Do you have a holiday tradition without which it wouldn't seem like a holiday?...I do...and it may sound silly to some, but the Nordstrom Holiday Party is one of mine...and not for the reasons you might expect...
It's not the shopping that excites me...or the opportunity to earn ten times the usual points on anything I purchase...or the freely flowing sparkling wine and small bites...
No, it's that every year for at least ten years now, I have met my best friend in the parking lot...in advance of the party...where we have a private celebration...one that kicks off my holiday season every year...
And here's the part that may sound silly to you: we sit in my car...toast each other with Piper Heidseck champagne...talk about what's going on in our lives...appreciate our friendship...each other...our accomplishments for the year...
That is the real reason the tradition has lasted so long...
And as with many traditions, we did not deliberately set out to make it so...originally, we went for the free food and drinks...the points...the shopping...
Our tradition has evolved over time...as with everything, we added meaning over time...and it's our friendship, not the party, that keeps the tradition alive...
And while we change things up every so often...by inviting other people to join us...by sipping champagne through a straw like we did the year that I brought Baby Piper instead of champagne glasses (a departure that, while fun, we never repeated)...there is one thing that endures year after year: our love for each other...
