Share your special traditions-

[lyeag]

Ok, I was new here last year around holiday time and there were a ton of Christmas threads. I would love for people to share something their family does together during their holiday or just during that time of year, because some people don't celebrate anything during that time.

We do celebrate Christmas at my house. Some of the things we do year after year are: Have chocolate advent calandars for the kids, go to midnight mass, open presents from each other on Christmas Eve, and lots of shrimp cocktail is always on the menu!

One other thing we used to do when we lived in IL- we always used to go for a walk at least once while it was snowing...something I always found so peaceful.

So share what you and yours do whether it is for Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or just because!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

On Thanksgiving, all of the cousins on my dads side of the family pikc names for secret santa....of course, now that we are older, it doesnt stay secret anymore But then on Christmas eve,we all go to my grandmothers house for dinner and we exchange presents with our secret santa cousin...After that, my mom, dad, brother and i go to my "uncle's" house (its really a fireman that is like my uncle).. We do presents there too..We get home, and my brotehr and i still beg to open a present since thats tradition..and e very year they say no...We go to bed and wake up whenever in the morning and we usually do presents first, and save the stockings for when my grandparents come over..we then do dinner and sometimes go to my godfather's house at night...this year its going to be a bit different..my dad is working christmas day in the firehouse, so we probably wont be doing presents till christmas night

 

[RobinMarie]

Our town does a tree lighting ceremony on the town Green every Sunday after Thanksgiving. There are crafts for the kids, Santa visits, Rudolph and Frosty. My daughter has been stalking Rudolph and Frosty for years now. At 4pm, we sing Christmas carols before we light to the town tree at 5pm! It's pretty special, all those people singing together. It really feels like a nice community because all barriers seem to be broken for that one afternoon. I hope each year it gets us a little closer to accepting everyone year round, not just on that afternoon.

 

[Talking Hands]

Go to Christmas Eve service. I coordinate it now with the deaf members so I can interpret for them
Go to Candlelight Processional at Epcot.
Go to MVMCP

 

[JennyMominRI]

Ok, I was new here last year around holiday time and there were a ton of Christmas threads. I would love for people to share something their family does together during their holiday or just during that time of year, because some people don't celebrate anything during that time.

We do celebrate Christmas at my house. Some of the things we do year after year are: Have chocolate advent calandars for the kids, go to midnight mass, open presents from each other on Christmas Eve, and lots of shrimp cocktail is always on the menu!

One other thing we used to do when we lived in IL- we always used to go for a walk at least once while it was snowing...something I always found so peaceful.

So share what you and yours do whether it is for Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or just because!

I don't realy have ton of Traditions... I light a lot of candles during thatmonth. I make Mulled wine..I make Latkes with Applesauce or sour cream ,sufganiyot,which are like Jelly donuts and a few other things

 

[simba928]

Every year, around Christmas, my grandma makes a TON of pizzeles (those Italian cookies. She makes like 6 dozen for each of her kids families (she has 3 children, my mom, my aunt, and my uncle). Her pizzeles are the only ones I will eat.
Also, for the past couple of years, my cousins and I have been doing a grab bag for christmas. I have 5 cousins and 1 brother, so we all put our names in a hat and draw out of it on Thanksgiving. It is a lot of fun. Last year, my little cousin got me a calender. I already got like 5 for Christmas that year, so I told him I would put it in my locker at school and keep it in there. LOL

 

[lyeag]

I don't realy have ton of Traditions... I light a lot of candles during thatmonth. I make Mulled wine..I make Latkes with Applesauce or sour cream ,sufganiyot,which are like Jelly donuts and a few other things

Jenny, hope you are feeling a little better Are Latkes potato pancakes? Trying to remember...

Thanks for sharing...

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We go top our only relative- my mother's house on Christmas day.
On Christmas Eve my DH and 2 DD go out for dinner. Then we watch "Elmo Saves Christmas", because my 11 DD loved Elmo as a toddler and this is her "tradition" that we do every year.

 

[barkley]

we always have "french dip" sandwiches on christmas eve. i am the youngest and my big brothers always traveled home christmas eve so they would be there when i opened my gifts christmas morning. it was the one dish mom could easily prepare to be ready no matter what time someone arrived.

 

[Aidensmom]

At our house, the day after Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the Christmas season. We get out all the decorations and put up the tree (we have a fake one), and we drink hot chocolate and eat Archway Christmas cookies while doing so.

We always go to church on Christmas Eve, and when we get back, there are presents under the tree as we are one of Santa's first stops. We do this because on Christmas morning, we visit my husband's family at his mom's house, and then we gather with my family at our, my brother's, or my sister's house (we rotate).

It lately has also become a tradition that I am required to bring my Sweet Potato Casserole and Chocolate Pecan Pie to both family's gatherings!

 

[JennyMominRI]

Jenny, hope you are feeling a little better Are Latkes potato pancakes? Trying to remember...

Thanks for sharing...

I actually feel fine...Thrush isn'tpainful unles sit's really bad.. Latkes are potato pancakes..Sort of..Shredded potatoes, Onion Oil,Parmesan cheese etc... Fried...Fattening.Bad in every way yet,good

 

[minkydog]

Well, one of our Christmas traditions is going to a big concert in early December. My DD12 is in a children's choir and they sing with the local symphony then. We dress up and after the concert we all go to IHOP with friends. That concert just sets the tone of the season for us.

On Christmas Eve we attend church. Then after the service we drive through teh darkened neighborhoods listening to carols and looking at the lights. We go home and open one present, always the same present--new PJs. The kids ooh & ahh like they don't know what's inside, but they get so excited about it. Then, the girls fill the boys' stockings and the boys fill the girls' stockings. By midnight we're all in bed.

My craziest tradition is Christmas dinner--I make a huge turkey with dressing on Thanksgiving and freeze half until Christmas. On Christmas day I drag it out, make some gravy and fresh cranberry sauce, along with some pie and some collards we also ate at Thanksgiving. It's the nicest leftovers we eat all year. And almost no work for me!

 

[staci]

We go to my parents house on christmas eve, and go to church service with them. Then we go back and fix pizza, and get to open one present 'if we were good during church' (this started when we were children, it is just a joke now). Light up the fire, and just relax.

Since we started our own family, on christmas day we have made a vow to try to stay put at our house for much of the day, instead of rushing to get to both sides of the family. Both my parents and dh's parents come over to our house and I cook dinner for everyone, my younger brother, and sister in law included. Ususally his parents come early, as we didnt just see them teh night before. Then, often the next weekend, we will head down to their place, which is about 45 minutes.

So far this plan works great! Our families are different in every sense of the word though, so we will see if the peacefulness lasts!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

DW and I both grew up with an artifical tree. When we married, we couldn't find any artifical trees we liked and tried the "live" tree thing. Well those trees always look smaller on the farm than in your living room and always ran into issues trying to make the tree fit once we got home. Even if we took a tape measure to the Christmas Tree Farm, we'd still not account for something (like lowest branch must be higher than top of tree stand). So when we bought a house, we purchased one with 14' (and higher) ceilings. Now we go to the tree farm every year usually looking for the largest tree they have. Only twice in the last 8 years have we had to skip the largest tree on the farm for being too big. Our average tree is usually 12' tall.

A quirky tradition DW and I have is that we exchange Christmas gifts for each other just after Midnight on Christmas morning. This tradition started after one year I had purchased a video game console and video game I knew the wife would enjoy. I kept trying to convince her that we should open our gifts on Christmas Eve, but she wouldn't relent. She finally gave into the notion of waiting til midnight. We openned our gifts and played the video game together til 4 o'clock in the morning.

 

[DisneyCP2002]

Our traditions start early. Usually late in September we draw names for my dad's side of the family. This has been a tradition for many years, and it's always fun to wait til your 18 and get to join in the tradition.

Also on the day after thanksgiving I MUST go to JC Penny's. It started the first year they handed out Mickey snowglobes and it's stuck. I also am a participant in the Black Friday ritual lol

We also put up all our decorations the week of thanksgiving save the outside lights.

On Christmas Eve, we have always had Christmas out at my aunt's house.