What are your Christmas traditions?

[kaw1218]

Am I the only one that leaves Bailey's out for Santa?

At our house, Santa gets a Smirnoff


we don't have many traditions. we do alot of different things each year.
Every year on Christmas eve, we go out looking at christmas lights until we are all hungry. And then we have dinner out.
We have one day in December where we have an all day bake-a-thon.
And we turn on A Christmas Story and leave it on for the ENTIRE 24 hour marathon~DH LOVES this one


I also started this a few years ago.
I buy my kids each a special gift from their dad and I. I told them that I am making memories for them.

Want a list of their special gifts?
~a brick
~an ugly blue statue with a beak(still have no idea what it is)
~an ugly pig made out of grapevines
~a plastic pooping reindeer(which DH has now claimed as his )

this year DD11 is getting a jar of plastic pickles and DD9 is getting plastic fishing bait.

They are DEFINATELY the talk of Christmas morning

 

[fan of the TTA]

eating turkey every christmas, going to a panto, opening pressies, putting up a tree (real one), playing our wide selection of christmas music and just having a good old celebration

 

[ErinSLP]

I am loving this thread........my family and I have lots of traditions and now that we have and almost 3 year old, we have been adding more.

Thanksgiving weekend.....all the decorations go up, inside and out. We did two trees this year, Our basement rec room is finally finished, so we did a Disney themed tree, which DD LOVES!

The throughout December, we shop, wrap presents, and attend a few Christmas partiies with friends. We have also started watching some kids Christmas shows (Frosty, Rudolph) on the weekends with DD and we have hot chocolate adn popcorn. One night we will get Dunkin Donuts and drive all over looking at Xmas lights.

Then, Xmas eve morning, we go to my parents house and have breakfast with my parents and cousins. Then, it's home for naps (all of us!) Then it's 4 o'clock mass and back to my parents house for capeletti soup and pasta. Then we exchange presents with my parents and brother's family while we watch A Christmas Story.

We get home around 9 or so and DD goes to bed. This year we will put out some reindeer food and leave cookies for Santa.

DH and I will then wrap presents adn fill stockings and set up everything for DD. We have always exchanged our presents to each other late on Xmas eve, a tradition we have had since our first Xmas together, 10 years ago. I am assuming we will keep this one

Xmas morning, we open stockings, presents and have Xmas cookies for breakfast!!
Then it's off to my in laws for lunch and more presents. The rest of the day is spent visiting my brother's family. Then at night we get a visit from my godmother.

 

[HappyLawyer]

There is a radio station called the LITE, they begin to play x mas music in November non stop until the day after x mas. As soon as they begin, i set the station in the car and it is the only station we listen too in the car. We sing or try to sing.

Next on x mas eve we play the movie A Christmas Story 24 hours a day, it generally comes on TBS x mas eve and re runs 24 hours, and we leave the big screen on and that is the only channel it stays on, now people can watch other tv's in the house but there is always one, we also bought the dvd in case we are somewhere that does not get that channel so we can play the movie.

Last, we have a x-mas eve party with just us. We do finger foods and just try to enjoy each other.

 

[Lady V]

After Thanksgiving, (usually the next week), we go get a tree, we always get a real one because it smells so good!, the same day getting the tree each child gets to pick out a new ornament for that year..it is so awesome to see the ornaments year after year..every year they rotate who gets to put the star on the top of the tree..and we hang real candy canes (in the plastic) on the tree and they love to eat them up when Christmas is over..

I keep a box that is seperate from all the other decorations that holds the special Christmas things my kids have made for me at school..that box is so special to open each year and the kids are so happy to see I still have the stuff..

We have special snowman hot chocolate mugs that they love to use and they want to use them every morning for hot choc before school on cold days...
On Christmas eve we always make cookies for santa, we always leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk with a letter for santa...when the kids wake up there are crumbs and a paw print on the letter to let them know that Rudolf saw the letter too!

When we get up, the kids both sleep with me the night before, and so I never set an alarm...(who needs to on Christmas?)...I tell them to let me go see if Santa came or not..(at this time I start my coffee)...I get everything perfect..then I get my camera ready because I love to take pictures of them coming down the hall and they are all excited..we do stockings first..(candy, coloring books, whoopie cushions, gag stuff, crayons, character chapstick, etc..), then we do presents...the ones from Santa are wraped at my house and he has a seperate wrapping paper so they can tell which ones are from him. We do it one at a time so I can see their faces as they open each one...I usually buy something for myself from Santa because the kids want to see me open a gift too...(nice excuse for a new purse!!),after we are done opening they are usually playing and I am going crazy with all the wires that hold the hold the toys in the package...(why are they so hard to get out?)....

So, then I drink some coffee and make hot chocolate and then usually bluberry muffins and later we have a big dinner.

I also take each child out seperately and let them pick something for the other. They feel really special giving it to the other one. On that day we will go to Starbucks for hot choc or something or out to lunch so I get special time with each one.

We always get a pic with Santa and i line it up on next to all the others and it is amazing how much they have grown..

And this will be the third year in a row we have left for Disney a few days after Christmas...this always helps me because I feel so sad once the holiday is over after all the build up and now I have my trip to look forward to!