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Oscar Traditions
One of the things I don’t think I ever gave too much thought to, as a parent, was how my traditions and ideas would influence my daughter. I’m not talking about the big stuff like how we celebrate major holidays or where we go on vacation, I’m talking about the smaller stuff . . . like celebrating all kinds of love on Valentine’s Day or volunteering in the community or (here comes the actual point of today’s post) making a big deal about the Oscars.
Seeing all of the Best Picture nominees is something I started doing before Hannah was born. It was a quest I shared with a very dear friend and then it became a quest that Dale and I took on as well. The pandemic changed a lot of it for me and, in some weird way that I can’t exactly explain, I don’t really . . . care . . . about this particular achievement any longer. It’s not that I’ve lost interest in it completely, but I’m definitely no longer a completist when it comes to seeing all these movies before the Oscar awards are given out. I’m so out of touch with the process that the announcement about the nominees, something I always made a point of watching, was completely off my radar until after it happened.
Apparently, though, my love for the movies and the Oscar show is something that is ingrained in Hannah. She has seen most (or maybe even all at this point) of the Best Picture nominees and several of the movies nominated in other categories. She’s been giving me nudges to watch some of the ones she thinks are particularly swell (and I’ve managed to watch and enjoy several now) and the other day asked me . . . what are we doing for our Oscar party this year?
Blink. Blink.
I hadn’t even considered that she’d want to come over and watch with her two movie luddite parents this year but traditions hold strong in my girlie and her excitement about watching with us is perpetual. For many years we actually dressed up to watch the show, donning dresses and heels and bling while Dale wore his tuxedo. I know that Hannah has really fond memories of those days and, while we don’t dress up anymore, we do still try and tailor our menu to fit or represent the nominated films.
Our menu for Sunday included many small plates, including potato skins (Belfast), shrimp cocktail (CODA), empanadas (West Side Story and Encanto), pizza with black olives (Licorice Pizza), KFC chicken (Spencer), grapes (Being the Ricardos), and store bought apple pie (Don’t Look Up). It was fun to come up with these ideas and even better is that Hannah now helps with the food.
Even though my priorities about all of this have changed, I truly love that it’s something Hannah is carrying on. A mother’s influence on her daughter is definitely not something to discount!
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I have just lost interest in the movies and then Oscars. They just don’t seem to interest me anymore. But if you have watched a good one, please tell me what it is. I am curious, but not curious enough to watch them – ha ha. Your tradition sounds like a fun one!
That was a nice story. It’s fun to have traditions that your children keep up with, with their own families or still want to do with you.
What a perfect way to stay in their thoughts and hearts as time marches on.
I love that you would dress up in the past! And I think it’s lovely that you have this tradition, even if you don’t get all dolled up these days. With everything going on in the world, I think we all need to embrace reasons to celebrate or to make the everyday more exciting.
What a great life is carved from – right there Carole! Hope you had fun.
Traditions are often important, even if the original reason for them isn’t such a big thing anymore. I’m clueless about the Oscars most years and especially this year. I would like to see Belfast but I couldn’t seem to find it to stream. I am glad that you didn’t put actual licorice on pizza!
I, too, completely lost interest in movies during the pandemic (something I never thought would happen, but there you go). But I’d never lose interest in celebrating with my kiddos! How fun for you that Hannah wanted to celebrate with you. XO
Good for Hannah! Traditions are fun. I read once that Shirley Temple movies became very popular during the Depression because people sought activities that were light and cheerful. In that spirit, we tuned in to the Oscars last night. And CODA!!!! Filmed right here where we live!
I think after he Oscars moved around a couple times a loof people lost track. I remember watching it in April and it felt more important. I confess when I became a serious grownup trying to save for my first home I traded movies for books as a much better entertainment value. That’s sort of stuck. In my defense, so much of the movies are now big series and that takes a lot of them out of my interest. Glad you had fun with Hannah.
What fun! (and I just love your food pairings!) Traditions are the best things ever!
(I have CODA on my list to watch… and Belfast when it is available!)
Oh my gosh, I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! I watched The Oscars, but other than Belfast, the only nominated movies I’ve seen were ones that I watched with the kiddos (Encanto, Luca). There are a few more on my list now, though. (I wonder if our local movie house will ever have a Best Picture Festival again.)
Sigh. We didn’t even remember to watch. Great that you have some family traditions to carry on.
So cool, Carole! I’ve never really been much of a movie person, but I LOVED the Red Carpet and made a point of watching and live-texting with Katie & Sara … that all kind of fell apart with the pandemic. and it totally slipped my mind until I read about all in my news feeds this morning. Marc watched a few of the movies and said CODA was a well-deserved win. Seeing that it pairs well with shrimp cocktail makes me think I should watch it, too!
What fun and how lovely that Hannah wanted to celebrate with you. I’ve never been much of a movie person (I get antsy and want to move around…or I get bored). Fletch always watches the Oscars, and he started on Sunday, but said it was so bad he was switching to something else!