David & Janis Stancik

“For us, the spirit of Christmas is in delighting our children and their spouses: Meredith and Shane McAuliffe, Lance and Camille Stancik and Natalie and Ken Wood, and our grandchildren: Ireland, Tucker, Paisley, Declan, Landry, Parker, Harper, Memphis and Sophie,” David Stancik says.

“I love Christmas, including the traditions we carry on year after year,” adds Janis Stancik, who starts decorating their home in mid-October.

“We have six large trees and three smaller ones. I’ve been collecting ornaments since we were married 44 years ago. One tree has so many Old World blown glass ornaments that you can hardly see the branches. Each one has a story. I remember where and when I bought it. We also have a western cowboy-themed tree that I started when our son, Lance, was a child because he always wore his cowboy boots.

“Then there’s our grandchildren’s tree. Thanksgiving Week, I had six of our grandkids here making ornaments for the tree, which is a hodgepodge with lots of red and green balls with tinsel and homemade ornaments made by the grandchildren. We add to it every year. We also have a kitchen tree, a bar tree and a travel tree. There are lights and garland everywhere in the house.

“We all have Christmas stockings and on Christmas morning, it takes about five hours to open the presents in the stockings and under the tree because we go one by one. There’s a lot of laughter. It’s never quiet.

“When I was a little girl, I remember we’d spend a whole afternoon making Aunt Anna’s honey cookies in the shape of bells, trees and snowmen and we do the same thing every year with our grandchildren.

“We’d always go to church on Christmas Eve, and eat oysters and Koch Käse, German cooked cheese. We’ve continued these traditions. I wouldn’t trade our Christmas celebrations for anything,” Janis concludes.