Family Christmas Traditions
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive December 2005 :
Family Christmas Traditions
Do any of you have any interesting family traditions that you do as a family every year?
The elves visit us. Our daughter had a wooden rocking horse ornament that held candy. We hung it on the tree, and a few weeks before Christmas the elves started visiting if she was behaved during the day. The elves would leave either a couple of Christmas candies, or a small treat such as lip gloss, stickers, some small trinket. Mostly candy, but every few days something a little bigger...
Now the elves visit both kids each night. Last year our son found a cute spiderman metal "lunchbox" ornament that the elves now leave his treat in. The kids get so excited waiting for the elves to visit for the first time. And each morning they are so excited even if it is a little piece of chocolate!
What a fun tradition!!
Ours mostly revolve around Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve we gather with my parents from NH (we are in CA), dh's parents, and dh's brother and his wife. Our menu always revolves around two things: Pork Pie which was always been the tradition in my family, and Pierogies which is the tradition in dh's family. On that night we take the kids outside to sprinkle "Reindeer Food" in the snow. And dh always reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids.
This year we are trying to start a new tradition of going on a sleigh ride on Christmas Eve.
My personal tradition is to put the kids photos in ornaments each year. These are my favorite ornaments since it tears at the ole' heartstrings each year as I pull out the ones from years past. 
On Christmas Eve, I make lasagna, put it in the oven, set the timed bake, go to church, come home to almost done lasagna, make salad, cut French bread and we eat supper.
After supper, I make the egg bake for the morning and the jello that I take to my SILs
We open presents on Christmas morning (which my 13yo was bemoaning the fact that before we can open presents, people have to take the time to go to the bathroom and take the dog outside, before the present opening can start! LOL!~) Also, the eggbake has to go in the oven.
Then we just hang out, until it's time to leave for my SIL's house at 3pm.
At her house, she will be getting appetizer's ready.
Veggies and dip
Chips and dip
Chips and salsa
Cheetohs
Little wienies in BBQ sauce
Cheese/sausage/crackers
While Joan continues to get supper ready, and the other family members come, the kids get her presents down from upstairs and sort them into piles by name, around the family room. Everyone sits in about the same place, in the family room. Kids sit in front of the patio doors, on the floor. Gary and I sit on the fireplace. Gary's dad used to sit in one of the recliners.
We open presents one at a time, in a circle. When Gary's dad was alive, we had to let him open all his presents at once, because he couldn't wait until his turn came around the circle again!
For supper:
Ham sandwiches
Baked beans
Green bean casserole
Cheesy hash browns
My jello
Frozen pink thing with cranberries, pineapple and cool whip
Dessert:
Christmas Cookies
Peanut butter with chocolate kiss
Sugar cookies
Toffee bars
Chocolate ones with powdered sugar
We don't go home hungry, trust me!
My family will probably meet before Christmas for a meal and a present opening, but the routine isn't set in stone, like it is with Gary's family! We love the routine at Joan's house! It is fun that we can count on it every year!
With my family, one person opens a present and then that person picks a present from under the tree and gives it to the next person.
We (me and my children) all go to pick out our Christmas tree together, make a gingerbread house or cookies for Santa, leave food for the reindeer, open one present on Christmas Eve. Then most of Christmas day is spent opening presents in our Pj's, then dinner Traditional usually.
This year it's the same with variations simply because now that I'm divorced they spend part of the holidays with their dad but it's generally like that each year.
I forgot. I also buy each one a pair of nice pajamas and wrap them. They get to open them on Christmas Eve so they can wear them to bed for Christmas Day. It's about the only time we buy pajamas because both children like to sleep in t-shirts and shorts or sweats. And they have both been given so many like new pairs from cousins who hand their clothes down to them.
Last year my dd got a satin-like pair of pink with funky kittens. This year I got her a pair of brushed flannel pink leopard print. Ashton is getting a really nice pair of Dale Earnhardt Jr. pjs and he will be so excited because he has never had Dale Jr. pajamas.
I like the elves thing.
Our tradition was that the boys could go into their stockings as soon as they woke up, but could not open any presents until after we all had breakfast.
One sort of tradition, every Christmas I gave each boy the giant box of Crayola crayons and a ream of white paper. When my middle son (the "cool" one) turned 14 I didn't give him the crayons, thinking he would think he was too old. He was majorly disappointed and said so. After that they got crayons every year until they graduated high school.
My dil has a fairly large family, what with siblings and first cousins. So they take turns doing Christmas Eve, which is when everyone gets together and exchanges gifts, with lots of snacks and fun. This way each family gets to spend Christmas Day at home with their nuclear family. However, my dear dil loves to entertain, so she usually does Christmas dinner with her husband's (my) family and her mom - and now mom's new husband. And a few others - whoever wants to come.
Since I am divorced my older boys always go to their Dads on Christmas Eve Eve. They wake up there on Christmas Eve morning and do Christmas with their Dad, they then go to his families Christmas party (complete with someone dressed as Santa w/ gifts, etc...). He brings them back home in the evening and they get to open one gift here before going to bed. I use to let them pick any gift they wanted to open. But the last 5 yrs or so we give them new PJ's to open. (stole that from my sister who has been doing that for the last 12 yrs with her kids) Also they get their ornaments then (one collects Santa's, another collects drummer boys or nutcrackers and my little guy collects snowman ornaments. They leave out cookies and milk (last yr blake left santa some bubble gum... ha ). We read 'Twas the night Before Christmas'...
We wake up early (due to the kids screaming, ooohhing, ahhing and giggling in the living room). The kids find their stockings filled and laying among *their* pile of unwrapped santa gifts...They play with their things while I cook a large brunch. We dont start opening gifts from under the tree until after our Christmas brunch... Then someone passes out the gifts and we take turns opening and watching each other open gifts and saying our thank you's, etc... We video all of this every yr. We also watch Christmas Vacation w/ Chevy Chase EVERY yr. LOL Corny but we think its hilarious.
Another tradition we have is that we always do Christmas with my family the Saturday before Christmas every yr... The adults all bring a men's or ladies gift and we play the Dirty Santa Game. Which can be vicious, we dont hold back. lol We have dinner, the grandkids go around the room taking turns opening their gifts and then the adults play games while the grandkids play with their new toys, etc... However, I was disappointed to find out that my parents have to take my Grandad to Texas that weekend before Christmas... so we cant get together with my family until Christmas Day (in the evening).
Conni- what is the dirty santa game?????
Other people call it the White Elephant game I think... It's a gift exchange where you can steal peoples gifts, basically, if you decide you'd rather have what they opened. lol We've been doing this for about 10 yrs now.
My co-workers always have a girls' Christmas party every year. We do the gift-stealing thing, also. This year, it went on way longer than it usually does. A few prize gifts kept changing hands! LOL! I was happy with what I got. The gift I brought changed hands once! I got some cute cute snowmen!
We celebrate Christmas with our immediate family only.
On Christmas Eve we have our traditional fondue dinner.
steak fondue
Caesar salad
garlic bread
cheesecake or other dessert
champagne
It is a simple meal but one my mother always did and I have continued the tradition with my family. I serve it on my cambridge dishes (depression glass dishes inherited from my mother) after dinner we decorate sugar cookies/gingerbread men and then we go for a drive to look at the lights.
Christmas day my hubby cooks. He makes omlets and bacon for breakfast. He usually grills steaks for dinner. We usually have filet minon and shrimp cocktail, the side dishes vary. We always have a cake to celebrate Jesuses birthday.
Yvonne
I come from a very large and traditional Italian family. Every Christmas Eve we have a large seafood dinner, which is supposed to consist of seven different types of fish for good luck for the new year. I spend the day at my mother's house helping with the dinner prep. I used to attend Midnight mass, but with a little one around, i can't stay up past 10! Christmas Eve is the one holiday that is spent with my entire family, about 22 people and as of today, we added one more with my sister's newest addition to the family! It is my favorite holiday.
LOL, Conni. We watch Christmas Vacation over and over every year. We've already watched it twice this season! (We even have Marty Moose mugs for our eggnog. LOL)
Our family takes one night and we go all over the city looking at Christmas lights. Then we come home and make donuts and hot cocoa. We have our big family gift-opening and an appetizer dinner on Christmas Eve. Since the dks have gotten all their big gifts, dh and I assemble and set out all their toys all over the living room, like a toyland. The dks sprinkle reindeer food on the front lawn and put carrots on the front porch. Cookies and milk are left on the special Santa plate. Christmas morning is a free-for-all. The only rule is that the sun has to be up and they have to wake dh and I up first. We go to brunch at my mom's house and then spend the afternoon and evening at my FIL's.
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