Getting to Know Us - 12/18

[DisneyIsTerrific]

What Christmas traditions does your family have?

 

[DisneyIsTerrific]

My family's traditions are:

- We read Christmas stories on Christmas Eve. I read "A Pussycat's Christmas," DS reads "T'was the Night Before Christmas," and DH reads a different one each year.

- We buy at least 1 new ornament for the tree each year that represents something that has happened during the year.

- One night before Christmas, we go driving around looking at all the lights on the houses in the neighborhood.

- We have Christmas crackers with dinner on Christmas day. These are British and you and someone else pull them and they POP!. Then, inside there is a party hat, a little toy or something, and a joke. When I was a kid, we did these (my Mom is British) and I've continued that tradition with my family.

- I make an ornament every year for DS. In past years, I've always cross stitched one for him, but this year since I haven't stitched much and have been so much more into scrapbooking, I'm going to make him one using my scrapping supplies. He's got quite a nice collection of ornaments to have.

I think that's it, or at least I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'm sure when I read some of yours, I'll go "Oh yeah, we do that too"!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I love these Christmas questions! They are definitely putting me in the Christmas spirit!!

The one Christmas tradition I can think of is that we always see my parents on Christmas Eve. We also go there on Christmas Day, but it's SO important to me to see them on Christmas Eve. Two years ago, the IL's decided that we would have our Christmas with them on Christmas Eve. I was crushed. My mom kept saying, "It's ok. Don't worry about it. We'll still see you on Christmas Day." It didn't help! So on Christmas Eve, we went to the IL's, and then when Christmas with them was over, we got in the car to head home (we live between our sets of parents--25 miles either way from our house to each one of theirs). DH missed the turn off for our house, and I said, "Where are you going?" He said, "We're going to your mom and dad's. That way, you can see them on Christmas Eve." We got there LATE, but we were there! We probably stayed about 20 minutes, and mom was about 1/2 asleep, but we were there!

I know we have some more traditions, but I can't think of them. My coffee hasn't kicked in yet!!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Ok, the coffee kicked in, and I thought of another one.

We open presents (with my family) on Christmas Day. We open one gift at a time, so that everyone can see everything, and we open youngest to oldest. The youngest has ALWAYS been my little brother (he's 27 now! ). Even when he got married, his wife is 5 months older than him, so he was still the first to open. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but we always make a big production about him being first.

About a week ago, DH said, "Do you realize that your brother won't be first this year? DS will be!" So of course, being the good big sister , I had to call and tell my brother that! He is still trying to think of a loophole to fix that!

 

[ddavis860]

We don't have any set time rules for Christmas Eve or day. With DH and I working shift work, it's always had to be flexible. This year, even with all DH's grumbling, we are having the big meal on Christmas Eve. I do always have ham, and we have bday cake for baby Jesus, no pie.

I already told you all about the Christmas sweatshirt that DH always wears. That is a tradition too.

Opening gifts, we take turns...oooo....aahhhhh....DS16 usually plays santa for everyone, and hands out the gifts.

This year I have a new tradition starting (at least for a few years anyway, while he is still home) and DS20 will be my stocking stuffer elf. I asked him if he wanted a red shirt and white sweater like DUnc96 used to wear, but he said he was going to make his own tradition So, I guess I'll have a Rastafari elf

 

[rlovew]

I grew up with lots of Christmas traditions, some of them I do even when the family isn't around some of them I don't.

Christmas Cookies- My mom and I always started baking these Thanksgiving weekend- no one got to eat any until the Christmas tree was put up. We would then get them from time to time for different things and praties.

Christmas Tree- When we put it up Dad already had the lights on it. We would read scripture about each kind of ornament and why we put it on the tree. After each group of ornaments we all got a cookie.

Secret Angels: Starting a day or 2 after Christmas break started we would sit down together and each draw a paper bag. In the paper bag would be the name of someone in the house and a few small gifts/candy. We would then secretly do things and leave things for the person whom we were a secret angel for. We would reveal them on Christmas Eve. If someone was visiting during this time they would play too.

Advent Wreath: We lit the advent wreath every night and talked about the meaning of the candle for the week. Afterwards we would sing carols that matched the candle's meaning and had a desert.

Angel Tree: We always choose one name off the angel tree that matched each of us and we had to help shop for that child. We also had to help wrap those gifts.

Christmas Eve: Especially when we lived far from family (Hawaii and such) we would look at our family tree and talk about relatives we hadn't sdeen in awhile. Any gifts we had recieved from our aunts and uncles that we weren't going to see over the holidays we would open on Christmas Eve. We always did this after we went to Christmas Eve Mass.

Christmas Morning: We weren't allowed to wake up any of our brothers and sisters, once everyone wasawkae we coul;d wake up mom by bringing her hot chocolate, we alll had to be dressed before waking her. We always start by lighting the advent wreath and the Christ candle and reading the Christmas story from the Bible. We then began opening our stoickings- each person youngest to oldest takes out one item at a time and explains how that item reminds them of some aspect of God. We continue until everyone's stockings are empty (as little children we had 20 plus items in out stockings- this year mom has limited it to 8 items per person and a piece of candy and fruit), you can not use the same thing as someone else- even for the same item. Then we have Christmas breakfast- fruit for our stockings and Christmas Bread (the recipe was on another thread). After we have breakfast we begin opening gifts, again one at a time and youngest to oldest. Once we have opened all the gifts, mom and I would get things ready for our Christmas open house- we never had a meal just appetizers and desserts avaiable all day. People would stop in through the day and we would show the kids our new toys and talk with the adults.

Those are many of our traditions but we have more.

Rebecca

 

[ddavis860]

Rebecca, your traditions really bring home the reason for the season

 

[aroyer]

Love this question!

Rebecca, we do the Angel Tree too. DD always picks a child that is her age and then she really gets into picking out gifts for them. DS got to pick an angel this year for the first time.

Christmas pj's is another tradition. We usually give them to the kids in early to mid December so that they get more wear out of them. But they of course have to wear them on Christmas Eve.

A new tradition this year has been the 3D Advent Calendar. It was from Karen Foster and I covered the boxes with cute paper. We've been putting little treats in the boxes, from candy to little toys. The pj's were a big gift one night.

Another new tradition is that we are giving the kids an ornament that represents something that they did this past year or that they are interested in, so that when they move away they will have a nice collection of ornaments. They also got those from the Advent Calendar one evening.

We usually buy a new ornament for our collection each year. We collect Christopher Radko ornaments, so one a year is plenty!

My mom's Cinnamon Bread is a huge tradition for me. It is the most amazing bread and it is as much a part of Christmas for my brothers and I as the Christmas tree.

All of our immediate family's gifts are done on Christmas morning. We do gifts one by one taking turns. Stockings are of course first and we do those one at a time too.

That's all I can think of at the moment!

 

[rlovew]

Rebecca, your traditions really bring home the reason for the season

In my house growing up if there wasn't a Biblical reason for doing something to celebrate most holidays we didn't do it. We had traditions for each hoilday that came with Bible readings and greater understanding of God's love for us. I guess growing up like that has helped some in being a pastor's wife- i am able to make sure we have reasons for what we are doing in the church too.

Rebecca

 

[JandJ]

Growing up we had some memorable traditions:
We had an advent calendar and I was the youngest (by a many years) so I always got to open it every day.
Mom and I baked cookies for Santa and left a cup of milk out too - he always took just one bite, and mom said it was because all the children left cookies for Santa and he would get a tummy ache if he ate them all
On Christmas Day we were allowed to open our stockings before church, but waited on our other presents until after Mass. When I got older (maybe 7 years old?) we started going to Midnight Mass, so we'd get home about 2:00 am and then still wake up at 6:00 am ready to open stockings and presents!
When we lived near family we had Christmas dinner with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Married traditions:
We have an early Christmas with my family and travel to see them somewhere between Dec. 20 - 23 and we have a brunch and exchange gifts.
We have dinner with the in-laws Christmas Eve and exchange gifts with them then.
We still go to Midnight Mass.
On Christmas morning DH and I open our stockings, then I make a big breakfast and we sit and enjoy that, then we open our gifts.

I cannot wait to enjoy old traditions and make new ones once we add a baby to our family!!

 

[party of 3]

the advent calendar is new for us this year! i'd like to keep that one going.

we do the new pj's also. we do dinner at my bil and sil's on christmas eve and when we leave i always go back in and say that **i'm locking up the house** and i leave pj's hanging from the christmas tree with a note from Santa telling my little man sorry i missed you, but you must be auntie and uncles having supper, i'll try to come back and chat with you before i go out for the night delivering gifts.....and so on..... and he gets such a kick out of it. we save them from year to year. it's really only been the last few years that he's really gotten it! i'll have to come up with something good for this year.then when he's got them on i have to take a ton of pics in front of the tree in the same chair with the same bear!

we also do the new ornament as well. and it's somewhere where we have been during the year. we let dh pick it out this year and we were at Newport and I wanted him to pick out this gorgeous seashell but he picked out a.....are you ready for this.....a skidoo! i mean come on really??? but dh said let him pick out what he wants! so i did!

and instead of cookies and milk for santa we leave shrimp cocktail and a coke! and a carrot for Rudy and a pineapple for Mrs. Claus! i know odd right? but it's what we do. and when he goes to bed dh gobbles down the shrimp and coke (but leaves some in the can) i nibble on the carrots and dh hides the pineapple in his truck and gives it to some nice old man that he works with the day after christmas. who looks forward to it every year!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Christmas eve we read the Cajun Night Before Christmas and watch Olive the Other Reindeer.

Christmas day we do stockings, open gifts then have breakfast and watch the Disney parade. Sometimes we'll watch Miracle on 34th St. Then dinner at mom's.

 

[JessR]

fondue Christmas eve

 

[Lisa]

When I was a kid we would have oyster stew Christmas Eve, go to Midnight mass, then get to open one present. Christmas morning we were allowed to open the presents in our stockings but then we had to wait for everyone to wake up before opening more. We would have a big breakfast, then open presents.

Now, we do some of that but have added to it. Christmas Eve night we have a birthday cake and sign Happy Birthday for baby Jesus. It was the only way I knew how to make sure our special needs child understood the reason for the season. We have a fondue party at my brother's house Christmas Eve. Mom and I will do mid night mass.

Christmas morning, DH, DD, and I open our stockings and presents to each other. Mom, her DH, my DB, DSIL, and DN come over for a huge steak and egg Christmas breakfast and we exchange gifts. The rest of the day is low key for DD to enjoy what she received and not to go into overload.

Happy Holidays everyone. I loved coming to your house to hear about your traditions.

 

[wisegal]

OUr family traditions start with going to my Aunts on Christmas eve, here we get to open the gift that Santa gave us there, usually a new pair of pjs. Christmas morning my parents will stay i bed untill i wake them up. I can only do this after the coffee is made & there is garbage ags ready for the wrapping paper. After opening presents we go out for breaskfast. The Dennys near my house is open.