In my house, the holidays are a time of coming together and sharing each other's company. To most, the holiday season starts after Halloween and ends on the beginning of the new year. During this time, families have Thanksgiving get-togethers and many Christmas parties either with family or with coworkers. Since this time of year is my favorite, I decided to share some of my favorite traditions and remind readers why traditions are so important to creating good family relationships.

One tradition in my house is cooking Thanksgiving dinner. My sister and I get up at about 9 a.m. and we start cooking around 10 a.m. We plan out everything we are cooking, the times the food needs to start being prepped and cooked. We turn on some music and we cook all day until about 5 or 6 in the evening. We started this tradition 2 years ago and I wouldn't trade this time for the world. We talk, laugh, sing, dance, anything you could possibly think of, to spend quality time with sibling. She has since become one of my best friends because we share this time together. It's time where we don't fight and we just have a blast doing something we both love.

One of my favorite traditions in my house is decorating the tree with my brothers and sisters and my dad. We all help put the tree together (yes, it's fake because pine needles are messy!), and then we turn on Christmas music. This is a truly magical time. We stop fighting and we all put our own little touch on the tree. We reminisce about years passed, we enjoy spending quality time with each other. It's one time where we put differences aside and get along. My dad always just sits and watches his kids decorate the staple holiday decoration of our house.

Now, everyone has to have this tradition because it is one of the most important traditions of all, baking Christmas cookies. My dad loves this tradition and it's easy to see why! You spend hours baking cookies! It's a great tradition in our household because we pull out all the cookbooks and we plan out what cookies we want to make. Then we head to the grocery store to get the items we still need, usually a lot of butter and flour! If your family is like mine, you probably goof around the whole time and spend way too long in the store than what you actually need to. We head back home and the fun begins!

We crack open the flour and cover the table, the cookie batter is prepped (a little bit will never see the inside of the oven), and then we just play oven juggling. If cookies need decorating, we set those aside to cool in the fridge, others are put into their respective containers. This tradition is so important to have because it gives us some much-needed family time.

This last tradition is one that I hold dearly to my heart. It started when I was about 8 years old. Christmas morning, around 6 a.m., my older sister wakes us all up, and we all go downstairs into the living room. It's still a little dark, the Christmas tree lights are shining, all the presents are under the tree. We all choose spots around the living room, couches and the floor and we just sit and admire the tree. No one really talks, we just sit and stare. Eventually, we all fall asleep and we wait until our parents wake up. This is one time we cherish above all else.

Traditions are so important to bringing families closer together. They are times where you put all your differences aside and you enjoy the company of your siblings and your parents. Every family has there own traditions, so this holiday season, take time to cherish your own family traditions. Take the time to stop and look around you at the people you love most.