Christmas Traditions

[fla4fun]

When we were kids, we always opened the gifts from our grandparents and parents on Christmas Eve, and then the Santa gifts Christmas morning. Mom said later that she wanted to be sure we knew which gifts the grandparents gave us instead of lumping them in with all the others before we were old enough to understand the difference.

Later, the tradition changed and we could select one gift to open Christmas Eve and all the other gifts Christmas morning. As adults, the tradition changed again, and we opened everything on Christmas Eve so we could sleep in the next day and just enjoy visiting each other. This is the tradition we follow to this day. We actually have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve as well, and leftovers on Christmas Day.

 

[CGB]

DH's uncle used to rent the Eagle's Hall on Christmas Eve and his entire family and my MIL's entire family would gather for a huge Christmas potluck. It was great fun to be surrounded by family and tons of food. Santa would always make an appearance. I'll never forget my MIL and Santa dancing the macarena together! It's sad now that the older folks have passed on and we haven't gathered together in about five years. It was a great tradition that we really need to start again.

As for our family, we're known for Christmas cookies. We each take a daily box of home-baked cookies to our workplaces starting December 1st, continuing until Christmas or work/school stops. It's a different cookie every single weekday. I started the tradition 10 years ago. You would be surprised how excited people get over it. It makes December a bit brighter and really puts people in a good mood. It's a lot of work but it's worth it to watch friends and coworkers smile throughout a somewhat stressful month.