What are your Christmas traditions?

[TennisFan42]

Just wondering what family traditions different people have eg going for a walk after the Christmas meal or giving the children new PJs for xmas?

I buy a new decoration every year and put it on the tree last and then DH has to try to find it. As the DCs get older this will be something they can do. My mum did this as we were growing up and I think I'll also start letting the boys chose one each and collecting them each year so they have a few special decorations for their own trees after they leave home.

Also, as the boys are still young, DH and I decorate the living room and tree one evening and in the morning one of us goes downstairs first and switches lights on so they get the full effect - their little faces are so excited!

We have cranberry and clementine muffins with coffee as we're opening presents on Christmas morning and in the evening we visit my maternal GPs and have a cold buffet tea thing-this is a tradition that's persisted for about 27 years and I hope it continues for many years to come!

Also, I like to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol with a glass of sherry and a slice of stollen- obviously the DCs don't want the sherry but we do love a singalong...."Wherever you find love it feels like Christmas...."

No cherry tomatoes but lots of red wine.

But if no cherry tomato- where's his red nose?

Sorry I can't shake off the need to make food faces. I have a 2yo and a 6yo if that explains it.

DD is 4yo. (STBXH walked out at Easter, so its just us now).

So far, we have stayed at my parents the past two years, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Night. We put out cookies, milk and a carrot on Christmas Eve and my brother eats/drinks accordingly.

When I put DD to bed, I read her The Night Before Christmas. The next day we open her stocking and presents first thing in the morning.

Now that she is old enough, I want to establish a tradition of going for a little walk after dinner and also give her a new board game each year to play in the afternoon of Christmas Day.

She gets new pyjamas, but they are in her stocking

Oh, I adore Christmas traditions! My sisters and I are 32, 27 and 24. None of us have children (not for a want of trying on mine and DP's part), so we spend Christmas at our folk's gaff. Older sister's fiancee spends Christmas day with his Dad, younger sister's DP spends Christmas with his Dad and Stepmum. So it is always the sisters, parents, DP, and I at Christmas.

I am well aware that I will be judged for all of this (as it is so juvenile), but.... Christmas Eve, my Folks, sisters, my DP and I go for drinks at a local bar at about 5 pm. We leave at about 9pm, visit my Grandparents on our way home. Then back to the Mammy and Daddy's for drinks, Singstar, and sandwiches made from the ham that my Mum has cooked on Christmas Eve specifically for ham sambo purposes.

Christmas morning, my sisters, DP, parents and I all head downstairs together. (my Dad gives each of us ?300 'Santa' money to buy our own pressies with, we then give them to my Mum, who stashes them and then lays them out on Christmas eve once we are in bed). We all go downstairs together, my Dad invariably opens the sitting room door a crack, shakes his head and says 'he hasn't been', then we go on in and spend hours opening presents together.

We then have maple bacon, french toast, and maple syrup for brekkie, with Bucks Fizz.

We then visit my Nan and Granda, give them their pressies, watch them opening them, have some drinkies and craic with them.

Then off to my cousin's house for an afternoon of nibbles, followed by dinner with about 20 people. The only difference this year will be that DP and I are hosting Christmas dinner, for at least 20 relatives. I can't wait!!

I love, love, love Christmas. Am so, so excited to be hosting it this year. Am already ordering tableware, lights, decorations, the whole shebang. My house will be Santa's Grotto come Dec 25th .

Love this warm and fuzzy thread, it's putting a smile on my face.

I buy the dc a Christmas snow globe from the German Christmas
Market every year that they open on Christmas eve, they have new pyjamas to ( after the terrible photos of their normal to short holey rags). Haven't got any Christmas day traditions as we've never had a Christmas at home.

So usually get woke up early, open stockings on my bed and wake up. Put the croissants waffles and scotch pancakes in the oven and open the bucks fizz and the dc start cracking on with their presents. This year I'm going to gift wrap the doorway so they have to fight their way through. Usually have to hurry them up to get it done but this year I'm not going anywhere till the afternoon.

At my mums we listen to the queens speech, play card games, lovely food, a walk to the duck pond and have fools and horses on. I do wish my stepdad wouldn't watch all the frigging soaps, my mum wouldn't get stressed about the mess and the kids being over excited.

TBH last year was slightly boring with everyone asleep all afternoon and the soaps on, but I dont think it will feel lime Christmas without seeing anyone especially being a single parent. Although I could invite them to pop in for a mince pie and presents through out the day.... Maybe next year.

No red nose unless you count mine and DH's after the copious quantities of red wine.
I may suggest it as an idea to DD who is 20, the older they get the more they want to do things from their childhood so pictures out of food may happen. We may have to read 'The Night before Christmas' with only the tree lights and candles. I might struggle though as my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be 15 years ago.

DH and I always have a takeaway curry on Christmas eve.

Christmas Day we do stockings on our bed and tree presents after breakfast. We have a "party lunch" with cheese & pineapple hedgehogs, party rings and the like. (DC are 3 and 5 and this is far more exciting for them than turkey!). Then maybe go to the park if the kids need a runaround, otherwise flump in front of the TV.

DC crash out early due to overexcitement then DH cooks a mini Xmas dinner with Quorn turkey roll and we get nice and drunk by the fire.

Can't wait :)

A great tradition in our house was setting up the crib. We had one where each piece could be put in separately. My three siblings and I used to squabble over it for days, sneaking back into the room to rearrange the pieces the way we each thought they looked best!
I must buy a nice crib for my own house!

Keep the traditions coming!

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year and we do go a bit mad, but it is a magical time for all of us.

My first rule is that I always finish my Christmas shopping in November. That then allows us to enjoy Christmas without the stress. As part of that mum, myself and my daughters will have a special day out Christmas shopping together. The children buy their presents for everyone, visit santa, have a nice lunch, engage in the Christmas activity at the shopping centre (last year they had ice skating). It is though just a lovely day out :-)

The tree goes up the first weekend in December and we will take the girls to the village Christmas Shop to buy a new decoration for the tree. They decorate the room, I decorate the tree all whilst drinking hot chocolate and Baileys and listening to Christmas music.

Under the tree is placed one present each. You are allowed to shake, sniff, rattle, feel the present and make one guess a day. If you guess correctly you are allowed to open that present early. That has never happened, as the present is heavily disguised but on Christmas day they can start opening the layers (which has got clues in them) only when they have finally worked out what the present is can they open it. My girls live this game and only reminded me the other day not to forget their 'joke present.

Every weekend leading up to Christmas we will try and do something Christmassy. Obviously the tree is the first weekend, but also we'll try and get to a Christmas Market if we can, the children will make a Christmas decoration or card for family, make reindeer food and so on...

One night is Christmas wrapping night. I put on Christmas music or a film and just sit and wrap presents. I love making them look beautiful with ties and bows etc. Now DD1 is getting older, she likes to stay up and help me but her skills need a bit of refinement!

On Christmas eve we will usually relax and enjoy Christmas... All the house will be tidy and we'll spend the afternoon watching a muppet's Christmas Carol
Together. After tea we see friends, and then my parents pop over for a drink before bed. Everyone gets a Christmas eve present from under the tree (this always includes pjs for the children), they leave out the food for santa / reindeers, put out the magic key, hang their sacks in their bedrooms and go to bed.

In the morning, the children bring their sacks into our room and open their presents on our bed. Then we shower and get dressed (often in the new outfit santa brought)

Downstairs for a bucks fizz breakfast, with pancakes.

Open the presents from each other under the tree.

Go to my parents for the rest of the day - again, presents and eating. The tv stays off on Christmas day and we play games as a family.

Return home on boxing day and open the rest of the presents (given from other people, so little things generally ).

Then each night between Christmas and New Year we will visit different friends / family or they will visit us. This will also include a trip to the panto followed by a curry.

Finally its the new years eve party and then the tree comes down on the 2nd.

I'm now really excited about Christmas :)

LadyLetch that sounds absolutely lovely! A very full and busy festive Christmas!
Can I ask what the story behind the 'magic key' is?

The first lighting of the advent candle heralds the start of Christmas along with the tree going up the first weekend of December. I always buy DCs a new bauble every year. The cooking starts a week before the big day itself and DC are involved in making the cranberry sauce etc. Santa's chief Elf drops by our house a couple of times in the week leading up to Christmas with little craft projects to keep DC busy - cracker making kits are really popular.

Christmas Eve is last minute cleaning and prep so DH takes both DC out for the morning and they come back in time for mince pie making and Carols from Kings. We put the baby Jesus in the crib of the nativity, sprinkle the reindeer food outside and leave Santa's snack out before a reading of The Night before Christmas.

Christmas Day starts at 7.30 am and no sooner (!) then its opening of stockings in our bed before I go down to turn on oven, xmas tree lights and xmas music before declaring 'He has been!' and then the mayhem begins [hgrin]

Xmas eve means new pjs heating on full some sweets hot chocolate. Dcs leave santas milk and biscuit and reindeer food and just before bed we track santa on the google app thingy. Me and dp open our pressies to each other.

Xmas day up around 7am frantic pressie opening, bit of moaning because i havent bought enough batteries . While dcs and dp are getting lost in wrapping paper and boxes im in the kitchen making bacon butties and mugs of tea with xmas cd on. We have breakfast dp and dcs get dressed while im making a start on dinner. Family arrive with more pressies. I get dressed (new outfit make an effort its xmas afterall). Dinners served starter main and a pudding crackers pulled jokes read out and crowns must be worn. Family go home dcd changed new outfits then its off to dps nans where his family are more pressies buffet tea. Then its home kids to bed and me and dp chill out with xmas telly.

Boxing day sales chips an turkey for lunch then pub for me and dp while ds and dd are at there dads. Ds2 will be going to his nans.

Thats it realy the next few days are spent chilling out, hairdressers, beauty salon shopping for new outfits for NYE.

shadow i want your christmas!

My mum when she'd completed her family bought 4 of every ornament or tree decoration from then on in. So when we moved in with our partners she gave us a little set of decorations from our childhood. Proper olden decorations. Its something that I want to do with ours

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