We want to start a Christmas tradition. Any ideas?

[Kayzr]

This is our first Christmas living together and we would love to start some sort of family tradition. Last year we both had our own houses, even though DP stayed over.

He has his family tradition. His mum always made the same meal on christmas eve which we are going to do this year.
In my family we always put the decorations up before my brothers birthday and we didn't eat the chocolates on the tree until we took it down.

We also want to start our own that we can carry on over the years. But we have no idea what.

Any ideas of something we can do as a family?

Thank you.

We go to the local Forestry Commission place for walks and hot chocolate before buying our Christmas tree, then we stop at the garden centre on the way home and let the DCs choose a new bauble each.

We've also started going to the Christmas market and ice-rink in our nearest city and we all go to the nearby bakers for hot cheese straws to eat afterwards.

Make fresh mince pies after Christmas Eve afternoon church service to put out for Father Christmas and eat after the DCs have gone to bed.

Go to Christingle service at church too.

When we go to buy our tree we always let ds choose a new decoration for it,then when he moves out he will have a box of decorations to take with him.

We always have new pjs for Christmas night.

Christmas eve we make our reindeer food,oats & glitter mixed together & we sprinkle it round the front & back garden.We make our mince pies ready for FC.

Oh & we always watch Home Alone christmas eve.

I love the baubles idea, its really sweet. I like the ice skating too but I think I'd have to give it a miss this year due to pregnancy but the boys and DP could do it.

Doing How do you make the reindeer food?

Porridge oats & glitter from ds' craft box mixed together in a mixing bowl.

So simple & ds loves running round sprinkling it everywhere.

our christmas pj's and book come from Jack Frost. we go for a walk on Christmas eve and while we are out, a neighbour JF comes and leaves them on the doorstep, along with a note saying that FC is getting close, so isnt it bedtime?

We have a few:

Christmas tree always go up on the anniversary of my grandmother's death in the second week of December. We all go together to pick the tree. When it comes to decorating it, I do it alone in control freak fashion with a glass of port or sherry and carols on, then the kids come in at the end and ruin it add their own decorations (stuff they've made at school or cheap tat bits they have picked out themselves over the years).

A few days before Christmas we have a big spring clean.

We always do at least one trip into the West End (we live in London) to visit Santa at one of the department stores, see the lights etc.

On Christmas Eve we have a sort of ongoing party all day with just me, DH, the kids and which ever stray relative is around. We start as soon as we get up - Christmas music on, the kids make Christmas hats/badges etc to wear, I put a spread of nice food out on the kitchen table and we all just help ourselves (and there is always mulled wine ). Really relaxing and gets us into the Christmas spirit. I always sneak off mid afternoon and have a wander down the high street, as I secretly love the 'last minute Christmas rush feeling' .

We also have the Christmas Eve PJs tradition (DH doesnt partake, though ). I started it when our second child was born and was amazed to find out on MN that it is quite popular. We have new PJs and the kids get a Christmas DVD to watch, a Christmassy book (for their Christmas Eve bedtime story) eand some hot chocolate and biscuits to have while they watch the film. They absolutely love this tradition.

Christmas morning after we're all up, dressed, presents done etc, we always go for a walk. I love Christmas day walks. We usually go for a swifty in the pub, too. Love a glass of champers in the pub on Christmas day - nice to share the festive cheer!

I've just made it sound like we are the most twee middle class family ever, haven't I? We aren't. I just love Christmas and force my excitement on everyone else.

Oh,. and we always do a pantomime between Christmas and New Year. Cheers the kids up in that post-Christmas lull. For anyone in London, I can highly recommend the Hackney Empire pantomimes.

We always have new pyjamas on Christmas eve for the kids.

Chinese on Christmas Eve (can't possibly eat any of the food in the fridge ), and gives me a break from cooking!

We're going to do the new pyjamas. It sounds really nice. I also love the idea of watching a Christmassy film.

We are going to see Father Christmas at Longleat this year as we are down there visiting in 2 weeks.

Thank you all so much

Were going to start these traditions this year (have 2 dd's who will be 2.5, 4 mths)

First week of december choose some toys to give to charity

Pj, DVD etc on Xmas eve

Xmas day walk after present

Christingle service (my gave service of the year!)

I'm adding myself into the new pj thing! We have specially decorated breakfast table Christmas morning as its our immediate family time before we see relatives. Make Christmas biscuits in Christmas eve (although really just roll them out as the whole dough making too much!).

We have smoked salmon and eggs on Christmas morning and everyone even the grown ups get a stocking. (My bump had a stocking last year)
It will be our first Christmas with a DC - am so excited even though DD will only be 10 months!
We will take her somewhere to see the lights but am not sure she will get it this year.
I looovvve Christmas.

Last year I dragged the DCs on a sledge round the streets after dark to see all the pretty lights, if it snows we will do that again, although I doubt if they will both fit on together this year (DCs are nearly 8 and 6, I'm surprised I managed it last year TBH).

Christmas music is ceremonially uploaded onto Ipods on 1st December (and deleted again on the day the Christmas tree comes down, or we'd be listening to Jingle Bells in July)

We've never done the new PJs thing, might do it this year, but I'm not going to do the elves leaving it, I find it quite hard keeping up the pretence of FC let alone elves. My DCs don't watch films really, but we will do the hot chocolate and marshmallows. We've got a selection of Christmas books, we usually dig those out and start reading them about a week before Christmas, saving the proper Christmas story one for Christmas Eve. We like Maisy's Christmas, even though the DCs have long outgrown Maisy the rest of the year.

I also like to wander into town on Christmas eve by myself for half an hour, at about 3pm, when the shops are still open but everyone is relaxed and just pottering around.

We usually have croissants for breakfast Christmas Day.

We have a refillable Advent calendar which I usually put choc coins in, I am thinking about putting a little activity for each day in it, need to get that organised, I was on a thread about it last week. Some of them will be stuff we would be doing anyway, like the Christingle Service, some of them will be extra, like making sweets or something.

I started the tradition of drinking bucks fizz all morning. :o

On the 23rd we watch the Polar Express on DVD and then have hot chocolate and cookies.

We always have Miracle on 34th Street on the tv while we put the tree up and on Xmas Eve we sprinkle reindeer dust on the steps to guide Father Christmas in!

we have National Lampoons Christmas Vacation on while we put up the decorations

We don't have a chimney but we do have a circular lawn so when Santa comes to our house he lands on the lawn and lets himself in with his magic key. To help him with the tricky landing my DS and I put a ring of tealights in jam jars round the edge of the lawn just before DS goes to bed and he takes great delight in looking at it out of his bedroom window to make sure it is bright enough for Santa to see it from way up in the sky. This is the first year since DS figured out The Truth About Santa and I will be soooo disappointed if he is now too mature for a ring of candles!

I'm trying to formulate a plan that doesn't involve driving later in the day to facilitate that one Soupdragon......

Snap Bellie Chinese always on Christmas eve!! We also always put the tree up the day after mummys pantomime run ends (first sunday in December as I cant cope with christams til I have finished panto) Tinkerbelle visits us on the last day of school term and leaves loads of fairy dust and a new dvd for both dc so that they have something to watch while I do my big Christmas clean! Also we do the new decoration for each dc (I used to have such a regimental beautifully matched tree now it looks like something of the Las Vegas strip!)

DH and I both as children used to do something on Christmas eve for friends/ families we know of who don't have as much as us. His family called it the Santa run and it has stuck over time. We either bake something or put together a box of goodies then take it to their house put it on the doorstep, ring the bell and HIDE! 10 years in and we haven't been caught yet!

The dds like to watch something like Home Alone or The Nightmare Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, even though they are teenagers now. They also still insist on dressing various cuddly toys in Christmas hats etc on Christmas Eve - but that is because they are bonkers!

We all go to carols on the green together on Christmas Eve, even though we're all atheists, we like a good sing! We also like to go either to the local deli for breakfast, or to the cinema, early-ish on Christmas Eve morning.

DD2 always makes either meringues and berries or Eton mess for Christmas Eve pud.

We used to do the new decoration each thing too but now dd1 has turned into the tree-style-police and it's all matchy and boring!

My 2 dc get a new Christmas decoration from FC in their stocking. We tried the pjs thing but here in Wales the cold nights start in October and we'd always only just bought new winter pjs a couple of months earlier.

On Christmas Eve I refuse to go out after lunch. In the afternoon I make a last batch of mince pies with a glass of mulled cider and a CD of carols to keep me company, while the dc (if they don't want to help) watch a film. If I'm not too squiffy I make bagels ready for breakfast on Christmas Day.

Bathtime is a fairly fuzzy and raucous affair as a result .

Santa always hides a final small jokey present on the tree for each person just before dc's bedtime on Christmas night. Then Christmas is definitely finished.