My side of the family (my Mom, brother and me) practice a wacky Christmas Eve tradition that began more than forty years ago.

Growing up in Montgomery AL, the place to find the best hot dog was a diner called Chris' Hotdogs in dowtown Montgomery.  My Dad was always obsessed with duplicating Chris' hotdog sauce and worked mightly whenever his creativity inspired him.  This occasionally became a family obsession when we moved away from Montgomery.  There is still an active obsession of many others.

The tradition started when we had a particularly busy Christmas Eve, with church services and other volunteer work.  My Mom wanted a simple and quick dinner, and my Dad was thinking about Chris' hotdogs.  Voila!  The simple dinner became hotdogs on Christmas Eve.  The point became, every year, to produce a better representation of Chris' sauce than the year before.

The tradition morphed in Birmingham to Sneaky Pete's hotdog sauce and ultimately became the tradition of chili dogs on Christmas Eve at Grand Ma's.  However, as I approach 60, I am craving the old tastes and memories of my boyhood.  Which means reproducing Chris' and Sneaky Pete's famous hot dog sauce.  We'll see if my son follows in my footsteps. 

I'd love it if anyone wants to share their wacky Christmas Eve traditions.