What are your Christmas traditions?

evilbunnyfoofoo

evilbunnyfoofoo

My shoes are laced with irony
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So, what fun little holiday traditions that you celebrate with?

I've spent over a decade taking care of my mom, and catering to her and everyone in my family. This year, selfish as it may be, I am taking Christmas back for myself and my own little family: partner and kidlet (and hopefully one of our step kidlets!), best friends next door. I'm looking at all the fun traditions of other countries, thinking of maybe stealing a few for our own use.

Do you have something fun (or meaningful) you do every year to brighten your life? Will you share it with me? Maybe a bit of your family can be infused with mine!
 
That's sounds fun foofoo^^. Every now and then it is allowed to be little bit selfish ;) but I do not think you are in this case :).

Our traditions is that we decorate the tree in 24th day at my parents house (and other decorations). Only outdoor lights are put earlier (and usually they won't be taken off. We just light them up again in December :D).
For breakfast we eat rice porrige and later (evening) we have big feast after my sister, cousins and aunt arrives too. Lastly it's time to share presents and open them :). Then it is just hanging out. It's more like a gathering than just celebrating Christmas ;). After our cousins and aunt leaves everyone who wants can go to Christmas sauna. Little bit herbs and the sauna will smell faboulous! and is really relaxing^^.
Before the gathering there will be huge razzle in kitchen for couple of days while we make every dishes.. what a headache I say :F
If there is any leftovers after 24th, we eat again in 25th day with everybody like a mini feast ;).
 
Our traditions usually vary greatly year to year, but normally consist of the following. We are trying to come up with a more regular set of traditions to start with our son now that he's old enough to start remembering some of it.

Dec 23--We bake and decorate sugar cookies. Gift plates are distributed to the neighbors and our immediate family as well as plenty to keep for ourselves. We also hit up all the local parks and some of the larger housing developments to see all the lights.
Dec. 24-- Usually a quiet day. In the evening we all exchange small gifts with each other (usually socks, new pajamas, a book, etc) to help tide the younger ones over. And we always, always watch A Christmas Story at least twice throughout the day. Dinner is small and we honestly have more hot chocolate and cookies than real food. Right before bed we mix up oats and glitter to make "reindeer food" and sprinkle it all over the front yard so Rudolph and the rest of Santa's team can find our house. This is one long since gone, but that I am bringing back for my son to enjoy.
Christmas-- We awake and open presents at whatever hour the most excited person happens to wake up. We open our stockings first, then have breakfast that usually has heaps of scrambles eggs, bacon, and toast. Then we get to the big gifts, and spend the rest of the day enjoying the company of family, playing with our new toys, and watching the classic Christmas movies.

Things we do that don't happen any specific day--
--We always donate several new toys to Toys For Tots. If not toys, a larger (for us) check.
--We always donate one of our old coats to Salvation Army.
--For kids--to remember the season is about giving, not just receiving, we always picked the number of our old toys that matched our age to donate to local organizations to make sure other kids got toys for Christmas (and broken toys didn't count--they had to still be nice and just ones we didn't play with much anymore). This started when I was about 5 and I plan to start it with my son when he is older.
 
In my family we always have tamales and play the card game uno. And lots of fresh salsa over everything even mashed potatoes lol.
 
We always bake cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Every time I smell cinnamon it takes me back to Christmas :)
 
These are all awesome! Anyone have anymore?
 
Though we don't do anything for Christmas anymore, when I was little it was always a family affair. Every year we'd have a party during the day on Christmas Eve – in the beginning this happened at my grandmother's house, but later on it changed to be at my uncle's – with a braai (barbecue) and lots of food. When my cousins and I were still young, we'd sit at the children's table, and for dessert my gran would give us ice cream or Malva pudding with real coins inside that we'd then get to keep and spend later. Then everyone would move over to the living room, drink wine and pull open Christmas crackers. The adults would put on the cheap paper hats while reading the jokes they got inside them. In the evening, everyone would open their presents together, and it would go clockwise around the living room from one person to the next until everything was opened. This became more fun for me as I got older, because I got to help hand out the presents and say who they were from.

I haven't seen my extended family together since my grandmother's funeral a few years ago. Even then half the family was missing because they'd emigrated. The last Christmas we had was about three years before that, and we had no family over then – it was just me, my boyfriend, my mom and my gran. I'd put the tree up myself, bought half the presents with my last paycheck, wrapped them all in colour-coordinated paper and ribbon, then took photos of everyone opening their gifts with my new digital camera. There was no food or drink, no holiday traditions. Just the four of us spending the day together. That was our first Christmas in ten or so years, and we haven't had another in the last six. There hasn't been money for presents what with all the financial difficulties, so we forego the celebration entirely. We don't even put up the tree anymore.
 
Every since I can remember I've always gotten to open a present on Christmas Eve and it was always a new pair of PJs to wear Christmas night. I loved getting my new Christmas PJs each year and when I got married I explained to my husband that it was now his responsibility to see to my Christmas PJs each year!
My Grandma on my Mom's side does a Christmas Eve brunch so I get to see everyone from that side then and my Dad's side does Christmas Eve dinner. I have a huge family so it's nice to see everyone on Christmas Eve and then I have Christmas day to relax! Hubby and I will wake up and exchange gifts and then just my Mom and brothers will stop by and we will do our gifts, even though we saw each other on Christmas Eve the immediate family likes to do our own small exchange at my house. I usually make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and for dinner we either do a Grinch dinner or FaaRaaRaa dinner....let me explain.
Grinch dinner: I make a rare Who roast beast (Prime Rib), Who-hash (my own concoction of fried potatoes with red and green peppers and onions) and Who Pudding (rice pudding with Christmas sprinkles).
FaaRaaRaa (in honor of A Christmas Story) dinner: We order take out from my favorite Chinese place.
It's nice cause I don't always have to cook every year. Usually it's just a few immediate family members or sometimes just me and hubs for dinner and I never take off the above mentioned PJs all day :)
 
Ohhhhhh, I spy me some fun ideas! I LOVE the FaaRaaRaa dinner especially, one of my best friends actually owns a Chinese restaurant. We should eat there and have her join us!
 
Deck the tree with tons of ponies, wrap wrap wrap, and we do our usual Secret Santa swap.
Ohohoh! And Christmas dinner with two different cakes and a giant Turkey/Ham. And pudding. Lots of pudding
 
Pudding is the yum. I'm thinking about trying my hand at an English pudding.

I wonder if I'll set my house on fire.
 
My family and I go to this street and look at all the lights, decorations, and blow ups and it's not just any house. Every inch of their yard and house is decked with lights and all kinds of decorations! We do it every year for Halloween and Christmas, awesome house. Then my brother and I get Christmas eve pjs and we get to open one Christmas present. I always love Christmas cause my family gets together and food and presents of course :D
 
Generally My house is decorated weekend after thanksgiving. I spend the rest of the month tring to get my mom to put up her tree sigh.
We look at Christmas lights and drink Hot chocolate and eat sweets and watch all kinda of Christmas movies.
I have to quote the Grinch at least once to my family every year while we are together.
My mom makes these awesome white choc marshmallow nutty globs that are to die for.

Christmas eve day we clean house and of course something is forgotten and my dad every year has to fight walmart for the last min item.
I get some extra grocery mom always forgets something.
My mom and sister cook. I am not allow to I would kill some one.
We watch a Christmas story and me and my niece watch cartoons.

Christmas Eve night my dad family comes over to eat and we have Egg nogg.
The younger kids get to open gifts (lucky kids) yes I get jealous sue me.
The Adults and Me play dirty Santa. I say ME as I don't call myself an adult cause it just feels wrong to say.

When they leave me and my parents and sister and her husband and my niece exchange presents.
We go to bed.

Christmas Day we go to my aunts to eat and visit. We play dirty Santa the adults and me. My niece opens her gifts. My grand paw and my aunt always give us some money or something for Christmas mas so its special.

We generally talk a bit and then go home and fall into a coma until new years.
 
the usual, putting up the Christmas tree and decorations, helping make delicious yummy foods, wrapping presents, opening one on Christmas eve, watching rankin/bass flicks

the unusual: there's several hilarious Christmas crackfics I read every year because they're like monty python, because they are FAR more entertaining then regular old Christmas stories
 
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