We have Christmas traditions but none of them involve spending a lot of money as when my children were small we just didn't have any! So ours tend to be about Christmas itself rather than doing lots of stuff in the run up to Christmas.
Christmas Eve is when we are allowed to start eating the Christmas goodies but, having said that, our traditional Christmas Eve meal is fish pie - because that is totally unlike any of the food we will be eating on Christmas Day. So Christmas goodies really just meant the tin of Quality Street, which was strictly rationed (3 sweets at a time) which meant they lasted longer - and made them more special somehow.
Christmas Day starts with stocking opening - stockings containing small gifts only and which came from Father Christmas. They HAD to contain (amongst other things) a satsuma, chocolate money, a big tube of smarties, some special underpants and socks and some bubblebath. That tradition hasn't ended despite my children now being in their forties.
Real presents came from the people who actually bought them, and aren't opened until the afternoon. This extends the anticipation and builds the excitement - and there were enough things in the stockings to keep the children occupied.
For us - church in the morning... with a game of 'spot who's wearing a Christmas gift'. There are always plenty of Christmas scarves, ties, gloves etc. to see. The BIG traditional turkey lunch at 1.00, then a little bit of clearing up, the Queen's speech (now the King's speech) and then present unwrapping. One by one (traditionally one present rather than piles of presents were given) so that everybody could see what was given (and Mum had a chance to write down who got what from whom), starting from youngest to oldest.
Then a Christmas film on the television while the rest of the clearing up is done, the table re-laid, and the evening meal prepared. Christmas Day was my father's birthday so Christmas was until 5pm - after which it was Dad's birthday. We have a light, but delicious, sit down celebratory meal. It starts with smoked salmon and buttered brown bread for those who like it (everyone but me) and/or pate, with a selection of cheeses, bread rolls, crackers, salad and fruit. Christmas cake and/or Yule log to follow. All the children like smoked salmon - the quality of the salmon varied according to our budget at the time!
Boxing Day always involved a walk, and our main meal was always cold turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, a gammon ham I cooked in advance, salad and baked potatoes.
Nowadays we always take the grandchildren to the pantomime near Christmas Day, but there was neither the money, not the time (I worked split shifts) to do that when my children were small. (Tickets for 4 adults and 2 children's were £160 this year - and that was with some hefty discounts!)
I do think that if you try to do too many things, especially expensive things, you may be building up expectations that could be difficult to fulfil if you go through difficult times. Better to have fewer, more special, and inexpensive or free traditions that you can spend more on if you are flush, but don't cost a bomb if you arent.