On a happy note: What is your Christmas tradition?

[rilbrianne]

Do you have one? Would you like one? What would be your ideal tradition - even if you don't have one.

We don't have a specific tradition other than getting together at Granny's house for Christmas. But I would say that my ideal tradition would be volunteering at the nursing home or taking some goodies there on Christmas.

[tinroofrusted]

We go to church Christmas Eve,
Spend Christmas Eve night together,
Open Presents Christmas morning, and then spend the day with my in-laws.

[nazstar]

We make eggnog and then decorate the tree together. Also, before we had a little one, we would stay up late on Christmas Eve, playing board games, etc, and then open up presents after midnight. I'll admit to some... ahem... kissing and ...ummmm...such things... under the tree too... Don't laugh. It's totally romantic!

[nazstar]

We make eggnog and then decorate the tree together. Also, before we had a little one, we would stay up late on Christmas Eve, playing board games, etc, and then open up presents after midnight. I'll admit to some... ahem... kissing and ...ummmm...such things... under the tree too... Don't laugh. It's totally romantic!

Oh great! I totally just re-read the posts and you guys have all these worthy traditions and mine consists of my husband and I getting busy under the tree. Geeez.... Now I feel like I hafta go play Santa at an orphanage or something for redemption. LOL!!

[Minnymouth]

Our Christmas tradition has changed several times over the years. When we were in our teens and 20's..... everybody went to mom and dad's Christmas morning (or we spent the night).

After marriage everybody went around on Christmas Eve from house to house, then gathered at mom and dad's around noon on Christmas Day.

When we hit out 30's and 40's, children & grandchildren, then everyone started piling up at my brothers house, gifts and all on Christmas Day. By then Dad was deceased, and Mom was on her on.

Our families got bigger and bigger with grandchildren and now great grandchildren. We quit all gathering together (brothers and sisters) as our own families were so large..... and some of us lived in other states.

In our 50's & 60's.......

Now everyone spends Christmas with their own kids/grandkids, great grandkids, great-great grandkids.

With both parents now gone, I live in another state, and I spend a quiet Christmas Eve with my dogs, and then spend Christmas Day with friends. I have a neighbor, who I've watched her boys grow up, insists that I spend Christmas Day with them. The boys come and get me real early on Christmas morning.......

Did we have any real traditons? No, not really, nothing to pass on to another generation.

In the past I have spent many a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by myself (probably 20-25) as I lived in other states over the years. These were quiet holidays, but peaceful.

In the past I have sponsored families at Christmas since I wasn't around my own. Helped make baskets/toys and deliver them. Very humbling.......

[chpxiii]

Setting up a nativity scene.

[kl030505]

Christmas Eve is spent with my husband's family for a traditional Polish Christmas Eve. Complete with homemade pierogies (yum) and borscht (yuck).

Christmas day for us is our time together as a small family. DD wakes and opens presents from Santa, we all open our stockings, I make brunch and then we just chill out at home. I think when DD is older I will probably take her to the movies in the afternoon, it's what my mom did with me and my sisters.

[Bandit]

Setting up a nativity scene.

I like that. I also like the advent calendars.

[Bandit]

I think my own personal tradition is paying attention to when all the good christmas classics, musicals & specials will be on television so I don't miss any of them. Not sure why but that means something to me.

Did anyone ever see A CHRISTMAS MEMORY? that was on sunday nite and was probably the most touching Christmas story I have ever seen.

I am going to see my mom for Christmas this year. Hard to believe I have not seen her for Christmas for 10 years, so this will be a special time.

[lrprn]

We choose a weekend before Christmas, then all the females in our family get together for a big cookie and candy making day - so much fun and then we have gifts of fabulous goodies to give to neighbors, mailman, etc.

Our family adopts one of the needy families in our area (they are listed in our local paper). Shopping for a few items the family needs is one of our family traditions.

Before my parents (divorced) passed away, it was Christmas Eve at Dad's and Christmas morning at Mom's. Now we siblings who live in town get together on Christmas Eve for a big potluck and white elephant gift exchange (no present more than $20) - always lots of fun! We trade having the get-together at different houses from year to year. Christmas Day we spend with our own families.

When our kids were small, they were allowed to choose one present from under the tree to open on Christmas Eve before they went to bed. The rest were saved until Christmas morning. Also our two "kids" (now 26 and 24) both still get a present from Santa every year and tell me they hope to keep getting those until I'm too old to remember their names! LOL!

[woeisme]

We have a financial tradition regarding Christmas that has been going on in my family for a couple generations now. My maternal grandparents used to give my Mom (and us grandkids) $ on Thanksgiving so that we'd have it to spend on Christmas gifts. We never got actual presents from them, but it was so much better to know that I'd have some money to buy gifts for people with, even when I was a little tyke I'd spend the $20 or so on my parents, siblings, and of course grandparents. Then when I became an adult my Mom started doing the same for my siblings and I, she'd give us a check in early December instead of gifts on the 25th. Now I am passing on that tradition to my step-children, I worked an extra job to have $750 to spend on Christmas this year, and am giving them $250 of it since they are under-employed and working minimum wage when they do have work, so are much worse off than me even though I'm in CH 13 right now. (The other $500 is for my husband's b-day and Christmas gifts, our 12 year old son's gifts, my Mom and my sister-in-law's gifts.) In some ways I wish I could do more for my step-kids, as there are 4 of them so they're only getting $50 each, which is probably less in spending power than the $20 my grandparents gave me in the 70's (with an additional $50 going to the step-daughter who has 2 kids of her own), but they are all able-bodied and 3 of them just don't like to hold jobs for any length of time, while my husband and I are both working full-time to pay the bills and the trustee every month, plus I took on this extra side-job so we'd have a decent Christmas despite the CH 13 budget contraints, so maybe I'm the grinch but I'm not going to give it ALL away, lol. The siblings (and spouses) finally decided to stop doing gift exchanges this year, so it's going to be nice to have so few to buy for this Christmas since it's our first while in the CH 13.

I guess our other family Christmas tradition is arguing over what day to celebrate the holiday with my siblings, since each of us has their own family now and lives scattered about, with some wanting to celebrate the weekend before, some the weekend after, then my sister who works retail and only gets the actual day of Christmas off... so there's always someone who can't make it no matter what day we choose!

[nazstar]

WOW! These are some really nice traditions. Both my husband and I are from divorced parents. My father would come over on Christmas Eve and stay overnight, but usually he and my mom would wind up fighting before Christmas dinner. So, my brother and I would just hold our breath and wait for the bomb to drop. My husband's dad was a nasty guy and let's just say he spent Christmas in his own little world until he divorced his mother and then dropped off the radar during the holidays.

So, I really don't have any family traditions to pass on to our kids. Other than the private ones between me and my husband, we really don't do anything on a yearly basis. Now that I have a daughter, I did want to start a tradition of getting each child an ornament every year and letting them keep it in a special ornament storage box. I'll mark the year on the bottom of it. When she gets married and puts up her first tree as a bride, she'll have a lifetime of Christmases from her original family to share with her new one! Kinda like a way of taking her memories with her in a tangible way.

[rilbrianne]

Ooooh, these are great! I love the idea of getting together and baking goodies. We have always spent Christmas Eve at one parents and Christmas at the other parent's house. Now that we are older (I'm 24, sister is 22, other is 14) my DH and I plan on going to his big family get together at Grandma's house sometime before Christmas, a week before I believe, and then doing our own Christmas at home on Christmas day. Our girls are 4 years old and 11 months old (a year old on Dec 21! ) I just get so bored sitting at home all day Christmas. It's kind of odd to go out visiting because it feels like everyone else is doing their own thing and it would be impolite to visit anyone.

We always opened one present on Christmas eve too. And we decorate our tree Thanksgiving evening or the day or 2 afterwards. That's a family tradition I didn't mention. My younger sister came home from college and made time to be here for it.

[rilbrianne]

WOW! Now that I have a daughter, I did want to start a tradition of getting each child an ornament every year and letting them keep it in a special ornament storage box. I'll mark the year on the bottom of it. When she gets married and puts up her first tree as a bride, she'll have a lifetime of Christmases from her original family to share with her new one! Kinda like a way of taking her memories with her in a tangible way.

That's a great idea. I also thought it would be a good idea to start some sort of tradition. So far, I've only come up with the Thanksgiving tree... my husband bent a piece of metal "wire" he got at Home Depot into a tree and we put little notes on it of things we were thankful for. I haven't come up with a Christmas one yet but as long as DH family all gets together at Christmas, that's the main "tradition".

[nazstar]

What about a children's tree? It's a little tree that comes in it's own pot. The children have to make all the decorations and then can dress the tree however they like. usually, you put it up in the kitchen or playroom. After the holidays, let them plant it in the backyard. You can keep kids busy for like a week making those decorations - fruit loop/cheerio strings alone can buy you 2 hours of silence at a stretch!