Years ago, I worked on a story for a magazine where we asked TV actors to share their holiday traditions.
What one actress said about her New Year’s tradition always stuck with me. Every year, she and her husband put a photo with a small note in a time capsule/shoebox to represent that year. I decided to do my own version of that, but with video. For the past 25 years, every New Year’s Day (or at least sometime before the Super Bowl), I’ve interviewed my family about their highlights of the year, while one of them gives us a tour of our home. It’s always fun to look back at those videos, not just for the highlights but to note things like how the kids’ rooms changed over the years.
In the Hour Detroit world, I use the photos on my phone to jog my memory of the year’s events — and to start to plan for many of those same events. It’s early November as I write this, and on my agenda for this month are about a dozen events including The Parade Co.’s Hob Nobble Gobble fundraiser at Ford Field and the tree lighting at Campus Martius Park on the same day, plus the Thanksgiving Day parade six days later; December is filled with shopping at holiday markets, visiting light exhibits, and seeing a show at the Fisher Theatre, plus many more things from our holiday events article in our Agenda section.
This is also the time of year when our staff looks back at the stories that resonated most with our readers, according to Google Analytics. Among those headlines from November 2023 to October 2024 was a diverse mix of subject matter, including food, drinks, health, law, sports, celebrities, architecture, travel, museums, nonprofits, and many things to do in Detroit. This process helps us plan content for the coming year, but it’s not our only measure of success: We also take into account the feedback we receive via phone calls, emails, and in-person conversations when we are out in the community.
In this issue, you’ll find some stories that look back (Kresge’s 100th anniversary, for example) and some that look forward (an entrepreneurship program for teens). And circling back to that story I worked on decades ago, we asked local personalities to share their holiday traditions (three chefs share family recipes).
What was your favorite Hour story of the year, and what content would you like to see more or less of? Please email us at editorial@hourdetroit.com to let us know.
Happy holidays!
This story originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on Dec. 9.
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