Hello everyone, I’m Stephanie from Managing a Home and I am so excited that Danielle has asked me to share my Christmas Tradition with you all!
Growing up in an Italian family was something I was always proud of. I loved being around the loud, obnoxious and most of the time red-wine-drinking family. We always had a great time and loved being in each other’s company. Every year, we celebrate The Feast of the Seven Fishes. This isn’t something new that most people have heard of, but in true Italian fashion as Frankie said “We did it our way!
This tradition usually takes place on Christmas Eve and usually encompasses, you guessed it, seven different fish. I remember growing up, going to my Uncle Nick’s {really my mom’s uncle} house and just having a ball with my cousins. We were rebels cutting up spaghetti {please don’t tell my mom} and sneaking extra cannolis and cream puffs from the table, usually before dessert time {again, please don’t tell my mom}. Sometimes, this was the only time all year where we saw ALL of our cousins. The whole family came. Every year we would take a group photo – before selfies and when there were actual timers and a tripod for every camera. I am so glad I was asked to do this post, I had the opportunity to go through all of our photos and reminisce about my family good times. It was especially great to see my grandmother again in these pictures.
As a family, we eat – it’s what we like best. But our seven fishes are not necessarily the traditional fishes. We cheat with a TON of shellfish. A usual menu was: crab gravy {like red meat gravy just with crabmeat and old bay}, calamari spaghetti sauce, crab cakes, scallops, fried/baked shrimp, clams or mussels, smelt {the only real fish – which I never liked}, and best of all seafood salad {delicious concoction of lobster, shrimp, green olives, capers, calamari, monk fish and a couple other “fishes” tossed with infused oil and salt and pepper}. There were usually fish sticks for the kids – if you need another “fish” tossed in there ☺
Dessert was only better: cannolis, cream puffs, cookies, cakes, and struffoli. This was an amazing end to an amazing meal.
My mom remembers having Christmas Eve at Uncle Nick’s house since she was 8 I won’t tell you she’s 60 now and continued on this tradition with our family. Unfortunately, after Uncle Nick passed, it was too much for our cousins with two young children to carry on. So, the family had to split.
We started our tradition again 3 years ago. My mom hosted the Feast for my cousins and families. We each brought a “fish”, as to not put the entire burden on my mom, and we had such a great time. We did take off last year because I was due the next week with my baby girl.
This year was a special year. We were able to enjoy our time together with two new babies in the family! We started the tradition of taking a picture of the kids so we can see how they grow through the years.
We also celebrated my baby girl’s birthday with my cousins. We got wonderful cupcakes and sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
I am going to share with Today is the Best Day readers my “Almost” Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe with you. These biscuits go perfect with seafood and they smell oh so delicious!
Download the Recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits FREE PRINTABLE here!
Thank you for letting me share my Christmas Tradition with you and I hope you like my biscuits. ☺ I would love to hear what traditions you have in your family. Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest and share photos and blog posts about your family traditions!
Stephanie is a daughter, a wife and a mom who blogs over at Managing A Home. Check out her website for yummy recipes, fun traditions, fancy tricks and other great ideas on managing your home, kids and life.
Have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!
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Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day! 
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