Share your Xmas traditions

The "santa" thread got me wondering and thinking about what everyones Christmas traditions are?

We have santa visit our house, but he only leaves presents in the stockings (we have always had terrific gifts in our stockings : ). The only gifts under our tree are the ones from family and friends, no gifts from santa under the tree. Always leave somekind of food out for santa and the reindeer.
We have a big christmas dinner on christmas day, and we always have christmas crackers for everyone.
All presents are opened on Xmas morning. But we are only allowed to open stockings first thing, then have to wait until after breakfast (big family breakfast) before opening all presents.
Usually watch some kind of christmas movie on christmas eve, with a drink or two : )

Ever since we have had our children we have lived overseas and therefore nowhere near any relatives (prior to moving here, I spent EVERY christmas with my family), so I am thinking of adding in some family traditions to help with the fact that we have no family here : (

What are your traditions?

 

We open one gift Christmas Eve....it's always their Christmas jammies...and read Twas the Night Before Christmas at bedtime.

 

Christmas Eve, we all go to DH's aunt's house & go to Mass together and then celebrate the feast of the seven fishes.
Christmas Day, we open up presents (all are from Santa, except for one, which is from me and DH) and I make a big breakfast (eggs, bacon, pancakes)...then my parents (now just my Mom) come over and it's like second Christmas for the kids...then my IL's come over for dinner and after dinner, it's like third Christmas for all of us, especially the kids.
And we usually do it all again the day after because it's the kids birthday :faint:

 

Wish I could say... so far Christmas has been all over the place, and dh insists on going to his parents this year... I don't even know when we'll open presents. It stinks!

 

On Christmas Eve we do the church side of Christmas. Read teh story from the Bible (we always acted it out as well). Sing some songs about His birth. Talk about what the day really means.
Before bed we always opened on present. WE have decided it is pj and a book at our house.
In the morning they get to go get santa presents. Their stocking a few presents, usually bigger items for each kid.
When that is over we eat breakfast (A casserole form DH's family)
Then open presents.

We also work hard on the kids picking out presents for others. THis is a good way to get them excited to give not just get. As they ahve presents for sibling, parents, grandparents and cousisns to pick out and wrap.

This is the first year we will be home with just the 4 of us. I won't be able to travel this year so it should be fun but will miss all the family being around.

 

Well our traditions have morphed a little since kids. We go to our Christmas Eve service at church, then to a family dinner (usually a turkey dinner). The kids get some new pj's to wear to bed. If we are at my Mom's or sister's for dinner, the they dress in their pj's before leaving for home. We also read the about the birth of Jesus and then head home. The kids go to sleep and the adults come with all the gifts to one house where we will celebrate the next day. They pack the house with gifts.

In the morning we all meet for a huge family breakfast. We clean up and then start opening gifts. We break for snacks throughout the day. After we finish we prepare Christmas dinner. We eat dinner and clean up. At night before anyone leaves we open our stockings. Usually they are useful or small gifts. But every once in a while there's something really special in there like a diamond ring (Dad's gift to Mom one year). The adults usually get a card for their spouse and we open them at night.

We make an entire day out of Christmas. We never get to spend this much time together, so it's relaxed and very nice! We also have a celebration with my Dad's extended family the day or two after Christmas. This didn't happen last year due to a family wedding on New Years Eve.

All of this happens when we are home. It's completely different if we go to Dh's side of the family for Christmas. They lived a few states away so it doesn't happen often.

I absolutely love Christmas. Spending time with the family is the best!

 

Christmas Eve we have a large brunch get together/present opening with all of our friends & their kids (there are 7 families & we rotate houses each year), then we go to my SIL's house for dinner with all of my inlaws & we order food in, usually Chinese.

Christmas morning we get up & do presents. Santa brings the stocking gifts and a couple of small gifts per child, unwrapped. Wrapped gifts from the family are under the tree. After opening presents, I do breakfast at my house for my parents & my inlaws. Then, in the afternoon we go to my inlaws house & they do a big turkey dinner for the whole family.

The next day is Boxing Day here and we make the rounds of friends' houses for a visit, usually ending up at the inlaws for leftover turkey at dinnertime.

 

We have a few traditions that we have 'created' for our family. On the Saturday before christmas we set up our tree and go and buy each of the kids a decoration. This decoration is for them to take when they leave home. They each have their own box for decorations. On Christmas eve day we make and decorate gingerbread men then we take them to the homes of families that are important to us. (Kids best friends, people who have supported us, people we have supported) We all go together and the kids explain why they are important to us and thanking them for being a part of our family. On Christmas eve we put out the Santa sacks and leave santa a beer and gingerbread man, and carrots for the reindeers. On Christmas morning it is presents, presents, presents. Lots of food and lots of love.

 

I love all the traditions! I feel like this year we need to start some... since the kids are old enough to know what's going on! Usually for me its such a rushed day since both families are in town, so its a couple hours with my dh's family, then the kids will attempt to nap and we get to do it all over again with my family. and now with the kids it seems like we'll be attempting to get 3 Christmas celebrations in on one day. I need to find a way to make it special and be able to savor it all. I like the idea of doing special things on Christmas Eve day, that can be our day.

We do normally do stockings from Santa and a misc. gift here or there from Santa. We'll get them to open something special from us before we start the day with the family. And I had to laugh about the Christmas PJs... that's a great idea... but for us, I got a great deal 2 yrs ago and bought Christmas PJs and we've been wearing them year round in multiple sizes... so I guess I ruined that cute tradition, unless I get some new ones!

 

We usually go pick a live christmas tree out the week or two before christmas, but last year we bought a nice fake tree to use for awhile, until the twins are older and i don't have to worry about them eating needles or something

Every year I trace each childs hand onto paper, then cut it out of felt. I stitch it together with yarn and stuff it. Then I use glitter glue to write the childs name and the year on it, and hang it on the tree with more yarn. I have all their hand stockings from the time they were born. And I keep their fingers closed in the shape of a stocking rather then do each finger individually

Christmas eve each kid gets to open one present, with their christmas jammies in it. I try to find a new christmas movie for them to open/watch too, but we're slowly accumulating them all! :lol:

All the wrapped gifts are under the tree several nights before christmas, santa only brings one gift, unwrapped and ready to play with. Daddy and I stuff the stockings.

Christmas morning it's chaos. Stockings first. Then we pass out gifts. Then we call my family to wish them merry christmas. I make either waffles, or last year we made monkey bread for breakfast...mmmmmmm. Oh, we do leave out cookies and milk for santa, sometimes it's a beer though! :lol: Reindeer get oatmeal and glitter food sprinkled outside.

Christmas day is ours. We try not to go anywhere, it's our day to spend it together as a family. inlaws are welcome to come visit in the afternoon, but not before lunch My parents always held christmas morning for us and it was so nice not to have to rush rush rush to get on the road to go somewhere, and gave us a chance to play with our toys before going to grandma's house that afternoon!

We keep our christmas tree and lights up until after new years. Down here everyone turns theirs off on christmas day, seems silly to me, so we leave ours up and I love it!

Oh yeah, we also make a ginger bread house every year (except we made a train one year), and we also try to buy the kids an ornament that sort of represents their interests for the year. Sometimes that's hard to do. And they'll get to take these with them when they move out, to help them start their own ornament collection Hallmark usually has great ornaments to choose from!

 

I am so excited for Christmas and this thread only makes it better!!!

We have a lot of the same traditions.
We go out together and cut down our tree.
We decorate the tree and the inside of the house the first Sunday in December and we do it as a family. We usually follow that with a big crab feed dinner.
I bake a ton of cookies and the family and neighbors do a big cookie exchange. I'm hoping to add the kids into this this year.
We always make special cookies for Santa and leave them out with milk.
We always have a nice big breakfast after opening presants on Christmas.
We go to my families house for Christmas dinner and more presants.
On our way home we always take a tour of a couple streets to look at Christmas lights.

:yahoo: Can't wait!!!

 

We put up our Christmas tree the first weekend in December and everyone gets to help decorate. Christmas Eve is usually at my IL's house and we have a nice dinner there. We read The Night Before Christmas, leave cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeer
When we wake up Christmas morning, the kids have to come wake us up first before they go out to the tree. We make sure that Santa came. Santa does not wrap his gifts here, so usually they go right for those toys. Then they dig into the stockings, then gifts from us. Usually somewhwere in the chaos, I throw in the Monkey Bread (the best thing ever!). Other food changes from year to year. Last year, I made quiche. Since the twins were born, we started reserving Christmas Day as our family day and do not travel anywhere. It just got too crazy and I had horrible memories of my childhood being carted from one Grandma's to the others and never having time to play with any of my stuff. I got sick every year on Christmas (throwing up) I think from the crazy schedule, excitement and food being forced down my throat b/c we had to have a huge meal everywhere I went. Usually the weekend after Christmas, we celebrate with other sides of the families. I swear, we have like 5 Christmases. I feel like nobody wants to combine celebrations. For example, we do our immediate family and then we do my parents (now just my Mom) and brother and sister in law, then we have DH's family, then we have to do another one for my Mom's side of the family (her brothers/sisters) and then we do one for my Dad's side of the family. It just gets to be a bit much trying to fit everything in to everyone's schedules. But, it's a great time of year and we love all the excitement.

 

things are sort of in flux for us this year as our extended family is all over the place now. we're, well i am, making an effort to create some traditions for just our immediate family. early in our marriage DH put his foot down about not decorating the house until after december 1. :laughing: so i usually put the tree up the first weekend in december. i'll do most of the decorating myself but am going to leave some ornaments for the girls to put up the next day this year. they'll get their Christmas PJs on december 1, along with their advent calendars.

on Christmas day, we start first thing with a stocking hunt (this will be the first year i think the girls will get it at all so i'm excited about that!) - this was something my parents did with all of us every year & we still make my dad hide our stockings whenever we're all together on Christmas day. :laughing: then we do a big Christmas brunch. the afternoon is usually over at the ILs but they're in Ethiopia this year so we'll probably just hang out at home. i don't even think we'll be having turkey since it seems a bit pointless to make a Christmas dinner for just me & DH. ardon:

 

Tree goes up either the Sunday after Thanksgiving or the next weekend, haven't nailed that time down yet. We also decorate outside with white lights, a snowman, etc.

Our main traditions for just *us*, our family of 5 are:

Christmas Eve day - breakfast is homemade waffles with lots of topping choices, then later make cookies, make reindeer food, clean the house, kids get new pajamas and a new movie (we try to stick with a Christmas theme). We all watch the movie together and eat a pizza!

Christmas Day - wake up, open stockings and gifts, finish picking up the house, start preparing for all of the grandparents' arrival. Open just a few gifts with grandparents (we do separate celebrations with both sides of the family and do the main gift exchanges then), eat a family dinner, and just sit around and talk while the kids get to play with their new toys! :wub:

 

Oh, I forgot to add that the kids get an ornament every year. It usually has something to do with whatever they are into that year. Last year, they each got a handblown glass Carnival cruise ship ornament to commemorate our vacation. This year, I have found some baton ornaments (my girls are taking baton) and a martial arts one (DS is in martial arts). These will be theirs to take with them when they get older.

 

I am loving this thread! We haven't set any real traditions yet, this has always been a sad time of year for my husband and his family.

The last couple of years I have made goodie baskets for friends and family, as we can't afford gifts for everyone. Someone on here mentioned bringing the kids around to deliver. Expressing their thanks for their relationship...I love that idea! I am going to look for ornaments this year for them.

When I was young we all got new nannies would listen to Scrooge and The Shadow on the radio. My dad would wax the floors and we would slide on it for hours...there was always the smell of food everywhere..and right before bed my dad would film us hanging our stockings on the door. Christmas eve has always been my favorite! Everyone was always in a great mood!

 

ok, what are the "nannies" you talk about? sliding on the floor sounds like loads of fun!

 

We are changing up our traditions this year as our family lives in California and we are in Vegas. After traveling to California for the last couple of years my fiance and I decided it was time for the kids to actually have a Christmas in their own home : ) We always do ornaments and jammies on Christmas Eve. Christmas day will be presents and breakfast. My parents will be here early Christmas morning to spend the day with us as will my fiance's brother and his girlfriend, so we are really looking forward to it. I am debating on making either a ham or prime rib dinner. We will probably decorate the house on Thanksgiving Day.

 

Lol maybell, supposed to read jammies...(auto correct!l haha )

 

thought maybe it was British term or something! ha ha! glad I got that cleared up! that makes more sense!

 

We also do christmas ornaments every year for the kids. My parents did that for me, and when I left home I had enough ornaments with wonderful memories to fill up an entire tree - it was great! I really like the pjs idea - that is a great idea to let them open something on christmas eve to get the "party started".

 

I love this thread. What a great idea. I'm getting lots of ideas. We have started decorating our tree the day after Thanksgiving. We go to my cousin's for Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. It's one of the few times a year we see everyone. We also do new pjs on Christmas Eve. Christmas day we always have cinnamon buns, but monkey bread sounds yummy too. We open gifts and then my parents show up around lunchtime. We order Chinese food, so nobody has to cook. I think this year we'll be putting out milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.