Christmas traditions

[lockdownbabyx]

Posting here for traffic

Can I ask everyone what were your favourite Christmas traditions as a child? And what you do now for your children?

My little ones are 2 and 7 months, so a little to young to really understand but I want to start this year and continue it every year. My partner said his family didn't really do anything when he was a child which makes me quite sad. I love Christmas and want to make it as exciting and magical for my children as possible.

We always have a takeaway on Christmas Eve and I do a Christmas Eve box for my daughter with pjs for me and my husband as well. Oh and stockings (I still have mine) so there’s something little to open when they wake and then our version of McDonald’s breakfast and Buck’s Fizz on Christmas morning.

One thing I've learnt over the past 10 years... People will criticise your way of doing things. If you want a Christmas eve box or an elf or to give 100 presents or go to lapland or follow the 4 gift poem or call it yule or give presents on the 24tb instead... just enjoy it. Its your Christmas at the end of the day.

We have...
Stockings with lots of stuff in. Not big things... its stationery, hair stuff, toiletries, a card game, a badge for their camp blanket... stuff like that. They probably cost me about £25 each. I've started already!
Santa train... DH was insistent we did this as he always went with his cousins and Grandma. This is the first year we aren't doing it but will go on the Mince Pie or Carol train instead
Toy donation... since they were toddlers weve always got them to pick something in the shop to put into the Toy collections.

OP I would ask for this thread to be moved to the christmas thread.
I don't mind reading it, but for some talk of christmas in september is not welcome, and can be very triggering even cause anxiety- especially in the current economic climate.

OP I would ask for this thread to be moved to the christmas thread.
I don't mind reading it, but for some talk of christmas in september is not welcome, and can be very triggering even cause anxiety- especially in the current economic climate.

Oh behave. Christmas is absolutely everywhere.

On MN, it appears to be starting to talk about it during the first week of September. 🙄

A Christmas thread is triggering Now I've heard it all.

There’s some lovely ideas here. My input is choose traditions that don’t cost anything you may not be able to afford if your circumstances change.

I wouldn't class it as triggering.

Intensely annoying when there is a dedicated Chrsitmas forum for this sort of thing, definitely.

And?

People talk about summer and the countdown to summer all throughout winter. Nothing wrong with people looking forward and getting excited for Christmas

There are boards for everything you see on AIBU though.

I've posted on the Christmas board and not had one response. Whereas I've had lots of responses on here and lots of different ideas given to me, which was the point.

I agree this. You’ll build your own traditions over time, just because they’re things you discover slowly that you want to do.

I read The Jesse Tree to anyone who will
listen through December. Not sure I’ll have an audience this year. It’s a sort of romp through the Old Testament, told as a story in a story, one short chapter a night.

i worked in a church for many years and finished late on Christmas Eve. We always have fish & chips for dinner after the Christingle service.

We have bagels with scrambled egg/cream cheese and smoked salmon on Christmas Day, which is what we had for breakfast on the Christmas Eve we picked up my engagement ring.

Finally, it’s never too late to change things up. For the last two years, since I stopped working g at the church I make one of those pastry Nutella trees on Christmas Eve morning. I don’t cut it into a tree shape, it seems like a waste of food, so it is affectionately known as the Christmas rib cage, but it generally gets all three teens out of bed when it’s ready.

Family traditions are lovely. Every family should have the chance to make their own.

Surely in this current economic climate it’s actually best to start thinking about Christmas now and be able to plan and spread things out rather than waiting until last minute when people then take extra credit out as they haven’t planned/organised, there’s a reason people start buying/putting money away early

Same could be said for anything.

It's immensely annoying to see people talking about being cheated on when there's a relationship board.

It's immensely annoying to see people talking about what to have for dinner when there's a food board.

It's immensely annoying to see people talking about holidays when there's a travel section.

What's your point?

I agree @CornishGem1975

We dedicate a day for cooking- so we make a (pretty awful) ginger bread house from scratch every year. My children each also chose something to bake. It’s such fun and I would say it’s my children’s favourite tradition.

I also bought a post box when they were very young from hobby craft, we painted it together and every year they post their Santa letter in it and I put little photos in there or anything I’d like to keep from that Christmas. I write the year on the back and hope one day when they are older they will enjoy opening it up and looking at the years of memories.

Stockings. With wrapped gifts from Santa, just magical waking up and feeling the weight of the filled stocking at the end of the bed.

We always do the tree together. We choose it together from a little local garden centre, then we decorate it, while playing a Christmas CD. I have always let the kids hang what they want where they want.

I’m in a work WhatsApp and every year people post their perfect symmetrical colour-coordinated trees, and ours is always a random mix of colour and tinsel! I get teased every year!

But in my opinion that’s what it’s all about - kids having fun, getting into the spirit of it. My kids are 18 and 14 now but we still do the tree together. This year DS1 will be away at university but we’ll wait for him to come home before getting the tree.

Other festive activities have come and gone as they’ve got older, but the tree decorating has stayed.

When I was a child it was Christmas presents on Christmas Eve and stockings on Christmas morning. With DD it was watching the Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. Now DD has grown up and moved away we don't really "do" Christmas anymore as she is usually working so "Christmas" happens when she visits in January.

Also - advent calendar and stocking obviously

I hate the build up for just one day - so make a huge effort to celebrate 'Christmastime' and that starts on 1st Dec.

We put the Xmas tablecloth on, they get the Xmas plates / glasses and I try to do a 'Christmassy' breakfast of some kind. Pinterest has some great ideas or tree shaped crumpets / toast etc.

We've started meeting SIL in London with her kids for the Lyric panto. It's brilliant and if you get tickets early is cheaper than the shit at our local theatre even with train fare on top.

If you check the guidelines you'll see, if you look carefully that if you don't like a post you are allowed to scroll by and nor comment.
You're welcome

Roll on the best time of the year 🎅🏼

@LittleMissSunshine2020 that’s a brilliant idea re photo on the stairs before going downstairs. How lovely and if I’m lucky enough to have a child I’ll definitely do this!

Christmas is fun for many people, but it’s also a terrible time of year for many more. There’s a Christmas board on here, probably best to use that if you want to plan for Christmas in September as most people don’t want to discuss it when the weathers still 25 degrees plus. Christmas stresses me out, luckily for me it doesn’t cause me the pain it does many people but I do think people should stick to the Christmas board when talking about it so out of season.