I'd LOVE to hear your fav. Christmas traditions x

[Timetochange70]

I,ve started some of our family favourites after ideas from good old mumsnet, so would love to start a thread and hear what lovely traditions etc folk get up to over Christmas.
Xxx

Nope, we have no idea (though I do manage to get my OH and mum to 'fess up!) Guessing is all part of the fun!

Well why don't you supplement the gifts with a Secret Santa? But I get the annoying 'don't mess with Christmas' thing. My uncle always insists on Christmas being at his house, but he doesn't help out! Lucky for my aunt that we see the helping out as all part of the fun!

In the run up to christmas we always go into town to see the lights switched on.
2 weeks before we go out to all the garden centres and country shops where I spend an age choosing a tree (always the first one I saw!)

Christmas eve is my favourite day, we spend the day doing last minute bits, Dd will decorate cookies or gingerbread men, while we track Santas progress on line.

The Dc will make mince pies with DH.
While they are in the bath the elves drop off their festive Jimjams and DVD,
they then snuggle up to watch the film and have some supper.

Before bed they leave a drink and mince pie for santa with a carrot for Rudolf.

Then in bed for 'The night before christmas' story.

Once they are asleep Dh and I will have a drink some food, and I will organise the pressies under the tree/any last minute wrapping etc while Dh prepares all the veg and Turkey for the next day.

Christmas morning we all get up together with the Dc and they take turns to open their presents.

The rest of Christmas is spent with family visiting/us visiting them, drinking and eating far too much! Its all over too quickly for me!

I'm still at home for Christmas. My mum's birthday is the end of November, so my sister and I take her to London for the day. We have a nice lunch, do the first bit of (leisurely) Christmas shopping and then see a show. That's the official start of Christmas - when we were little there was NO Christmas before my mum's birthday.

The Christmas food shop is a "supermarket sweep" style thing. Again, my mum and sister and me all pile into the car. She has a list and then we are each given five things and we have to dash off and remember them and find them, return them and get our next items. It's a race to see who finishes theirs first. Far less stressful for her than dragging the trolley up and down aisles and far more fun for us than trailing along with her getting in the way.

My sister's friend's family have a turkey that they cook with bacon on top, but they take the bacon off once it is done and rather than having it with the turkey they use it to make turkey flavoured bacon sandwiches for Christmas morning. I think that's a great idea.

On Christmas Day we have a slow breakfast, then tidy everything away and get everything for lunch prepped, then champagne and presents, then lunch at about two and then a long walk with the dog.

xmas eve is better than the actual day IMO.

First we finish decorating the tree with chocolate decorations or popcorn tinsel. Then we all have a hot bubble bath, order in food, get all warm and snuggly in new fluffy PJ's, and watch a christmas dvd. Then put out carrots, whiskey and cookies with thank you notes by the fireplace then we all read a christmas story and they go to bed. I wait till they are alseep then spend 2-3 hours arranging the presents "Just so", make sure I have batteries and screwdrivers in place ready, take a couple of presents up to their rooms to put under thier Mini Trees then go to bed, not bother sleeping and then get woken up about 2 hours later buy either a scream of "THANKS MUM" or get jumped on by two very excited children.

This to me is what it is all about. It's the best bit.