What do you do on Christmas day?

[Mizzoufan]

In the morning it's family time. In the afternoon we go to my mom and eat and open her presents and just relax.

 

[MrsDuck]

Breakfast, presents, phone calls, and usually my parents house for a Christmas lunch/dinner.

This year will be our first Christmas with a baby - he'll just be a month old (if he comes on time!) so I'm guessing things will be very different. We are looking forward to when Santa is a big deal again!

 

[quandrea]

Christmas Eve we attend four pm mass. Then we head home for pizza night and a movie. My two sisters come over. This is always difficult as we have a strained relationship and they hate my husband.

Christmas morning is wonderful. We have cinnamon buns once dh has walked the dogs. Kids tear into the Santa gifts. Dh and I exchange stockings.

We head over to mil's house at noon for Christmas lunch. Eat, open gifts then head home to walk the dogs.

Christmas night is always a light supper--good bread, cheeses, charcuterie, salad. We watch a movie. It's my favourite meal of Christmas and my favourite time of Christmas. It's such cozy time with dh and the kids.

I love Boxing Day too. I think I most enjoy the quiet time with just me and dh and the kids.

 

[shoney]

We wake up and open gifts. My parents come over and we do the same. We all go to the in laws at 2 pm for dinner and drinks. We all exchange gifts. We usually play some games. Leave around 8pm.

 

[indimom]

It has changed a bit over the years, as the family grew and changed.
Currently, we sleep in a bit, make breakfast (breakfast pizza and biscuits with chocolate gravy), then open presents with our "kids" (17 and 20). The last few years, we have had an open house with snacks that hold well over time, soup, and sandwiches. We pretty much invite everyone, but how many people come or how long they stay varies quite a bit. No big, we just like the company.
We typically play a board game or two, and watch movies.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We get up and do stockings, then have coffee and cinnamon rolls, open the bigger presents, and watch the Christmas Story marathon on TV until it's time to go over to MIL's for early dinner, secret Santa exchange, and games.

 

[Poohforyou]

Once our daughter came along we've been in our house for Christmas. I insisted she wake up in her own home and not be run around all day long.

Anyone who wanted to is welcome to come to our house but we don't go anywhere. Dd still stays in her new Christmas pj's all day, she's 18 now.

On Christmas day we get up whenever and have a nice breakfast. We'll open presents and then have lots of different hot and cld appetizers throughout the day, along with bellinis. We'll watch movies, play games, take naps and just generally relax. Usually my mom and 1 brother are with us. It's a nice relaxing day.

 

[dosekies]

Typically my family goes out to eat on Christmas Eve. Nowhere fancy at all, just to hang out really. Then SO and I have ended up sleeping at his house so that we spend the morning with his family. We wake up, have coffee and breakfast, open stockings, then open gifts. At some point we head to my family's house and open gifts then prepare for the rest of the family to come over for dinner!

 

[Klayfish]

I *have* to ask how the neighbors feel about it. Do people come to your neighborhood to look at your house? Is it like that? I lived in 2 places were those things were forbidden (they were both gated communities and super annoying - like couldn't have your boat or truck in the driveway and had to have a trash service which got the cans from the house not by the road; I got out).

Well, we started doing this about 7 or 8 years ago. At first, we lived in PA and our house was on 3.5 acres of property. I had room to spread my display out...heck one year I even had a real car as part of the display....I painted it to look like a Hot Wheels car and put a giant bow on it as if it were a present, then had a big blow up Santa next to it. So we had tons of room and no neighbors that were really close to us. In fact, the road we lived on was a rural country road and had no "shoulder" to it, so there was nowhere for guests to stop and watch. I set up a parking lot in my lawn big enough for 10 cars to stop...plus my driveway had a big circle in it, so people could easily turn around. That was awesome. After a few years, we were pretty well known, a lot of people would come by. When I was outside setting it up, people would honk and waive as they drove by.

In our current home in GA logistics are a bit more difficult. We live in a typical subdivision golf cart community. I have roughly .9 acres, so things are much more compact. Thankfully the HOA is in support of it, in fact they do a decorating contest (we haven't won because we haven't entered ourselves). We have one neighbor across the street who are a bunch of (insert nasty word here), but they can't do a darn thing about it since the HOA supports us. Our other neighbors don't care...I don't think....we don't know them, but they never seem to mind. This will be our third Christmas here, and word is starting to spread of what we do. The first year only a small amount of people came by. Last year it was a good bit more. This year I would think there will be a lot. The biggest challenge is that we live on a tiny "path" right off a cul de sac. The "path" that is our street comes to a dead end in our neighbors driveway, so there's nowhere to park and nowhere to turn around. I am going to put a sign up this year welcoming people to turn around in my driveway, or park in the cul de sac and walk down to our house.

I have some new elements I bought on clearance last year, hoping to put into the display this year. I now have a 12' high Mickey blow up. Also bought a bunch of rope lights that I'm going to make a tire swing out of, with Stitch sitting inside...just like they had at Osborne Family Lights in HS.

 

[firecracker725]

What are your Christmas Day traditions? DH and I get up, have coffee, open stockings, give the dogs their stockings, have breakfast, open gifts, then call our parents. By 11AM we're done with the Christmas-y stuff and it's just another restful day at home. I'm not complaining, we love those lazy days at home together. I'd like to have some new Christmas Day traditions to make the day a little more special. What do you do Christmas afternoon?

In the morning we open presents and have a big breakfast/brunch. I always make sausage balls, but the rest varies. We spend the day playing with new toys and relaxing, maybe watching movies. Dinner is Chinese takeout. Always.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We go to the latest Mass available. Around there that is 10pm.

We come home, change clothes, gather around the tree with cocktails and munchables and open gifts.

Stockings might wait until morning. Or I might just put them out at night.

The next morning is spent lounging around with tea, fruit and baked goods. We will play games like Catan and Scrabble, and we might watch a movie.

 

[rastahomie]

Not a thing. Her family does Christmas the night before, and my family doesn't do anything until a week or so after. Christmas Day is a nothing day for us; we've spent the last five or six just doing what we'd do on any other day off - surfing the net, watching TV, playing WoW, etc.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Typically we sleep in, have sex a few times, go to a movie and then have dinner in Chinatown.
Our big celebration is on Christmas Eve - even when we were teenagers - we opened gifts on Christmas Eve.

Occasionally the husband works - tons of money to work - in which case, I sleep in, go to a movie and out for Chinese alone!

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

What are your Christmas Day traditions? DH and I get up, have coffee, open stockings, give the dogs their stockings, have breakfast, open gifts, then call our parents. By 11AM we're done with the Christmas-y stuff and it's just another restful day at home. I'm not complaining, we love those lazy days at home together. I'd like to have some new Christmas Day traditions to make the day a little more special. What do you do Christmas afternoon?

We used to:
kids get up, raid stockings.
mom and dad get up. mom makes coffee and pillsbury rolls (orange rolls/cinnamon rolls)
dad hands out presents, mom takes pictures and keeps up on wrapping paper mess
snack on rolls, open toys, put together stuff, etc.
Easy lunch/dinner of leftover Chinese, veggies trays, meat/cheese/crackers, etc.
Sometimes go to a movie.

Now that's it's going to be just be DS at home, we aren't doing stocking or gifts on Christmas day. DS likes to get his stuff Christmas Eve, and stay up all night playing his new systems/games/etc. The rest of the day is the same though, easy food and movies.

 

[amberpi]

Typically we sleep in, have sex a few times, go to a movie and then have dinner in Chinatown.
Our big celebration is on Christmas Eve - even when we were teenagers - we opened gifts on Christmas Eve.

Occasionally the husband works - tons of money to work - in which case, I sleep in, go to a movie and out for Chinese alone!

Sounds like you win Christmas.

 

[Fintastic]

Christmas is our day at home! We do all the visiting and dinners and whatever beforehand. On Christmas Day I refuse to go anywhere.

 

[Domo]

I'm amazed more people don't attend a Church service, especially given that the last figure I head said that one in three people identified themselves as "Christian".

 

[loves to dive]

Christmas has become a sort of non day for us. Honey and I are very lucky that if we want something we buy it so stopped trying to figure out gifts for each other years ago. I used to buy gifts for my entire family but got sort of tired of that a few years ago and told them no more. I normally get my grown son one expensive gift like a new computer, etc. I do put up a tree cause I like the pretty lights (I actually keep a small table top one up all year upstairs) and put the Santas out on the mantle (they were Mama's) and hang the stockings. My son comes over Christmas eve with his two dogs and on Christmas day he opens his present and we just veg out all day. We used to travel on Christmas to avoid the whole your family my family thing but unless it's somewhere that allows dogs that's not possible now, our spoiled rotten dog can't be boarded. Last year my son and I spent the week before Christmas up to the 23rd at WDW (honey hates WDW and dog set all three dogs).

 

[MIGrandma]

Oh, wow, I hadn't even thought about Christmas yet but it will definitely be different this year. We used to have our adult kids/grandchildren here for dinner on Christmas Day, but a few years ago they asked if we could have our family gathering at another time so they could just be HOME on Christmas Day and I was totally fine with that. We generally have it the Saturday or Sunday either before, or after, Christmas Day. But. The past few Christmases we have taken my Mother to the Chinese restaurant for lunch on Christmas Day then bring her to our house for the afternoon. I'm an only child and just didn't want her to be home alone on Christmas. But, she passed away in July so I have no idea what we will be doing on Christmas Day this year. Maybe we'll just snuggle in for the day and watch movies, and I'll make dinner for us. Or we might decide to take a little holiday trip, even just a night or two in a nice B&B. Have to give that some thought.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I'm amazed more people don't attend a Church service, especially given that the last figure I head said that one in three people identified themselves as "Christian".

We sometimes do. But with 2 big families usually we are busy with family dinners Christmas Eve and our church doesn't do a service on Christmas Day unless it falls on a Sunday.
My ILs always go to a late night service at their church. However the one at our church is right around when we are with our family (4-7ish) on Christmas Eve.