THE FAMILY
The Herrmanns: Tom, Barbara, Tim, 10, Geoff, 8, and Jenny, 6
THEIR HOMETOWN
Walpole, Massachusetts
THE TRADITION
Every night from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, Tom Herrmann continues a ritual his parents started some 40 years ago: reading aloud one story from THE ANIMALS' MERRY CHRISTMAS (out of print) to his wife, Barbara, and kids, Tim, Geoff and Jenny. "Seeing my kids drift off to the same stories my parents read to me is wonderful," says Tom. Although this book is his family's favorite, Tom says any volume that could cover the roughly 30 nights of the season would work. "It's tremendous to be read to, even after you can do it yourself," Tom says. "If you no longer read aloud to your kids, this is a perfect time to begin again."
