Christmas in Italy: Creating joyful traditions with the kids in your life

Julie Jurden

It’s finally December and the spirit of the holiday season is getting in to full swing here in the U.S. For most of us, Thanksgiving officially kicks off the festivities, and for some, it even begins as early as Halloween. But no matter when your family traditionally welcomes the season, it’s a magical and wondrous time for the little ones in our lives. 

Ask anyone you know and they’ll probably be able to spout out one tradition that their family has had or continues during the holiday season. While the origins of this special time are based on religious and spiritual beliefs, many traditions celebrated are born from families creating memories in their own way and then sustained for years to come. It’s something that brings us together in familiarity and comfort.

Italians also understand this and base many of their traditions on bringing family together and creating a meaningful experience their children will remember and share for the rest of their lives. They also celebrate within their own cultural timeline.

Italians may begin their winter holiday a little later than us, but they also extend the celebration well into January, creating massive excitement and extended anticipation for kids across the country.

The season typically begins on December 8 with the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. This is a national holiday with significant importance to the Roman Catholic Church, and also the official day when most put up their holiday decorations and Christmas trees. It’s a spectacle to behold with sights, sounds, and smells to heighten the senses of holiday revelers young and old.

In the Novena, or eight days before Christmas, streets are filled with carolers singing traditional songs. In Rome and other locations, you will see the zampognari or bagpipe players who travel from the nearby Abruzzi Mountains to play throughout the streets for the local children. At the same time, piazzas across Italy are enveloped with beautiful lights and decorations, including artisanal handmade presepi, or nativity scenes. You’d be hard pressed not to find one in any city or town.

Other Italian traditions include skipping meat on Christmas Eve as a way to purify their bodies for Christmas Day, often replaced with grand feasts and multiple courses of beautiful seafood instead. While many end the day with Midnight Mass, there are also those brave ones who ski down the Dolomites at the strike of midnight carrying torches to welcome Christmas – an incredible sight to behold.

Christmas Day of course is filled with large meals, loads of family and friends, and glorious Italian foods, including the traditional dessert of panettone, a sweet bread loaf filled with candied fruit and raisins that children love.

The feasting and celebration continues into the New Year, but comes to a crescendo January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas and the Day of the Epiphany. 

The night before, large meals are once again shared with family and friends to mark the end of the season, and La Befana, a witch who flies on her broom and brings good children treats and bad children coal, delivers her gifts and goodies. 

We delight in and appreciate all of the holiday traditions of Italy and hope that all of our followers are able to continue their own family traditions, or start some new ones. Focusing ideas and activities around the children in our lives is a great place to start, and often means these traditions are carried forward for generations to come.

We’d like to help by offering tips and ideas for the table – more specifically, the children’s table.

Rather than setting up a small card table or relegating the little ones to a counter with stools, make their meal memorable by creating something colorful and unique to mark the occasion. Kids notice these things and love when they are singled out with something special just for them. And if you turn it into a tradition, they have something to look forward to each year.

 

Our children’s table shown here uses our bright and cheerful POP collection. Use these pieces as a backdrop for anything you’d want to add to make it even more festive for the kids. Involving them as much as possible in the party and the preparation makes it special for everyone!

Consider a few of these ideas to get your creativity flowing and to start some new family traditions.

  • Let kids create an ornament or other fun craft to designate their spot at the table.
  • Make a gingerbread house centerpiece and plan to decorate it together earlier in the day.
  • Ask each child to bring a dozen of their favorite decorated Christmas cookies for the whole family to enjoy.
  • Provide a special holiday dish just for them to have at their table. Maybe a frozen cranberry reindeer or Christmas tree crudité.
  • Provide an age appropriate table game like holiday trivia questions with a prize for the most correct answers, Christmas bingo, I Spy, or place a number under a plate later to be drawn for a prize. You could even fill a large clear vessel with candy and each child guesses the amount inside. When the meal is over they can count the contents and closest to the number wins a prize.
  • Lay out crayons or markers and a butcher paper tablecloth for creative drawings or thoughtful messages throughout the meal.
  • Place several disposable or digital cameras at the table and let the kids get creative with special shots from their point of view. Share the images in the coming days so everyone has something to look forward to.
  • Place pens and paper on the table and have each child write a few sentences that later get compiled into one story. Share the story with the family after dinner. Have them get creative and as silly as they like, these can be the best stories.
  • Share with us your favorites. What does your family do for the holidays? Do they plan something special just for the kids? Let us know your favorite traditions.

No matter what you have planned this season, we hope you all are lucky enough to spend just a small bit of time seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child and creating new traditions and memories for years to come. The pure joy, laughter, and whimsy children evoke is the most simple yet poignant way we can think to embrace and celebrate the season. 

Buon Natale!

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Ring in the New Year with Italian Flair

Julie Jurden

It's almost time to celebrate! New Year's Eve is right around the corner, so now is the time to plan the festivities. For those looking who love Italian culture, or anyone wanting to add some new traditions, look no further.  

POP Gold

Party in Style

 

If you're having friends and family over for your New Year's Eve party, set a gorgeous table. Our POP Gold Collection offers cheerful gold tones reminiscent of a bubbly glass of champagne. Pair items from this collection with our Vetro Oro Small Glass Plate and our Villa d'Este Amber Champagne Flute for a perfect table setting. 

Enjoy a Game

Gather your guests for a game of Tombola! Similar to bingo this game was created in Naples in the 1700s as an alternative to gambling. King Charles banned gambling during the Christmas period only. Neopolitans found a way to get around the new law by playing Tombola during the holidays.

Eat for Prosperity

Lentils, sausage, and grapes anyone? Lentils are a food symbolizing wealth. Combine them with sausage which is thought to bring good fortune and you are starting the year off right! Finish your meal with grapes as they insure you'll be frugal with your new found wealth. 

However you are ringing in the new year, enjoy your time with friends and family. From all of us at Modigliani, we wish you are yours a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. 

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Buone Feste! A Bold Twist On Your Holiday Table Setting

Julie Jurden
The holidays are a time for friends, family, and, of course, food! There are few things the team here at Modigliani enjoy more than gathering around a beautifully set table. 

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Spring Gift Guide - Bridal Showers, Mother's Day, Teacher Gifts and more.

Julie Jurden

We welcome you to browse our Spring Gift Guide!

Spring is upon us and with it, celebrations galore! From Mother's Day to bridal showers and hostess gifts, Modigliani's handmade Italian ceramics are the perfect gift with an Italian flair. And as the school year comes to a close, don't forget to thank that special teacher! We have just the gift for them too.


 

Intrecci translated means to weave. This woven ceramic collection features a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. These make a gorgeous Mother's Day gift filled with beautiful flowers. But are equally spectacular for a bride, teacher or hostess. Fill the small oval basket with candy as a teacher gift! She will be able to reuse as paper clip storage on her desk. 

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Amore Ceramic Heart Boxes

Inspired by the affection we hold for our friends and family, our Amore collection. These colorful ceramic heart boxes can make a delightful gift for mom, brides, and teachers. Available in a variety of sizes, these handmade Italian boxes can hold paper clips, earrings or candy. Just a small amount of creativity and you have a unique gift that speak volumes.


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Colori Ceramic Bakeware

Colori e Sapori translates as Colors and Flavors. Our collection of bakeware inspires us to bring together the flavors of your dishes with Modigliani colorful, textured bakeware. Perfect for dips and casseroles, any piece from this colorful set is sure to be a delightful gift for mom. Couple this bakeware with a favorite recipe written on beautiful paper and this becomes a lovely gift for a bridal shower or teacher as well. 

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Our Primavera collection features pots in three sizes. Primavera is a celebration of the colors of spring. In this collection, cerulean sky, and marigold mingle with earthy greens and browns, depicting a quintessentially spring floral motif. From this collection, we feature these handmade ceramic pots. Each make an ideal gift for those with a green thumb. But don't despair, they can be used in a non-traditional way too! For that favorite teacher, fill with paper clips, pens, or other needed office supplies. They can keep the ceramic pot on their desk as a decorative organizational tool, or add a plant or flower to bring a little of the outdoors in! 

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 Rosso Appetizer Dish

Our Rosso appetizer dish makes a lovely hostess, bridal or Mother's Day gift. Fill it with their favorite candies. When the goodies are all gone, this handmade ceramic dish can easily become a part of their entertaining collection. Rosso translated simply as Red combines the artistic excellence of the Italian tradition with the contemporary functional flavor of strong geometric shape with a multi-dimensional feel. The brilliant red glazing achieves a unique finish that allows entertaining for a special occasion or an everyday event.

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 buongiorno Olive Utensil Holder Festa Utensil Holder
Buongiorno! Olive Festa

With such a variety of styles, Modigliani has the perfect handmade Italian ceramic utensil holder to fit anyone. They make a delightful gift alone, or for the bride-to-be, fill with wooden spoons, spatulas, and other kitchen necessities. 

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tivoli drop glassware 
Tivoli is an ancient Italian town near Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river. The city overlooks the rolling hills and pastoral beauty of the Roman Campagna. It is the rich colors and the changing landscape of this area that inspire our Tivoli line. Available in a variety of colors, Tivoli Drop Glassware is beautiful for everyday use. What a colorful gift for the bride and groom!


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Buongiorno! Extra Virgin Pop

From the bright and lively Buongiorno!, to the warm and traditional tones of Extra Virgin, Modigliani has mugs as varied as the Italian landscape. Fill with candy or school supplies for a teacher or start off the couple-to-be's coffee collection. 

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Ninfa Pitcher 

Celebrate the joy of the season with one of our handmade ceramic or glass pitchers. For Mom, grab a bouquet of flowers and use the pitcher as a vase. Not only will she enjoy the lovely blooms, but when they fade, Mom is left with a useful and gorgeous pitcher.

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