What are your holiday traditions?

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
What do you do year after year that makes the holidays special for you and your family? Are they things that you did with your parents when you were young that you've carried on with your own family and friends? Have you started any of your own traditions now that you're an adult?
 
Shelley

Every year my immediate family gets together one day before Christmas and have a Family Movie Day. We love National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and Home Alone I. On Christmas Eve we always go to church and on Christmas Day we get together with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandma for dinner. How about you?
 
Fun post! We always went to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve with Dad. Mom (and grandmothers, if they were there) stayed home to get dinner ready (always tamales and shrimp on Christmas Eve) and when we got back, guess what??? Santa had come!!!!!!! And there were presents under the tree!!!! Magic to us, just magic. So we opened presents on Chrismtas Eve then had tamales and shrimp. All our friends were jealous because they had to wait until Christmas morning to get their gifts...}(
 
My DD and I were just talking about this! We did something very similiar to the above when I was little--looking at lights and lo and behold Santa had come! My mom to this day won't tell us who it was, but it HAD to be my gramma! Now as a parent, we still open presents on Christmas eve, after a church service. When 20 yr old was only a year, I made a puppet like story about Jesus' birth out of work gloves. To this day my DH tells the story. And we still like to drive around and look at the lights (OK, I do, anyway;-) ) I make tons of cookies and usually have an open house. Elainee--I love your tradition:)
 
Homemade cinnamon buns (kneaded by hand, no bread maker) and mandarin oranges eaten around the Christmas tree when we open our presents Christmas morning.

Christmas dinner is always a meat fondue...this tradition started when I was 3 years old and we lived in Quebec. My husband thought it was an awesome tradition to embrace as he loves meat.

Reading "Twas the Night before Christmas"...I can remember my dad reading it to me even from the time I was little until I left home (he even read it to me when I was home for Christmas at age 28)...now I read it to my little ones...just opening the book brings tears to my eyes.

A new tradition that we've started is taking the kids to pick the Christmas tree. They are very proud of "guarding" the tree of choice while we're deciding it there's one just a little bit better.

This year, although not a tradition, my husband and I got to be Santa and Mrs Claus on the Parade of Light Christmas Parade float. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. The glow and happiness in the faces of the children and the adults when they see Santa is indescribable.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Felice Navidad
Joyeux Noel
 
We would always go to Midnight Mass and while we were gone Santa would come. DD never figured out why each year after getting seats (church is always packed and you have to arrive 1/2 hour early to avoid standing) DH would have to excuse himself to the restroom (so she thought) before the service started.
 
Ours was like many others - church followed by driving around to see the lights (to this day, seeing Christmas lights makes me feel warm and happy). Christmas Eve dinner was always shrimp. Christmas Day was opening presents at out house in the AM, followed by driving to the tiny town of Peach Bottom, PA and visiting Grandma and Grandpa and opening presents there.

Shelly - thanks for starting this thread. I ran around all weekend trying to get the house together for Christmas. The kids are pmsing and everyone is grouchy - you helped me relocate my Christmas spirit!
 
Santa always delivers our presents overnight...so we wake up on Christmas morning with presents around the hearth. We always leave cookies and milk out for Santa with a note (requests for presents) and carrots and apples for the reindeer..which are all magically gone the next morning. Santa always leaves a reply to the heartfelt letter of requests.

We typically have a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas day for a late lunch(Turkey, dressing, etc). My DH, DD and I lay around in jammies all day and watch movies and open Barbies (aren't these a pain to open?). My husband is Jewish..so we celebrate Chrismakah! It's a lot of fun to watch him watch our DD since he never had this as a kid.

Happy Holidays!!

Debra

Bite off more than you can chew. Then chew it---Ella Williams
 
Thank you all so much for replying. I'm trying desperately to find some Christmas spirit (I'm the original Grinch, only my heart is smaller than his). This is helping:)
 
>Thank you all so much for replying. I'm trying desperately
>to find some Christmas spirit (I'm the original Grinch, only
>my heart is smaller than his). This is helping:)


NO! My heart's smaller. I'm the real Grinch. I'm a mean one!:p
 
OY! Don't get me started on my DH's family's Christmas Eve tradition. It gives me agida every year....x(

20-25 people....each one of those people buys a small gift for each one of those people. Santa hands out all of the gifts one by one. The youngest to oldest opened the gifts one at a time for years. The past 2 years (thank goodness), they've atleast started to let couples open gifts at the same time to speed it up. This fiasco takes HOURS to get through and we have to eat a full dinner FIRST! The party usually does not start until 6-7pm and is not over until midnight or 1 in the morning. Yes, it is nice and fun and all...but when you have a full agenda for Christmas Day it makes for an exhausting holiday!
 
When growing up Christmas was always celebrated on Christmas Eve (DH and I). Both of our families went to Christmas Mas and when we returned home Santa had arrived. We still celebrate Christmas Eve with our families, but now we open our Christmas presents with our children ALL Day Christmas. When a game is opened we play it as a family. Take a break for some Christmas oranges and coffee, open a camera and we all stop for pictures. Take a break, It takes all day to open a few presents, but the family enjoys everyones gifts.

I have always hated how people just rip into presents, you never know if someone recieved your present, or their reaction. This year I asked for a heart rate monitor. The entire family will be cheking out their heart rate christmas morning! I can picture everyone taking turns on the treadmill. :p
 
On Christmas Eve each year myself, my husband, his 3 kids (and whoever else falls into our net) go to see the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse near the White House in DC. They also have what is called "The Pathway of Peace" which includes 56 smaller decorated trees representing all 50 states, Washington DC and 5 territories. There is a huge fire pit and hot cider to drink. Under the National tree is a giant maze of trains! It is really fun. :)

We have been doing this for years and it seems we have a bigger group with us every year!
 
When I was a kid, we would get up sooo early (me and my sis's) and we were allowed to go to the end of teh hallway, no further, except to get to the door to go out and feed teh horses. (They always get an EARLY breakfast on Christmas day lol). Then my parents would torture us by not getting out of bed. They of course were up half the night and then us waking them up at 5:30! Then we couldn't open anything till their tea and coffee was made LOL! Then it was always stockings first, and then go at it. But they always held out the biggest gifts till last! Then breakfast while dad was putting everything together and opening things. Then off to Grandma Goyer's for visit, then home and dinner with just the five of us, then up to Grandma Murphy's and do gifts there.
Now, I still can't sleep at night and I wake everyone up so early! We let the boys open gifts and play, and then we go to mom's and do breakfast and dinner and gifts. We used to go travelling to an uncle's house, but it is too much with the kids. it is nice to stay home and enjoy the day, not rushing around everywhere.

Oh, and mOm always had a Christmas EVe party for all the family, but now my sister has taken that tradition on.

I LOVE Christmas. Spend a day with me Shelley, and I will knock that scroodge right outa ya LOL!!!

Maeghan AKA megadoo


Added pics 12/1/06
December and Christmas Albums




http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=megadoo2&x=15&y=7
 
Decorating the church. Christmas caroling with church. Open House at the Pastor's house. Lots of cookies. Stuffed shells for dinner before Christmas eve service. Kids open their stockings before everyone else gets up, then presents on Christmas morning. But my own favorite:

My dad was a "ditty-boy" on a B17 during WWII. That meant he was the radio man (Morse code goes ditty-ditty-dit-dit etc). He was stationed in England and my mom sent him a care package that included a Christmas ornament of a stuffed snowman. Dad wanted to take it on plane as a goodluck charm mascot kind of thing, but tradition held it was bad luck to take anything that hadn't been on the plane for the very first flight, so "Louie" the snowman stayed behing in his locker. Mid December, my dad's plane was shot down. He was the only crew member to survive, with a bullet in his leg, and he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Germany for the rest of the war. The stuff in his locker was all shipped back to my mom. Ever since then, Louie is the first ornament to be hung in the tree, right smack in the front center. I get teary every time I hang him.
 
My husband and I visit family a week before Christmas, so we have Christmas day entirely to ourselves. I get up way too early, like I did when I was a kid. I drag his butt out of bed, I turn on the lights to the tree, he makes coffee, and we let our crazy dogs, Gracie and Gilda, out. He lights the fireplace and picks out some cds to put one; we eat muffins and drink coffee while we take turns opening our gifts to each other. Then, we read the paper (or whatever books we may have given to each other--books are always on both our lists), and I put the cheese grits that i've put together the night before in the oven. I make spiced apples and veggie sausage to go with it, my husband pops open the champagne and makes mimosas. We get the dogs together and give them a special treat of some kind, usually canned dog food, which they rarely get, and the cat gets some kind of stinky pouch food that is a rarity in our house as well. We eat our brunch, drink our drinks, and watch "A Christmas Story." Then we'll take a nap, and afterwards take a walk with our girls, and hang out for the rest of the day.

We've got it down to an art and I absolutely LOVE IT!!!
 
My family traditions have changed a bit over the years, especially after our big family move from Wisconsin to Memphis, TN 13 years ago. When we lived in WI we had 3 family Christmas gatherings. Christmas Eve was spent with my father's large family and included a big buffet style meal and present opening. Christmas morning was spent with my immediate family when we opened presents and ate kringle for breakfast. Christmas Day in the afternoon we spent with my mom's side of the family. My Nana would make a ham with all the trimmings, and then we'd open more presents. Usually after we opened the gifts, we'd drive around and look at all the lights. When my sisters, cousins and I got older we'd go see a movie after light-gazing.

After we moved south, after my parents divorce, we would drive home to WI to spend Christmas with my mom's parents for the first few years. We did the same things as we did when I was younger with them, and it was always special. During this stage in my life, my family would all go to Midnight Mass. I loved Midnight Mass!!

As my family got more settled in Memphis we started having more big family Christmas' there, and my grandparents would drive down. We still did mostly the same things as we did when we celebrated in WI, including the Mass.

Now that my grandma is no longer with us (it's only been 2 years), my mom got re-married and she moved to the country (1.5 hours from Memphis) our celebration has evolved a bit. We don't drive around to look at lights on Christmas Day anymore, but some of the members of my immediate family still usually go look at the lights sometime in mid-December when we're out shopping in the city. We've made Christmas Eve the night of the special meal, and eat leftovers, homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee with Kahula, and homemade Christmas cookies on Christmas Day. We've been blessed that my Grandpa has flown down for Christmas the past couple years. Present opening is still on Christmas Day morning at Mom's house, though now I get the honor of handing out about half the gifts. Instead of going to the movies after gift opening, now we just hang out and play with our new "toys" and enjoy being together.

This year will probably start some new traditions as the first grandbaby of the family arrived over the summer. There's something quite special about baby's first Christmas. :) It feels quite strange to no longer be the youngest kid group in the family anymore, but in a good way. ;)

One of the newer and neat traditions we started 2 years ago is baking Christmas cookies together over my birthday weekend. My birthday is the 12th, and it's the perfect time in the month to bake! We make PB Kiss cookies, pecan dreams, frosted butter cookies (from a press), almond shorts, and toffee bars. It's my favorite newer family tradition because we always have such sweet fun together! :)

Ho ho ho,
Connie :)

ETA some old traditions that I had forgotten about until someone else's traditions reminded me. :p
 
My DH and I always watch "It's A Wonderful Life" on Christmas Eve. That is our only tradition right now, but really trying to get some going since my kids are getting a little older. I might take a drive to Griffith Park this year and see the Festival of Lights. That might be fun.

Oh yeah, and the most important tradition of all, for me at least is while we decorate the tree, we put on some Christmas music and I break out the egg nog and rum. Fattening I know, but it only happens once a year ;-) .

Lea
 
When we were small mom and dad would take us out on Christmas Eve to look at the lights. When we got home we would get ready for bed but then get a visitor-Santa Claus in person. He would pass out our presents and we would open them up on Christmas Eve. Sometimes Mrs. Claus would come too.

When we got older we would have a fondue for Christmas Eve and go to Midnight Mass. On Christmas Day, my parents would play Christmas Caroles at top volume to wake us up (ok...I was already awake but pretended to be asleep). We would pass out presents and open them individually, one present at a time. This would last a couple of hours. Then my mom would make a giant brunch and we would spend the rest of the day in our pj's eating and playing games. My dad would do all the dishes on Christmas day. He was the only male in the house and he did it as a gift to his girls.

Nowadays we are all adults with no kids but we pass on some of the magic of Christmas to a needy family in our community. We get them what they want and then some with stockings, Christmas dinner, toys and clothes. It feels good to be able to give someone a Christmas to remember.
 
Several years ago my DH and I decided (unless people come here for the Holidays) not to put up Christmas decorations. It has been wonderful, not to have to drag all that stuff out, put it up and when it is over drag everything down again and put it away. It is only me and him. I have a tendency to overdo it, so I had created too much work for myself.

This year and most likely the following years, we put up a huge gold lighted star on our outside tree. It looks over our sun portch in the back. It is so big, we don't even have to turn the lights on to let our animals go potty. I must say it is very beautiful.

We usually go out for Christmas to one of our sons or daughters. Traditionaly I make these huge huge gingerbread cookies in the shape of cows, raindeers, hands, and Christmas stuff. I even put them on the tree (permission granted) when we visit the sons or daughters. I decorate them and they are the biggest hit everytime. Everyone loves the cows and fights for them. Probably because she is so different, utters and all. I make extra for everyone. The children love it!

I also make truffles and put them in a pretty box for everyone to enjoy.

For the children there are endless presents under the tree. While the grown ups play their game, we stop a lot and give one away to the little ones.

We set an amount for gifts every year at Thanksgiving. This year is $50.00. We put numbers on them, and when it is time to open them up, we all dip in the hat for our number. But everyone has a chance to either pick a gift or steal from someone else. The person who chose #one (after everyone is done) has a choice to go back and choose any gift he/she wants. So, everyone wants to choose #1. (It's all in the hat). After the game is over, we trade our gifts (if we want) for what we really wanted. It has always been a fun time, laughing, shouting, singing, dinner, catching up. Just loving one another.

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
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