Christmas Traditions

[Kennywood]

Do you and/or your family have any Christmas traditions?

When I was a boy, my brother and I would always wake up Christmas morning to find a large orange, a large apple, and a popcorn ball in our stockings. We had other things in our stockings that changed every Christmas, but we always had the orange, apple, and popcorn ball every year.

Our parents are gone now, but flash forward 50+ years and I still put a large orange, a large apple, and a popcorn ball (when available) in my wife's and my stockings every Christmas. My wife understands the tradition, and always says, "Thank you," and then gives me hers. Even though I carry on this tradition on my own now, it's still an important part of my Christmas every year.

 

[Pooh2]

Always made gingerbread houses with gingerbread made from scratch when our kids were growing up. So much work and mess!!

Just picked up two assembled undecorated gingerbread houses from our local bakery for the grandkids to decorate. Much more fun!

 

[lynxstch]

We had stockings also. With an orange, a candy cane, but no popcorn ball. We got a bag of those 'gold coins' instead. To this day, I still put those in our stockings, even though we are 60+

 

[tvguy]

One gift is always placed in a special box that has been part of our Christmas tradition for 41 years. We keep track of who last got a gift in that box
My mom was a Surgical Nurse and used to bring home boxes for gifts. This is one of those boxes.

The FIRST Christmas gift my fiancée received from her future mother in law came in this box. As many people do, she unwrapped it and read the label. "MAMMARY IMPLANT SIZE........." My new fiancée was kind of wondering if that was a comment on her endowment. My mom's comment was "but it's such a sturdy box". Mom passed away 9 years ago, but that box and it's story is a Christmas memory in our family that lives on.

 

[PollyannaMom]

As a kid:
I used to go driving around with my grandma to look at the lights.
We got to open one of our presents on Christmas Eve.
(As soon as we were old enough) my brother and I always made coffee for our parents before we woke them up.

With my own son when he was little:
(Same for the first two.)
Delivering Angel Tree presents for church the Sunday before Christmas. (I have pics of him in his car seat at about six weeks old, in a little elf outfit.)
Decorating some sort of gingerbread. (My favorite one was Eloise's pink Christmas tree made out of gingerbread stars!)

Currently:
Hanging a string of candy canes in my living room like my (other) grandmother did.
Watching It's a Wonderful Life with my DH.

 

[Kitty 34]

Playing Hearts on Christmas Eve. Our family (starting with my parents and Dad's mom) have been doing this since the early 1960's. We still play at my sister's house.

 

[luvthatduke]

I'm really enjoying reading all of your traditions!

Since DS was a toddler the first gift he opens on Christmas morning
is always placed right outside his bedroom door.
Inside are his brand new Christmas jammies.

We also drive around to look at the lights, even though he's an older teen, now,
and he still gets gold coins .

Whoops! Edited to remove double gold coin info .

 

[windowsonthelake]

As a kid:
I used to go driving around with my grandma to look at the lights.
We got to open one of our presents on Christmas Eve.
(As soon as we were old enough) my brother and I always made coffee for our parents before we woke them up.

With my own son when he was little:
(Same for the first two.)
Delivering Angel Tree presents for church the Sunday before Christmas. (I have pics of him in his car seat at about six weeks old, in a little elf outfit.)
Decorating some sort of gingerbread. (My favorite one was Eloise's pink Christmas tree made out of gingerbread stars!)

Currently:
Hanging a string of candy canes in my living room like my (other) grandmother did.
Watching It's a Wonderful Life with my DH.

Nice Information!

 

[barkley]

i was the much youngest child in the family, my brothers would travel home from wherever they were living to celebrate christmas morning with me, arriving at all odd hours of christmas eve. my mom searched her brain to figure out a meal that could be hot and easily prepared no matter what time one of them arrived. mom ended up settling on french dip sandwiches. it was the family tradition for years and my dh (who was raised in a vegetarian household but opted for meat as soon as he could) LOVED it so we've continued it on w/ the only change being the addition of horseradish cheddar cheese as an option.

 

[MamaBelle4]

We have a bunch.
We get our tree Black Friday from the tree farm my parents started going to the year they were married (it had just opened!)
We then decorate my mother in law's tree that Saturday and have cookies and hot cocoa.
We pick a night to spend driving around with hot cocoa looking at Christmas lights.
We spend the Saturday before Christmas at my MIL's for Christmas.
We make Christmas cookies together. Each kid picks a batter to make with me.
We get our pjs Christmas Eve.
DH and I get up around 5am on Christmas and have a cup of coffee. Last couple of years DD11 and DD9 have joined us and we snuggle on the couch with the tree lights on. We get everyone else up at 6. Open our gifts and the go to my parents' house around 10 and spend the day.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Currently:
Christmas Eve church followed by dinner party
Still a tradition to watch Christmas movies
Christmas decorating on Thanksgiving night

Past:
Spend a couple nights w/my grandparents like (Dec 22/23) ...my parents come get me on Christmas Eve and have dinner together and open a couple gifts. I still remember my grandmother's old school silver tinsel tree

 

[ronandannette]

Other than the very basic stuff - church, cookies, decorating, presents, big festive meals - there’s nothing in particular. We’ve spent most of the Christmases in my adult life going places and doing things to accommodate and serve others, so it was best to never get too set in our ways. Not that we minded; it’s always been kind of our lot in life and we embraced it. Maybe you could call that our tradition? We’re still waiting to finalize this year’s plans based on whichever family members or friends seem to need us the most.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Do you and/or your family have any Christmas traditions?

When I was a boy, my brother and I would always wake up Christmas morning to find a large orange, a large apple, and a popcorn ball in our stockings. We had other things in our stockings that changed every Christmas, but we always had the orange, apple, and popcorn ball every year.

Our parents are gone now, but flash forward 50+ years and I still put a large orange, a large apple, and a popcorn ball (when available) in my wife's and my stockings every Christmas. My wife understands the tradition, and always says, "Thank you," and then gives me hers. Even though I carry on this tradition on my own now, it's still an important part of my Christmas every year.

I love that! Sometimes it is the simplest or smallest of things that hold so much meaning.
When my kids were young they received socks and underwear in their stockings along with a few gift cards, By the time they were in MS/HS it was even more fun finding the most outrageous boxers or funniest socks. They've grown up now so tradition gone by, but it was fun and they enjoyed it!

 

[Colleen27]

We always go cut a tree, which isn't just cutting a tree but also hot cider and donuts and going out for dinner at a particular pub that has been in the small town where the tree farm is since forever. Then we put on Christmas Vacation and decorate it. Since older DD left for college, tree cutting day has crept uncomfortably close to Christmas because she begged us to wait until she's home on break before we go. This year, it will be Dec. 22!

We used to have a tradition of opening just one gift on Christmas Eve, because my mom always got us holiday PJs and wrapped them up to open that night. I added a second gift to that tradition so everybody gets to open comfy PJs and a new book on Christmas Eve. Everything else gets opened in the morning.

Like your family, DH's family always had the apple and orange in the stocking so we still do that. I don't mind because it takes up so much space, and I tend to make the stockings the most expensive part of the holiday (as did my mother) because I fill them with things like cosmetics/cologne, gift/game cards, and small electronics. So adding fruit makes them look prettily full without me spending a fortune!

And each kid gets an ornament of their own, tailored to their interests of the moment, in/with their stocking. We have specific boxes for each kid's collection, so by the time they are out on their own with their own tree to decorate, they have 20+ ornaments and a storage box to get them started. My mom did that for me and my brother, and my Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake ornaments still find their way onto our tree every year.

 

[easyas123]

We have what we call "lock down". After years of schlepping here or there for Christmas Eve & or Christmas Day we decided we were done with it. So we started either going out for breakfast or lunch, or maybe seeing a movie earlier in the day Christmas Eve with the goal of being home by mid-afternoon. That is when "lock down" starts and we don't leave the house until December 26th. Games, food, Christmas Movies, being lazy in pajamas for the entire day, champagne & a fire...really whatever we feel like. It's just a way of slowing way down and actually taking in & enjoying a relaxed holiday. It works for us, although as our kids are adults, both engaged to be married and both moved out I anticipate there will come a day when we no longer practice "lock down", but we will enjoy it while it lasts!!

 

[NAB]

We always went to my mom’s Christmas Eve doing the early family mass than all my siblings and family came to her house. She had a huge basement. 62 of us now. Lot of the nieces and nephews were in age groups so everyone had a friend to play with. We also got to open presents once everyone was there. Boy if you were late you heard about from the kids…lol

My mom got everyone a gift even if it was a box of chocolate for girlfriends. She is gone 8 years now. My brother bought her house and carries on the tradition .

My family lives 2 + hours away so went a day early and went home Christmas Eve. We wanted our kids to have Santa when they got up in the morning like the rest of the kids who live close To grandma’s. Some times we got home at 4 am playing Santa after getting the kids to bed.

We missed only 2 of these due to Covid . This year we are getting together. Zooming really sucks for Christmas…lol

 

[disney-inspired]

Being Latino, we stayed up until midnight and then opened presents. Now that we're older and some of us have kids, we don't wait until midnight. I don't know how my parents did it with us all those years LOL.

One week before Christmas we have a 'Tradition Day' where we get to my grandma's super early (like 5am) and have hot cocoa and then go to sleep. Later when we woke up, we would have breakfast and make our annual tamales. Now we head over the night before because no one likes getting up at 4am voluntarily.

 

[elgerber]

I make my kids/husband watch The Santa Clause with me every year, since they moved out, it's now on Christmas Eve. I am sure they are sick to death of it, but it's the one and only thing I ask for every year, so they do it.

 

[disney-inspired]

I make my kids/husband watch The Santa Clause with me every year, since they moved out, it's now on Christmas Eve. I am sure they are sick to death of it, but it's the one and only thing I ask for every year, so they do it.

I love the Santa Clause and it's something I watch every year with my dad, it's 'his' movie.

I also rewatch Miracle on 34th St, It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone and Jingle All the Way too.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Our holiday plans are usually different every year depending on who's visiting/traveling and on DH's ever changing work schedule, but we try to fit in certain things every year: Candlelight Processional at DL, Handel's Messiah at Disney Hall, and "It's a Wonderful Life" in a theater.