Many families hold fast to holiday traditions, whether it’s a quiet retreat to the mountains or a plane trip across the country for a raucous affair with relatives. We eat special foods that make us nostalgic, visit stores and holiday markets or festivals and, if we’re lucky, create positive new memories. Here’s a sample from The Denver Post staff. Happy holidays.
Christmas Day in a national park
The High season for visiting national parks is typically the summer. But if you’re ever close enough to Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the winter, it’s well worth a visit. I live nearby, so a trek up to the canyon has been an annual Christmas Day outing for my family for four years running.
Each Dec. 25, after opening presents and eating breakfast, my husband and I, my in-laws and our dogs pile into the car and head out for a casual, snowy hike. Because most of the South Rim Road is closed during the winter, we typically park at the first overlook point, called Tomichi Overlook, and walk from there to the visitors center, enjoying the majestically steep canyon walls dusted with snow along the way. Once we reach the visitors center, we usually take the slick and icy walkway down to the overlook (Yaktrax are a must) and snap some family photos. The view may not change, but this tradition never gets old. — Tiney Ricciardi
Starry, starry Mile High Tree
It’s easy to drive through downtown Denver and marvel at the . The 110-foot-tall icon has risen each holiday season since 2019, with 60,000 undulating LED lights, set to various holiday tunes. It stood in Civic Center park before moving this year to Auraria’s Tivoli Quad. You almost have to go out of your way to miss it.
If you’re willing to stop and visit, it’s even more memorable. Crowds pouring into and out of the annual Christkindlmarket have made it a popular destination, given its proximity (and friendliness to group selfies). You can shuffle through the conical tower, or lie down on your back in the fake grass inside its 39-foot diameter footprint to gaze up at the spiraling spectacle.
My family and I are among the dozens doing just that at any one time, having made it a low-key tradition a few years back. My stepmother had been visiting from Ohio, and we instantly looked at each other when we heard George Winston’s gentle piano song “Thanksgiving,” from his 1982 album “December,” sneak into the playlist between familiar holiday melodies. It was one of my dad’s favorite songs, and one he used to usher in the season each year on his turntable at home.
He had died suddenly a few years before, about a month after my son (his namesake) was born, and my stepmom and I immediately felt his presence there.
Corny? Maybe, but aren’t moments like that what the holidays are all about? The Mile High Tree traces connections between people, but also between the city and its residents, who gather shoulder-to-shoulder to take a moment and silently open their eyes and smile. Deride its design as garish or ultra-modern, but for my kids and thousands of others, it adds a glowing lift to our outdoor gift-buying and Christmas-light sightseeing.
Visit and explore it for free through Dec.31. (You and 350,000 others, that is). — John Wenzel
Riding the bus across Colorado’s Eastern plains
My childhood Christmas tradition was riding — unaccompanied — on a packed Continental Trailways bus round-trip across the often snowy and icy Eastern Plains of Colorado. My parents divorced when I was 10, and Dad stayed in our small town in Kansas while Mom moved to Aurora to be near my grandparents.
The divorce meant I got two Christmases every year, but it also meant a long ride with frequent stops (Campo, Springfield, Lamar, Eads, Kit Carson, Hugo and Limon), making a six-hour trip turn into a 10-hour-plus haul. The trip to Aurora was always exciting; I was on the edge of my seat, filled with anticipation to see the parent I had been missing and to open more presents. The second part was more melancholy, knowing I wouldn’t see that parent again for months, when I would board the bus for summer break.
The bus was usually stocked with other children of divorce, recently released prisoners, and down-on-their-luck folks trying to make their way home. More than once, we were stopped by police looking for someone. The bus drivers usually knew me and kept an eye out for me. No passengers hassled me, but I was offered liquor and cigarettes on a few occasions. I sat next to lonely people who would talk to me the whole trip. One time, a tired mother handed me her baby so she could sleep. I spent the few dollars I had been given to buy food from the vending machines at the Lamar stop to share with people who had nothing.
Looking back, I’m grateful I learned to be independent and empathetic on those trips. There were a lot of people going through tougher times than I was. But I was always excited to step down from that bus into the arms of a loving parent who was happy to see me. That was the best part of my Christmas. — TJ Hutchinson
A winter sangria
A former colleague liked to fix a batch of sangria and then just kept adding wine to the fruit in the pitcher as it got empty. When the holidays arrive, we change it up in favor of a more wintry mixture like this one from Bobby Flay. It’s easy: Just boil 1 cup of sugar and a cup of water with two cinnamon sticks until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature. Add a cup of cranberries and let that sit in the fridge for 2-24 hours. Strain and add 2 bottles of fruity red wine, 1/2 cup of orange-flavored liqueur. Add a thinly sliced apple, pear, orange and tangerine. Refrigerate for at least four hours and serve. — Lee Ann Colacioppo
Reading and snuggling
My husband, Jay, learned of an Icelandic tradition where people give each other books on Christmas Eve. They call it Jolabokaflod, or “flood of books.” We love to read, so we adopted this one during the pandemic. What better night to snuggle on the couch with a new book, hot tea and cookies? — Noelle Phillips
Strike up the sounds
There’s no better time to pull out an acoustic guitar and pass around some shakers and percussion instruments than after dinner on Christmas Eve. (Or any winter holiday, for that matter.) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and “Feliz Navidad” have kept my family occupied for years, whether we’re singing, banging on a tambourine or plinking keys on a piano. And if you’ve ever been to a posada, in which Hispanic families re-enact the nativity story, you know Christmas singalongs are as inevitable as the make-your-own pozole station. — Miguel Otarola
Make your own traditions
When you live a couple of states away from close family, the holidays, with memories of shared yearly traditions, can leave you feeling kind of adrift. So you start making your own traditions.
My husband and I started one on a whim. One Christmas Eve several years ago, we decided to drive downtown to take pictures of Denver’s City and County Building all decked out in lights. Dave wanted to try out a new lens, but I wasn’t too excited. I thought the whole display was a bit over the top.
Now I think itap magical. It gets better every year. You see all kinds of people — kids in coats over pajamas, families taking selfies, vendors selling lighted whirligigs. The addition of the 110-foot-tall Mile High Tree with more than 60,000 lights and the Christkindlmarket have turned Civic Center into a holiday town square, a community gathering place. A visit there has become an annual family tradition. — Judith Kohler
Watching all the Christmas flicks
My holiday traditions do not include favorite recipes, rides to see displays or drinking cider. Movies make up some of my favorite memories, and when my family wasn’t watching sports, it was the flicks for us. These are my favorite Christmas-themed movies (with a few screwballs thrown in):
“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journal” (2020): There are not enough words to describe this Netflix holiday film: whimsical, steampunk, classic and more. Forest Whitaker stars as Jeronicus Jangle, whose brilliance as a toymaker is dulled when his apprentice betrays him. His granddaughter Journey enters his life decades later, and Jeronicus is in the shadow of his now-rival. Although it has many tropes seen in holiday movies, “Jingle Jangle” has stunning costumes and set designs and original music to keep viewers bopping.
“A Christmas Story” (1983): You’ve watched the marathon on TV between the football and basketball games or while preparing dinner. For years, when I worked the holiday shift in past newsrooms, I made my co-workers watch with me and annoy them by quoting the comedy classic and offering witty commentary like it was “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” I’d like to point out that I had similar gift-wrapping paper featured in the Christmas morning scene and that I didn’t finish it until 2001.
“A Diva’s Christmas Carol” (2000): Every Christmas, there are three guarantees: a new version of “A Christmas Carol,” a new layer of schmaltz and a ridiculous song. This offering debuted on VH-1 25 years ago, and I remember watching it repeatedly. Vanessa Williams is Ebony Scrooge, an R&B diva who has lost her holiday spirit. It follows the old Charles Dickens formula but for a “modern” audience. One word, “Heartquake.”
“Enter the Dragon” (1973): In my house growing up, watching the Bruce Lee actioner on Christmas morning was a family tradition. Itap my father’s favorite film, and we would make a trek to the video store to rent a copy. He was stubborn and didn’t want his own copy. Having time to watch the martial arts film was enough. Once, he mixed things up with “The Matrix.”
“Die Hard” (1988): Letap settle the debate once and for all: “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. Itap about a cop (Bruce Willis) who wants to fix his fractured marriage while his wife attends a holiday party. Itap all about overcoming corporate greed and wealth and thugs with iced-over hearts. Doesn’t this sound like “A Christmas Carol?”
Honorable mention: “Itap a Wonderful Life” (1946), “The Holdovers” (2023), “The Best Man Holiday” (2013), “Feast of the Seven Fishes” (2019), “A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël)” (2008) — Tamara Dunn
Making Apple Cider Caramels (recipe)
There’s a chapter in Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” where Violet Beauregarde steals a piece of gum from Willy Wonka’s factory that transforms into an entire meal as she chews it, overwhelming her taste buds with a feast of flavors … before turning her into a giant blueberry.
Thatap the best comparison to the experience of eating these apple cider caramels – like a slice of buttery, cinnamon-laden apple pie was concentrated into one small bite, but without the Wonka-esque consequences.
I first made this recipe by Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen for family Christmas gifts about 10 years ago, and now get requests to make them every holiday season. The hardest part is not having to work with hot sugar, but cutting and wrapping the individual caramels in slips of parchment paper — especially if, like me, you end up quadrupling the recipe.
The second hardest part is deciding whether or not to keep them all to yourself once you realize how addictive these little squares of sweet-tart-salty goodness are. — Katie Langford
Source: “The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook,” by Deb Perelman (Knopf), edited for length.
INGREDIENTS
4 cups apple cider (Colorado-grown ciders like Talbottap or Big B’s are ideal)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or less of a finer one
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
Neutral oil for the knife
DIRECTIONS
Boil the apple cider in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume, about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch, straight-sided square metal baking pan with two long sheets of crisscrossed parchment and set aside. Stir the cinnamon and flaky salt together in a small dish.
3. Remove the reduced cider from the heat and stir in the butter, both sugars and heavy cream. Return the pot to medium-high heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side, and let it boil until the thermometer reads 252 degrees, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it. (Don’t have a candy or deep-fry thermometer? Have a bowl of very cold water ready, and cook the caramel until a tiny spoonful dropped into the water becomes firm, chewy, and able to be plied into a ball.)
4. Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon-salt mixture, and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly. Pour caramel into the prepared pan. Let it sit until cool and firm — about 2 hours, though it goes faster in the fridge.
5. Once caramel is firm, use your parchment paper sling to transfer the block to a cutting board. Use a well-oiled knife, oiling it after each cut, to cut the caramel into 1-by-1-inch squares. Wrap each one in a 4-inch square of waxed or parchment paper, twisting the sides to close. Caramels will be somewhat on the soft side at room temperature, and chewy/firm from the fridge.
Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls (recipe)
My family has lived in Texas for 30 years, but my parents were born and raised in the Ohio hills. Our Christmas morning tradition reflects that clash of culture: tamales from Texas’ favorite grocer, H-E-B, and my dad’s beloved potato-based cinnamon rolls. The rolls take more than a day (and a pound of potatoes) but the effort is always worth it. Now that we’re all of drinking age, mimosas often accompany the mishmash meal. Or, if you’re my mom, just champagne. — Elise Schmelzer
Source: Greg Atkinson, Bon Appétit magazine.
Mashed creamy Yukon Gold potatoes keep this take on classic cinnamon rolls extra moist.
Makes 12 rolls.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
4 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
3 1/4-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (scant 2 tablespoons)
Elise Schmelzer’s version of her dad’s cinnamon rolls from Christmas 2023. (Provided by Elise Schmelzer)2 tablespoons sugar
For the filling:
1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons (or more) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
For the dough:
Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in a large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in a pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let it stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms.
3. Spread 1/2 cup flour on the work surface. Scrape dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.
4. Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make filling:
5. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter.
6. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24×16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces. Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).
7. Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.
Meanwhile, make glaze:
8. Whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and coarse salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.
