Ugly sweaters, chicken soup, treasure hunts: Lawmakers share their favorite Christmas traditions

Christmas Day is a time for Americans and others across the world who celebrate the holiday to spend time with loved ones while participating in time-honored traditions – and members of Congress are no exception.

Far away from the bustle and drama of Capitol Hill, lawmakers opened up to Fox News Digital about their favorite ways to spend the Christmas holiday, both past and present.

“Jacquie and I are excited to have the whole crew under one roof for an ice cold Minnesota Christmas, complete with four grandkids who’re getting a crash course in the joy (and noise!) of an Emmer family holiday,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital. “The Christmas Village is all set up, and ugly sweaters are a must.”

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The Christmas Tree is lit during a ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In South Dakota, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds has more than 100 members of his family in attendance each year for Christmas Eve to eat homemade chicken noodle soup, his office told Fox News Digital.

“Senator Rounds’ late wife Jean was also very talented at making cross stitch and needlework art, and Senator Rounds and his children decorate the whole house with all of her handmade Christmas art,” his office said.

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., recalled a Christmas scavenger hunt that her parents orchestrated.

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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said his family Christmas traditions involve ugly sweaters. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“My parents always set up a treasure hunt on Christmas Eve. My four siblings and I had to de-code a series of clues that led us to various parts of the house to find the next clue, that eventually led us to the final clue, which was where the presents we opened were found,” Tenney said. 

She said locations included “the trunk of the car, the dryer, or a storage closet.”

“It was really fun, and my parents made the clues more and more clever and challenging each year,” Tenney said. “Then we went to our neighbor’s across the street for their annual Christmas Eve party. The entire neighborhood was invited. Afterward, many of us, including our Jewish neighbors, went to midnight mass at the Presbyterian Church.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney recalled a Christmas Eve treasure hunt her parents orchestrated. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., meanwhile, said her favorite Christmas tradition was skiing with her grandchildren in Star Valley in western Wyoming.

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And for Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Christmas means family dinners and board games.

“We go to Christmas Eve Mass at the parish I grew up in and go to dinner at my parents’ house,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital. “Larger family gets together after Christmas for [an] epic game of RISK.”