Holiday Traditions

[JoanneAZ]

Any holiday, any time of the year. What are some of your favorite family holiday traditions?
When my parents were first married they didn’t have much money. To make Christmas more fun they would buy each other small gifts, wrap them, and put a clue on each one. They would have to guess what was in the gift before opening it. Even after they had more money they continued the tradition for their stocking gifts.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I really don’t recall any holiday traditions growing up. My husband’s family doesn’t have any either.

 

[Carol_]

Colored lights on the tree.
Midnight mass.
Christmas pageant.
Advent calendar must be chocolate
Wassail with oranges stabbed with cloves floating on top
So much yelling…

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Any holiday, any time of the year. What are some of your favorite family holiday traditions?

Well, I had several (from my childhood) that I tried to bring into my family through the years.

Christmas Eve - hung stockings , and always went to midnight church service. Once back home we could open one present. Surprise! it's always PJs/nightgown.

Christmas day - if it's Sunday, one present before church. After church, rest of presents/stockings, then dinner - turkey and all the sides you could imagine.

 

[JoanneAZ]

When I was very little we would get a tree permit and go cut a tree in the forest. We would bring it home, my father would set it up in the stand, and my mother would put on the garland. It stayed that way until Christmas Eve. That night the big box of ornaments was left next to the tree, we laid out the stockings by the fireplace, and I went to bed. When I woke up the next morning Santa had been there. He filled the stockings, decorated the tree, and put the gifts under the tree. It was magical.

 

[Kitty 34]

Playing Hearts with our parents (89 and 91) every Christmas Eve since I can remember.

Our Christmas Bonfire on the 23rd for all family members.

 

[Metro West]

We would go to my aunt/uncle's house Christmas Eve for an open house...then drive around to look at the lights and head to church for the 11PM service.

Christmas Day was at our house where my mother would cook the breakfast and later dinner. My relatives (aunt/uncle/cousins/grandparents) would bring something so it became a pot luck. We would eat and then open presents before collapsing of pure exhaustion after everyone left.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Baking Christmas cookies, looking at the lights in the neighborhood, and just the general excitement for it all!

 

[NAB]

Always was home for Christmas Eve.

This means my parents house and all siblings and their kids too. Go to mass before going, family mass was early.

Never opened presents until everyone showed up. There are 6 siblings so when my mom died 7 years ago that was 52 people in the house. Mom bought for everyone too including boy/girlfriends that added to that number of people…lol My kids miss this so much. Still go to her house brother bought the house but everyone doesn’t show up anymore. Last year it was zoomed.

I bake cookies every year, send cards out and decorate as much as my mom which was a lot in and outside.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Our house was decorated from the beginning of December, but our tree didn't go up until Christmas Eve. My sister and I were allowed to open one gift each on that day...funny how it always turned out to be Christmas pajamas. We would have our baths after dinner and put on our new pjs, then we were allowed to decorate the tree. I still remember the order: gold garland, then carefully all the breakable gold balls. After that, the metallic plastic bells. Then we were allowed to put all the other ornaments on. Finally my Dad would put the angel on top.

I still have the angel, which I place somewhere on the tree, and one of the little plastic bells. My sister and I divided the rest between us after Mom died in 2006, except for the gold balls. They went straight into the trash because both of us hated the boredom of placing all of them before getting to the "fun" stuff.

 

[ronandannette]

Champagne cocktails on Christmas morning, no matter where we are or with whom. It’s also OK if I’m the only one drinking them!

 

[neverlandsky]

*Make gingerbread houses.
*No early Christmas present opening. Must wait until Christmas morning.
*We always have one family gift where it’s for everyone. This year it’s new coffee mugs.
*Watch It’s a Wonderful Life Christmas Eve.
*Baked Ziti Christmas Eve and Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon, Deviled Eggs, and some other brunch items Christmas Day morning. Leftovers for the rest of the day.
*Day after Christmas decor comes down due to very early January birthdays. Like a fresh start going into the New Year.

 

[easyas123]

As a kid we decorated the tree Christmas Eve, and that was always a fun process. Went to my grandparents, my grandmother always make leg of lamb - so good...various family members would be around and I remember it as a loud, fun raucous occasion very fondly.

As a adult on tradition we've embraced in the last 15 years or so is what we call Lockdown. Christmas Eve morning we usually went out for breakfast or lunch, took in a movie or went bowling but were home by early afternoon. At that point we entered lockdown and we all slipped into our new christmas pajamas and lit the fires and just stayed home until the 26th. Watched movies, drank a lot, ate a lot, This started when we realized we were not having fun getting the kids out of the house Christmas morning to go spend rest of the day at my folks place w/ everyone. We love getting together w/ family - it wasn't that - more it was we were not taking the time to chill out. We wanted to chill out, so we did!

Now, kids are grown but we don't have any daughter in laws yet, and no grandkids but kids both have significant others. My husband and I still celebrate Lockdown though! Christmas Eve and Christmas day mornings both start with Bloody Mary's & champagne in the hot tub now! We have a couple of 'must have' food items - smoked salmon and bagels Christmas morning. TONS of finger food and appetizers on both days. Cinnamon rolls, crab dip, chocolate peppermint cake.

We, my husband and I, still make a day of it going to the large nursery in our area that has a massive Christmas store and look at the ornaments. When kids were young we took them each year to pick out a new ornament.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

As a kid it was usually wake up early Christmas, open gifts, then head to which ever uncle or aunt is hosting the big party this year. once my parents divorced, we didn't go to the family things as my mom is an only child and my dads family basically excommunicated us.

In my house we are a mixed family. I grew up Catholic but now am more or less atheist / agnostic. I celebrate the more secular parts of Christmas (more Yule than Christmas) as I love festive decorations.
My wife is Jewish. She never decorated much when she was a kid beyond a menorah and maybe a handful of dreidels. When we got together and she saw me decorate our apartment, she wanted in. So we built a 4' dreidel we put in a spinning Christmas tree stand. Now I have numerous Chanukah themed decorations. We make a lot of them as there isn't much to buy.

We light candles and my wife and kids say prayers all 8 nights of Chanukah. Each night they get a small gift. We save the big gift for Christmas. One of the 8 nights we go to my In laws for candles and prayers. My wife's cousin used to have a big Chanukah party on Christmas Day until I married into the family. Now they generally will have one the weekend before of after Christmas. When my wife was little, her family would do the traditional American Jewish family dinner at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day for years. I would LOVE to do that one year BTW. LOL

Thanksgiving is usually a mess as my wife is a nurse as are half my family and they often have to work. So I take the kids to whomever is home and we eat a lot and watch football.

The weekend after Thanksgiving we break out the decorations and get our tree. I've tried to talk my wife into buying a fake tree, but a Jewish girl that didn't get a tree when she was a kid ain't having it. LOL

The last 5 years we go to my Sister's in laws for Christmas Eve for a little celebration. We wake up early Christmas day and open gifts. then head to my mom's for the remainder of the day / evening.

 

[PollyannaMom]

As a kid:
driving around with my Grandma (Dad's side) looking at the lights
big family party at my uncle's house (mom's side) the Saturday before Christmas
one present on Christmas Eve (continued with my DS when he was little)
and my mom always made "the shrimp stuff" (sort of like this but w/o the onions) with Triscuits
we couldn't wake Mom & Dad up Christmas morning until we'd started the coffee pot

Now:
we (DH, DS, and I) still look at lights
DS and I watch Home Alone at some point
I still make the shrimp stuff Christmas Eve, and DH and I watch It's a Wonderful Life
stockings, then cinnamon rolls, then presents Christmas morning
we always put on the "A Christmas Story" marathon
dinner and games at the in-laws Christmas afternoon (except last year, of course)

 

[Carol_]

Christmas tree stays up until Epiphany.
I’ll stand guard over that fire trap until then, too.

 

[easyas123]

we couldn't wake Mom & Dad up Christmas morning until we'd started the coffee pot

Oh yeah, I remember that, too

 

[DisneyHardin]

One of my favorites is a day we made up. Someone in our family started calling Dec 23rd "Christmas Ov" - I believe it was a play on Christmas Eve. We get together (me, my aunts, cousins, mom and sister) and we order pizza for dinner and sing Christmas Carols/read Christmas books.

We always to go church on Christmas Eve - when I was younger, I always went to the 11 PM service, now that I am older and like to go to bed earlier, I go to the 8 PM service.

 

[hhisc16]

Christmas breakfast and dinner!
Christmas Eve candlelight service

 

[Kitty 34]

I forgot the "when I was a kid" part:

Making the chocolate house Mom ordered every year from Swiss Colony
Watching my parents with my beloved Granny playing Hearts with other family adults.
Opening up one gift on Christmas Eve
Getting spoiled (in my eyes) every Christmas morning