Christmas is a time of year filled with hundreds of traditions, all over the world. People celebrate this magical time in so many fascinating and beautiful ways. I love learning about others’ holiday traditions and seeing which ones I want to incorporate into my own family’s yearly celebrations.
By far, one of the most time honored traditions I repeat every year is the signing of the tablecloth.
Years ago (10 to be exact), my mother advised me to purchase a white tablecloth and have either ourselves, or any family and friends we would be celebrating the holidays with, sign the tablecloth with the year, their name, and a short message or picture.
Every year, I pull out this tablecloth and I look back at the past signatures that have been bestowed upon what will become an heirloom to my children. Signatures and messages that I will cherish forever are on this fabric woven together to create memories for a lifetime. Signatures such as my late grandfather, my children when they were just toddlers, nieces and nephews, friends we forgot we celebrated Christmas with, my husband and I as a young couple, and so many more.
If you choose to create your own Christmas tablecloth memory, I have two pieces of advice for you. 1) Use sharpies. Don’t use regular markers, as they may fade over time or bleed worse as you’re writing. 2) Never wash the tablecloth. You don’t want to potentially wash away someone’s memory.
With that being said, I only use the cloth for things such as gift tables, dessert tables, etc. I never use it to eat full meals on, just to reduce the amount of stains, etc. left on it.
If you already do this tradition, I would love to know how long you’ve had your cloth and what it means to you!
