What are your weird Christmas traditions?

[froglady]

I collect frogs. (Big surprise, right? ) My first roomate (female) gave me a Christmas Frog card in 1969, so I've continued the Christmas Frog tradition for over 30 years. DH joined in when we married, and we've continued it with our children. This year, not only did I find Christmas Frog wrapping paper, but I found a Christmas Frog lawn decoration.

 

[minkydog]

We hang up this stuffed frog over the doorway and call him the MistleToad.

 

[Swimnoid]

I am just loving this thread! Best chuckle for the day!

We are boring people so we dont do much weird funny stuff but we did decide one year that we didnt have a Christmas Eve tradition while everybody else did so as we were traveling from Pittsburgh to North Carolina we stpped in a super market in West Virginia and picked up ravioli and shrimp just to be different. This has become our Christmas Eve tradition. This year we will be having dinner at Rose & Crown for Christmas eve but we WILL have our ravioli and shrimp for late night!

Also my aunt used to send me and my brothers those lifesavers "books" each and every year....like well into our teens. So a couple years after she passed my oldest bro and I sent each other one, totally unplanned! For awhile we kept sending those same two back and forth until they got lost. Now we get new ones each year.

 

[ckret01]

I am not sure how the underwear tradition started; back when my parents were alive they would give (among many many presents) underwear.

Somewhere along the line we started humming the "can-can" song when someone got underwear. Now it is mandatory that everyone gets underwear, and I, as the purchaser of said underwear always try to disguise the gift contents so the opener is suprised by the underwear. When the underwear is opened everyone breaks into humming the "can'can" song and the person who receives it usually waves it around in the air. Weird I know!!

As the older kids have brought their future spouses to the family celebration we have had to explain our tradition so that no one freaks out at getting underwear. This year my DS 19 will have his GF of over a year join us for opening gifts. We've decided that she has to wait until next year to be eligible for getting underwear at Christmas.

That is so funny. My family sort does the same thing. As kids (there were 3 of us, me, my sister and brother) and my mother used to threaten my brother if he wasn't good that she would call Mr. Hoffman (the officer). Mr. Hoffman was completely made up by my mother. So on Christmas my mother would tell my brother that if he was a good boy Mr. Hoffman will come and bring him underwear. Well needless to say my brother is now 38yrs old and still gets underwear from Mr. Hoffman

 

[monkeyboy]

hiding the pickle

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

As a child the ones I thought were unusual were the getting to open PJ's on Christmas eve, mom wrapping up underwear and getting toothbrushes and toothpaste... fun times - fun times

Now that I am a married woman with children we continue with all the weird ones that my family started ----- and added one of our own...

My husband and I decided that we would wrap all our presents in one kind of wrapping paper, different each year - but all presents are to be wrapped in that one paper

AND

the paper cannot be bought until after Thanksgiving

AND

the whole family must go together to pick it out

AND

there is no saving the paper from year to year ... leftovers must be tossed or donated

we laugh about when our girls grow up and rebel against the tradition and wrap all their presents in different paper - not one pattern the same...

 

[Sthronds]

We are a very boring family but one unusual tradition is having clam chowder for dinner on Christmas eve. I also always do the dishes because when I was a little girl, we couldn't open presents until the dishes were done and nobody did it fast enough. I just took over and now I don't have to wait!

 

[pjlla]

Sadly, we have no Christmas Eve traditions with my kids. DH works for that big brown package company, so we NEVER know what time he might be home on the 24th. So I decided years ago that rather than start a tradition that we would be sad to miss, I'd rather not start one at all. Our Christmas day traditions are, well, rather traditional. Gifts from Santa at home in the morning followed by a big breakfast... then a long drive, usually to MIL's home.................P

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I collect frogs. (Big surprise, right? ) My first roomate (female) gave me a Christmas Frog card in 1969, so I've continued the Christmas Frog tradition for over 30 years. DH joined in when we married, and we've continued it with our children. This year, not only did I find Christmas Frog wrapping paper, but I found a Christmas Frog lawn decoration.

Oh my! Can I be your daughter? I love frogs. I have a frog that ribbits jingle bells. He is probably my favorite. If I ever saw my presents wrapped in Christmas Frog wrapping paper I'd be too shocked to open it.

 

[anut4disney]

My mother used to always give all the men in the family, Old Spice aftershave and socks. We used to think it was so funny when we got older. She used to also crochet slippers for everyone until we got old enough to say no more please.

 

[pugslee]

on the gift label thing, we sometimes write names of famous people in the from part. Like last year, on the label it said from Cory Mathews, because it was a Boy meets World Season 1 dvd. Although at first I thought it said Cozy Coaster

 

[goofygirl]

My friends are coming over Dec 23 to exchange gifts, and we will start a new tradition.

We will celebrate Festivis. I already have a Festivis pole (for real!), and we will all air our grievances (for real!).

We are big Seinfeld fans.

 

[froglady]

We hang up this stuffed frog over the doorway and call him the MistleToad.

I have an official Mistle Toad. He makes a "smooch" sound when you squeeze him. I also found plush Christmas Frog keychains that "sing" Christmas carols. Everyone will get one in his/her stocking.