What Christmas traditions do you have in your family?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Our DS's are only 2 years old and 3 months old but I'm hoping to start some Christmas traditions that they will remember for life. When I was a kid we always got to open one pressie on Xmas Eve for example but didn't do much else in the way of traditions.

Please share your stories with me!

[JoeJoe1977]

DSs are 4 yrs and 17mnths, each year since DS1 born we have:-

1. Spent an afternoon putting the decorations up
2. Each DS has a new Christmas tree decoration each year (which is then labelled and kept for future years)
3. Church on Christmas Eve with fancy dress (our vicar likes the LOs to dress up as who they choose from the nativity)
4. When we get back from church we put out food for rudolph and a mince pie for Santa
5. Boxing Day walk
6. We always see our 'important people' (Grandparents, close friends etc) over the festive period

Merry Christmas xxx

[Giltz]

Dont know if this is suitable for your wee ones but you could do it.

My DP family after christmas dinner have some amaretti biscuits with coffee, they use the wrappers to create a cylinder shape and light them at the bottom with a match,they take off. Which ever one goes highest wins a prize and the glory.

They also guess the amount of leaves on a pineapple( not sure they are called leaves)each person puts in a pound and whoevers guess is the closest wins the cash.

Never really had any traditions before this

[BlurredBoundaries]

We also have a visit from Father Christmas on xmas eve.

He walks around up from the bottom of the garden to check the children are in bed. Waves to them and then walks off back to his sleigh to deliver presents to those children who are already asleep.

This only works because we go to my parent's or sister's for xmas and they have huge gardens!

My parent's did it for us and our cousins and it still gives me the same festive tingle even though I know who it is (usually my dad- in fact, he often ends up being booked to visit other families for his star turn each year!).

Drink and snack left by fireplace for FC and then bed for the little ones (emergency present wrapping and drinking time for the parents, lol)

Stockings are openned as soon as the children wake up on xmas day. Main presents, which FC has left under the tree cannot be unwrapped until everyone is up, dressed and eaten breakfast.

[BlurredBoundaries]

grrr - ''we always have a visit....

[Stayingscarygirl]

We usually have a party on christmas eve, with lots of silly games, and mulled wine for the adults.

Then when everyone has gone home, and the place is tidy again, we sit down by candlelight and read the christmas story (from the Nine Lessons and Carols) and 'T'was the Night Before Christmas', and maybe sing a carol or two, to try to calm the boys down before bed.

Stockings are opened in the morning before breakfast, then presents from under the tree are opened after lunch. Now the boys are older, we have Christmas dinner around 7pm.

[StopTalkingAndEatYourDinner]

Jack Frost leaves a present on the doorstep on xmas eve with new pjs and an xmas book for the dcs. Before bed we sprinkle sparkly food for the reindeer so they know where to land then we leave a carrot, mince pie and drink for santa and rudolph.
Xmas morning we all open pressies as soon as we get up then have scrambled egg and bucks fizz (oj in champage glasses for dcs!) in our pyjamas.
I love xmas

[kid]

On Xmas eve, we always bake biscuits for santa. This is likely to be the last year as DD 10yo and DS 7yo are beginning to question Father Christmas.

Our other tradition is that DH always cooks Christmas dinner. Thats one tradition I am happy to stick with

[BlurredBoundaries]

Oh yes, our other tradition is that dh always drives us home after lunch at my sisters.

The rest of the year I do all the driving so I like to milk it and spend the last couple months before christmas reminding him of his duty

[bodycolder]

Xmas eve have a curry
Walk around the lanes in Brighton and have a drink see lights etc
Go home wrap presents listen to music
Dp does all the veg
Drink wine go to bed reasonable time-ish
Row with family

[PoppyIsApain]

I think im going to nick stoptalking's tradition, that sounds brill

[aoifesmama]

I love stoptalking's tradition. Things we do:

No one opens presents until all u and video camera on
On 1st November we wrap a shoe box in wrapping paper, with tinsel etc and cut a hole in the top. Anyone who comes in puts change in, as kids we would put all our pocket money in and early on Christmas Eve morning we would count it and buy presents for parents, grandparents etc. Its called the Treasurey Box! (note the capitals!)
Big fried breakfast

This is DD's first Christmas (and my first ever without my DSis!), but we kept the traditions up between our childhood and the next generation!

[aoifesmama]

*all up - arghh

[bloodredcherrymonster]

new pyjamas for the dc's on christmas eve. scrambled duck egg on posh toast for breakfast xmas morning, with pain au chocolat and croissants, posh coffee, and bucks fizz in champagne glasses even for the dc's, they only have a little bit except ds1 (nearly 11) who tries to get away with drinking it like a goldfish. (its quite strong too, as i make it myself with cava and fresh oj)

[flimflammum]

Glitz: that's amazing, my grandfather who would now be about 120 if he was still alive, used to do the guess the number of leaves on the pineapple thing. I never heard of anyone else doing it. And toast the queen and absent friends, and pass the port round to the left.

[BrigitBigKnickers]

We take it in turns to open presents. The one who opens it then chooses one from under the tree for another person.

Means it lasts much longer to open all the presents and also get to see the reactions of everyone as they open them.

We also have the letter up the chimney on Christmas eve followed by new PJs and carols round the tree.

[sylvev]

Watch santa travel around the world on the norad site; put mincepies, carrot, wine & milk out for the "visitors" and watch videos of The snowman and father christmas on christmas eve.

Make christmas biscuits whilst listening to christmassy songs on christmas eve.

My dd and ds are now non-believers but we still all have a little stocking on the end of our beds and they still have a pillowcase of pressies waiting under the tree on christmas morning.

One of my most recent "traditions" is to buy vintage christmas crackers from ebay. No-one else in the family enjoys the nostalgia of this, just me

I love christmas......

[girlsyearapart]

Kids choose present for each person in the room when everyone has one each we open them.

Dad buys me mum and dsis new pjs from a shop in Belgium where they used to live.

Every hard present Dad feels and says 'It's socks' every soft present he feels and says 'It's a book'.. the old ones are the best

Pub on xmas day. Not me the past few years though as dds too little.

Also great family tradition of a row with family.

[sylvev]

....we also go to a local garden centre during the January sales, buy a christmas decoration each, wrap them up and put away with the decorations. It's always a surprise when we open them the next christmas.

[myalias]

Dh cooks the turkey on Christmas Eve. I read 'The night before Christmas' and boys hang their stockings on the mantlepiece. They set up santa's table with a note for santa, cider, mince pie and carrots.
When yougest ds is in bed I open his window and dh jingles some bells outside - to let him know santa is on his way. Once children are asleep crack open the baileys. Just before bed put all the presents around the mantlepiece and tree.
Dh wets his big walking boots and stamps about in flour then leaves his footprints throughtout the hall and living room. I leave a red kiss imprint on santas note - from Mrs Christmas. Outside we sprinkle glitter on the patio - fairy dust.

[Stayingscarygirl]

That sounds lovely, myalias! And it's nice to think of other families sitting down reading 'The Night before Christmas' too.

[TheDevilEatsBabies]

when at home, dad would be the one to hand out the presents from under the tree. unfortunately this could take forever, because he'd keep pulling out pressies for him "oohh, another one for daddy! "
and we could all open them at once (we had to have one pressie each before they could be opened)

i love stoptalking's and aoifsmama's best!

oh and we had to have a proper stocking each with apple, orange, choccy, nuts, small toy and a little bit of money.

our tree always had one home-made decoration from each of us on it, and they would be kept for every year until they fell apart.

cotton-wool covered toilet roll tubes mainly!

[TheDevilEatsBabies]

ooh, and now i like myalias's too

[Stayingscarygirl]

I have built up a collection of lovely baubles and decorations for the tree, and whilst it's not exactly a tradition, I do enjoy it when the dses and I decorate the tree together. Many of the decorations have a memory attached, and I love seeing them again each year, and adding one or two new ones. Finding each year's new decoration is part of the fun for me.