What are your favourite Christmas memories and traditions?

From the magic of Santa, to the comfort of family and food, the Christmas season holds joy for people of all ages.

Part of a News Talk Radio tradition is to call Santa by satellite phone at the North Pole. Before taking off in his sleigh on Christmas Eve, Santa took some time to talk to Saskatchewan kids on the radio.

Olivia asked Santa for an elf suit, and made sure to tell him about the reindeer on her roof that watches out for him.

“We’ll leave cookies and milk for you,” she said, adding that there will be carrots for the reindeer. “Merry Christmas.”

Ainsley asked for a karaoke machine, telling Santa that she really likes to sing.

“A robot,” is at the top of the list for Sawyer. He says he wants a blue one.

Other boys and girls asked for dinosaur toys, remote control trucks and Beanie Boo plush toys and American girl dolls.

They all promised to leave milk and cookies and carrots for Santa.

For children Santa might be the highlight of Christmas, but for adults the joy of the season is more about family and food.

“Our Christmas tradition is that each Christmas Eve the kids get to open one present,” Scott Redl said. “Christmas morning we open gifts and we do quiche (and) that’s been a tradition for oh, 30 years at least.”

He says the best memories are all about spending time with family, although he always loved competing with his siblings to wake up their parents when they were kids.

“I think the tradition of getting together with friends and family and enjoying some nice food, that’s what it’s all about,” commented Miriam Everett. “And going to church on Christmas Eve.”

Her favourite memory is the year she was expecting her first son, when she and her husband flew home to Saskatoon from Alberta and spent Christmas together with both sides of the family.

Donika Rempel says her favourite tradition is making tamales with her family, because they are Mexican.

“We rent a church or something because we need lots of ovens and lots of space and we break out the masa and the corn husks and we marinate the meat and get the steamers going and all the aunts and uncles and grandmas, we make tamales,” she said.

Her husband Nate Rempel says his favourite tradition growing up was a special advent calendar.

“We had one that my grandma made into a quilt and we’d put a chocolate bar behind each one, so that was kind of awesome,” he explained.

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