Happy New Year my favs! 2021 is finally here and I know we’re all extremely happy and relieved to have said goodbye to what 2020 was and hello to what 2021 will be, but before we dive into our New Year resolutions/intentions let’s recap the holiday season—-It went by so fast! I was so caught up in family time and being present in the season that I didn’t get to share with you all that was going on. Now y’all know I love the holidays and if you don’t know now you know.
The holiday season started earlier for me this year. I normally wait until after Thanksgiving to put up my tree, but this year I was anxious and wanted to feel that undeniable seasonal spirit early especially due to the year we’ve had, so about a week or so before Thanksgiving I put up my red and gold whimsical tree which you’ll see below and I recorded the process on my Instagram reels to give you a feel from start to finish.
Moreover, Thanksgiving at home was great! It came and it left. It went by so fast because I was mainly cooking all day. My family’s initial plan of traveling to Delaware got cancelled due to the rising cases of Covid, so we were home. Nonetheless, everything turned out wonderful; I just wished we could have celebrated with my extended fam in DE as planned but health and safety comes first.
Now this year my family and I started a new tradition called The Pierre Family 12 days of Christmas inspired by a movie I watched during this holiday season on Lifetime called “The Christmas Aunt“. Keshia Knight Pulliam’s character basically revived Christmas for her niece and nephew by bringing the spirit back through doing fun and memorable activities leading up to Christmas Day and that’s exactly what I wanted to do for my clan. Here’s how our 12 Days of Christmas went: Day 1, we homemade Christmas cards. Day 2, we made New Orleans inspired beignets from scratch. Day 3, we made snow globe ornaments. Day 4, we had Movie Night (Jingle Jangle). Day 5, we went to a Christmas light show drive-thru. Day 6, we did an act of service with our church. Day 7, we had a hot chocolate bar party. Day 8, we decorated ugly sweater sugar cookies. Day 9, we read and watched the story of Christ’s birth. Day 10, we had Christmas Karaoke. Day 11 (Christmas Eve , we took our holiday card photos, changed into our matching holiday Jammies, played games and watched “A Christmas Story“. Day 12 (Christmas Day), we made our traditional holiday breakfast, opened gifts, and prepared Christmas dinner. That was a lot right lol . . .but it was so worth it.
HOLIDAY CARD FAMILY PHOTOS
CHRISTMAS EVE FAMILY PHOTOS IN OUR JAMMIES
Lastly on my holiday season party train, was New Years Eve/New Years Day. Being that there are still restrictions due to Covid, none of us were really able to ring in the New Year how we wanted. This year my family and I rung it in by first pregaming to some good food and great music followed by virtual church (Watch Night Service) and prayer leading up to the countdown/ball drop. On New Year’s Day in my household we not only acknowledge the new year, but we also celebrate Haitian Independence Day (In the early 19th century, Haiti became the worlds first black republic to gain freedom from French colonial control and slavery) and we do so by making a traditional squash soup filled with a variety of meats and veggies called soup joumou. If you never had this soup before than my friend you are missing out; It’s so yummy!
soup joumou 
My New Year wishes for us all
May this new year be filled with much needed healing, growth, new mindsets, prosperity, abundance, and believing bigger for God to do immeasurable more. With much love, Steph