I have a tiny collection of miniature houses that live on my bookshelves.

The plastic houses vary from Victorian-style architecture to sleek modern designs. What every house has in common is a Christmas tree inside. The village on my bookshelf also includes churches, and businesses—a retro movie theater and brick library.

The small collection predates me. The houses came from my grandma, who used to put them out on her coffee table every Christmas season. My brother and I would rearrange the houses when we came to visit, designing new neighborhoods and deciding which house everyone in the family would live in.

My grandma passed away several years ago. The other half of her tiny house collection lives on the bookshelves in my brother’s living room. Now maybe tiny plastic houses decked out for Christmas are silly or frivolous, but for me they make any apartment feel like home. The shared collection is a reminder of the shared joy—the silly times we spent crouched on the floor in front of the sofa deciding the best way to lay out this tiny plastic village while the adults talked and laughed and cooked.

Holiday traditions are such a powerful way to connect to our own pasts. Those festive foods that take us back, the cinnamon rolls or sugar cookies or tamales. Sugar cookies grandma made always taste a little sweeter.

Rituals and celebrations that have been passed down also connect us with the people who came before, the people who made us and made this world we’re living in. Passing on those traditions gives us a chance to share that connection with the next generation. Traditions certainly make me reflect on what kind of world I’ll be leaving for future generations to live in. Sometimes that thought is a little terrifying, but there’s nothing like the holidays to revive your sense of optimism.

Community holiday traditions often seem to be performances or acts of giving. Socorro’s certainly got plenty of its own holiday traditions. The children’s La Pastorela performance was supposed to run Sunday and this Saturday will be another traditional performance—the Mariachi Christmas at New Mexico Tech. The Ocampo’s food drive will also be this weekend.

Along with sentimental food and acts of service, Christmas comes with gift giving—something I am inexpert at. I hope I’m not the only one who’s left my present shopping down to the last minute. I have a habit of gifting people books or food, because it’s hard for me to imagine a greater show of love than feeding someone and I just keep finding books that remind me of the people I love.

If, like me, you’re frantically looking for a last minute gift, you could always purchase a gift newspaper subscription—a gift that will keep on giving every week for the next year.

Here at the newspaper office we’ll be having a holiday open house next Thursday, Dec. 23. Come visit us from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at our office, 200 Winkler Street, to share a glass of cider or a cup of coffee. We’ll have some holiday cookies too. We’ll also be giving away five free subscriptions, an iPad with a year’s subscription to the Albuquerque Journal and tickets to the University of New Mexico men’s and women’s basketball games. I hope to see you there!

Cathy Cook, Editor, El Defensor Chieftain