As the air cools and the leaves turn, we find ourselves at the starting line of the holiday season. For me, Halloween is the kick-off, ushering us into a stretch of months filled with traditions, gatherings and the kind of memories that warm our hearts long after the tree is taken down and the decorations are packed away.

I’ll be honest — I love this time of year. There is something calming, comforting and grounding about traditions. They hold us steady when life feels chaotic, and they remind us of where we’ve come from. I love having Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and all the other big family moments together. Those days, those meals, those laughs — they’re not just holidays on the calendar; they are markers of belonging. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

But if I’m also being honest, COVID taught me something unexpected. While I never want to relive the separation of being apart from my family, there was this tiny sliver of space that allowed me to try something new. I finally cooked the Italian Seven Fishes dinner I had always dreamed about but never experienced growing up in my Irish Catholic family. It felt indulgent, almost like stepping into someone else’s holiday memory, and I loved every bit of it.

The other night, my husband and I were watching a show about how people in Louisiana celebrate Easter — not with ham, but with crawfish. And I couldn’t help but think, “How cool would that be?” I could picture the tables covered in paper, piles of steaming crawfish, and everyone digging in with messy hands and full hearts.

Now here’s the funny part: this is coming from the same woman who once threw a fit when my mom moved the Christmas tree from the family room into the living room. The tree always went in the family room.

Always. And yet, there I was, getting starry-eyed over the thought of swapping ham for crawfish.

So maybe that’s the tug-of-war I carry inside me — the push and pull between honoring tradition and embracing something new. Maybe it’s not about choosing one over the other. Maybe it’s about holding space for both. Some years, it’s about leaning into the familiar — the tree where it “belongs,” the recipes passed down, the same songs playing as we decorate cookies. And still having the ability to sprinkle in something fresh, something unexpected, that makes us smile and say, “Remember the year we tried that?”

As we head into this holiday season, I’m reminding myself it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. I can love and protect the rituals that anchor me while also staying open to the little twists that make life more colorful. And maybe, just maybe, those new moments can become traditions of their own.

Now I want to ask you — how do you balance tradition with the desire to try something new? Do you hold tightly to the way it’s always been, or do you sneak in new memories along the way?

Because here’s what I know… whether it’s ham or crawfish, cookies or cannoli, a tree in the family room or the living room — it’s not about the what. It’s about the who. And as long as the people you love are gathered around the table (or the tree), it’s always worth celebrating.

And who knows — maybe this coming Easter breakfast will include some eggs and crawfish… and ham for dinner, per usual.