{"id":172974,"date":"2021-10-25T15:59:11","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T22:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=172974"},"modified":"2023-04-26T12:33:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T19:33:38","slug":"six-co-op-members-share-their-favorite-holiday-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/six-co-op-members-share-their-favorite-holiday-traditions","title":{"rendered":"Six Co-op Members Share Their Favorite Holiday Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you’re a co-op of 20 million people, you celebrate everyone’s traditions\u2014whether it’s holiday bird-counting, stargazing during the winter solstice or running in the snow dressed as holiday gifts. We asked our members to share their favorite holiday traditions. This is what they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Editor’s note: Four of these six member stories originally appeared in REI Co-op’s 2021 holiday catalog.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: A ski trip and a feast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our tradition officially kicked off last winter\u2014we joined a group of friends to ski a Nordic trail locally known as the ‘espresso loop’ because it involves sipping the caffeinated drink at different stops along the route. The trail is fun for many skill levels\u2014even for this San Diego native who is new to the sport.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: Stargazing in Sedona<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For as long as I can remember, my sister and I have enjoyed looking skyward together, finding the beauty of constellations and shooting stars. Many of our childhood memories involve tracking major storms, learning about astronomical events and gifting (or sometimes creating) tools to help us understand the night sky. It\u2019s a joy that has followed us into adulthood.” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: The Christmas Bird Count<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To spread my love of birding to other people with accessibility needs, I founded the nonprofit Birdability about three years ago. Our mission is to share the joy of birding with everybody. That includes people with mobility challenges, people who are blind or deaf and people with other health concerns. This year, I\u2019m starting a new tradition within Birdability\u2014a Christmas Bird Count for people with accessibility challenges.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: A Thanksgiving hike<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We started this tradition in 2018 as a way to explore the outdoors, get our families together and cope with the loss of a family member. You see, the holiday season changed for my husband and me back in 2016, when his father passed away from cancer. Our yearly holiday traditions became painful in his absence, so we decided to switch things up.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: Fall camping, food, familia<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the past 11 years, I\u2019ve relished my annual fall camping trip with a group of close friends. We\u2019ve made it a tradition to head \u201chome\u201d each fall for the trip, rain or shine (or, occasionally, snowfall). Our first order of business when we wake up together outdoors is always to put on a piping-hot pot of my version of \u201ccaf\u00e9 de la olla.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My holiday tradition: A Christmas run<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Growing up, my family was always very close with my aunt. Every December, we did a gift exchange with her a day or two before Christmas. One year, in 2015, we did our exchange on Christmas Eve, but the next morning, we noticed we forgot to give her one of her gifts. My brother and I began discussing which of us should drive it the two miles into town. That\u2019s when I noticed a red laundry bag, a holdover from my dad\u2019s college days, sitting behind our recliner.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you’re a co-op of 20 million people, you celebrate everyone’s traditions\u2014whether it’s holiday bird-counting, stargazing during the winter solstice or running in the snow dressed as holiday gifts. We asked our members to share their favorite holiday traditions. This is what they said. Editor’s note: Four of these six member stories originally appeared in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14208,"featured_media":172999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[727],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-172974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","tag-latest-posts"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/six-co-op-members-share-their-favorite-holiday-traditions","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Six Co-op Members Share Their Favorite Holiday Traditions","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/six-co-op-members-share-their-favorite-holiday-traditions","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/six-co-op-members-share-their-favorite-holiday-traditions"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/10\/MariaHines_027737.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/10\/MariaHines_027737.jpg?fit=3360%2C2240"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Grothjan"}],"creator":["Sarah Grothjan"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["latest posts"],"dateCreated":"2021-10-25T22:59:11Z","datePublished":"2021-10-25T22:59:11Z","dateModified":"2023-04-26T19:33:38Z"},"rendered":"