples. Our favorite colors, how many pets we have, our favorite animals, etc. She has had to get more and more creative every year. One year, she wrote numbers on each gift. It turned out to be the miles away we lived from her then. Another year it was scientific sounding names. We were each a species of butterfly based on our favorite colors! Google and her library books have often been involved. It has become a tradition that no one can open any presents until we solve the code and no one can start on the code until we are all there to work on it together. It is something I know I will never forget and neither will my kids.

Which is what the holidays is really about, isn’t it? Not the food or presents, but how they are presented for each of us. The traditions we each learn to love and pass on to our children, family and even our friends.

How does your family handle gifts? Do you open one on Christmas Eve? Maybe you each get a gift for each other? Hop on over to my Facebook author page (give it a like if you choose) and tell me! www.facebook.com/authorbreabehn. I will enter you to win my Christmas gift to you. I’m giving away a swag package for my dystopian book, Wolves in the Woods. Thank you for your support and Happy Holidays!

Brea Behn is a hybrid author who started writing at the age of fifteen, when she wrote a memoir for her twin brother. Currently, she writes fiction, children’s fiction of several genres, nonfiction, and is building her career as an author and public speaker.
Brea’s titles include a four book dystopian YA series beginning with Wolves in the Woods, a teen non-fiction titled, Death Sucks Life Doesn’t Have To and two short stories in dystopian anthologies. She has also completed a YA dystopian titled Vaxxers and her agent is pursuing publication of a middle grade book.
When Brea is not writing, she is reading, usually several books at the same time. She is also passionate about animals, has a degree as a veterinary technician and volunteers at her local humane society. Brea also enjoys gardening and time spent with her children.
Brea lives in central Wisconsin with her husband, their two children and their many animals