Fashion Flea: The Fleece Family Christmas Tradition

For the past, I don't know how many years, our family has followed a tradition at Christmas. A ritual, if you will. This ritual takes place at my father's house on Christmas eve. The usual suspects are there, my dad, step mother, sister Lauren, brothers Thomas and Matthew - and his wife Emily (who is also my sister! and pregnant with a little baby on the way).

Christmas eve day, we arrive in good time (before dark) - and there's music playing, drinks to be had, animals to be played with and some last minute gifts to be wrapped. A fire is usually on and there's an unspoken excitement floating around in the air. The Christmas tree is always quite the sight, with a plethora of gifts spilling out from underneath it.

Each and every year, we have a fondue. We've never had a turkey, roast or any other traditional style meal. For as long as I can remember, it's all about fondue. And each year, my step mother steps it up with her cooking skills. The past few years she's added Guinness beer to the cheese fondue (you can now wipe the drool from your mouth). Yes, that's right. We start off with a cheese fondue. With steamed veggies and an abundance of fresh bread.

Next up, we have a meat fondue with chicken breast and steak. There's plenty of delicious sauces for dipping and the table is usually a huge mess at this point. But, we're laughing, having fun - and more importantly, enjoying each others company. Lastly, we finish off with a chocolate fondue, with fruits and marshmallows. It's nothing short of sheer decadence.

And finally, the finale. Every year we get to open one gift on Christmas eve. And every year it's the same gift: Pajamas. This is probably my most favourite part. We each tear open our new pajamas, in anticipation of the new threads we'll be wearing for the next year. And within minutes of opening our gifts, we all run to change into our new found sleep wear. As the night comes to a close, we usually prepare hot chocolate with Bailey's and cozy up by the fireside while watching a Christmas classic. It's simply heart-warming, isn't it?

Pajamas are my absolute favourite. I'm not sure how many I've gone through in the past 10 years, but I can say that it's been about 20 pairs. Fleece, cotton, silk, synthetic, you name it. Leopard, pink, polka dot - it's all there for the taking. My current favourites are an X-Large pair of leopard fleece my mom bought for me. Soooo sweet. Here are my top 5 for this year:

The red plaid classic. These will never go out of pajama style.