Hello, all Christmas Lovers 'tis time to settle down and consider the Christmas Traditions. Then in December when everyone else is running about , tearing out hair and raging at Amazon/Post Office or supermarket of choice, we've got it sorted. 
(Bit of background here) I was born in the late 1960s so Christmas in my day was much more low key. Memories were a pillowcase of presents and buying tangerines from the market.
Then age 8+ my mum especially was very meh about Christmas, too much effort (though she didn;t actually do much) . Meals got made because we had a family friend who visited,and cooked , then I used to cook. Any decorations were done by us.
So when I had my own DC, I had a mental image of how I wanted Christmas to be. DH takes the mick says I'm over-compensating for my youth. I like to do things to build up to the Day. Doesn't have to cost much.
And every year as the DC get older, things change. We add a new Tradition each year, some get abandoned.
The DC are involved more now but when they were little I wanted them to think it was all 'seamless'.
So.....coffee in hand, here we go. 
I do a £2 jar from January. Try to save £4-6 a week, then we open it, put it in the bank and share the money out. (DH,DS,DD and me)
I save my Sainsbury Nectar points (and use the extra points vouchers) usually get £120+ in rewards for my Christmas food shop)
DS birthday is December so we don't do any decorations until 10-14 days before Christmas. Some of my decs are 23 years old, but every year we buy a couple of new ones.
We have a little advent calender (with decorations that are hung on a little tree) and room for a chocolate coin.So on Dec 1st it starts.
I do have an Elf on the Shelf that I made from a doll (A-Team - liam neeson one) before it was a Dr Who doll (Christopher Eccelstone- he was scary). I made clothes from felt 
. He hides round the house each night.
When DS was about 3-4 yo I made a little sleeping elf in a bed and we walked down the Playhouse with a candle in a jar to peep.
I put lines of candles in jars on the lawn to make a guide for the sleigh.
We did Reindeer Food (once) edible glitter, coloured sugar and porridge to scatter on the lawn. It sat like a lump of vomit for days 
hence only once.
We do a family day out to London. See the lights. Go to Hamleys. Count the Hamleys bags.
Winter Wonderland (though last year it was really busy)
DD and I go to see a ballet
DH,DD and DS go to the cinema to see a film while I do the food shop in peace.
DH and I have a child free shopping day at end November.
Then we take DC to Lakeside/Bluewater to do their shopping (with their share of the £2 jar)
On Christmas Eve, we used to feed ducks or reindeer, now they are older we go for a walk (park usually) and they come back to their Christmas Hampers in front of the fire.
Lunch is chips,salad,fish fingers for DS, veg grills for DH and I.
Trifle for us, ice-cream for DC.
We have crackers and poppers etc on the table.
We watch a Christmas Film.
Check out Santa Tracking (online)
DD does a tray for Father Christmas (which I eat)
We do a late night buffet- sandwiches and crisps things.
DS sleeps in DD room (grumble grumble) so we can hear them wake up and open their stockings. They can't go downstairs until the fibre optic little tree (on a timer) lights in the hall.
The lounge door is covered in wrapping paper that they burst through.
I do the same meal every year for Christmas Day (I don't like these new fangled 'different' meals).
Has to be dark and has to be finished in time for Dr Who.
I spend all day pottering about, cooking, setting the table, watching the soaps as I work.
Candles, all my nice crockery (I have a Christmas Cupboard ) , popper, crackers, lovely tablecover.
We don't eat Christmas Pud so I don't make one (or Christmas Cake but I like fruit cake and cheese)
The DC used to dress up(fancy dress) on Christmas Eve but they are too old now.
Christmas Eve Hamper (CEH) is in a nice festive box: new PJs, annual, jar of sweets, hot chocolate sachet,a Christmas mug, mini biscuits, bath bomb.
Christmas Morning Stocking:selection box, tiny Lindt reindeer or teddies. Underwear. Earrings for DD. Keyring for DS. Books (I Spy book or paperback)
All wrapped with extra sellotape to keep them busy
My DC are 11 and 13 now so every year it changes and in a couple of years my DS won't be out of bed until noon. The presents are getting smaller and more ££. (So that's why we need the stockings. Little 'filler' presents but useful and only a couple of £ each).
Come and add to the list (if you've managed to read this far)
And - Yes I KNOW it's July before anyone says it,
But this is THE CHRISTMAS THREAD.
From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.
MNHQ have commented on this thread
Christmas
The Christmas Traditions Thread ;) (in July, oh yes, for real)
70isaLimitNotaTarget · 24/07/2013 14:09
sugar "Lost Christmas" was on TV (so I don't think it has an age rating) but I don't think a 5yo would enjoy it or even sit through it.
There's a couple of scary/shock bits ( car accident and a little girl requiring rescue) .
Nativity OTOH is fabulous. You can't help but fall in love with Mr Poppy.
Nativity 2 will be out on DVD (though I'm not a fan of David Tennant).
And yes, the songs are annoyingly catchy
Can you bump the Poncetastic Christmas Thread?
DS will be 15 months this Christmas, so although too young to understand, we are going to start traditions this year. These are what we would like to do as stolen from other MNetters and what we already do....
We have slowly replaced my crappy IKEA tree decorations with sentimental ones over the years. Our tree has an array of weird and wonderful decorations from dh's grandmas hand knitted ones, to our amazing rubber duck decoration!
I've just told dh about wrapping paper over the living room door, and elf on a shelf, both of which we are using this year.
As well as having a chocolate advent calendar, we are also using an idea I saw on here last year for a book advent. We are going to buy ds 23 books, a mixture of new and charity shop bought ones. We are going to put them into a bag, and ds will do a lucky dip each night for his bedtime story. Christmas Eve will of course be Twas the night before Christmas!
Christmas Eve hamper will consist of new pj's, dressing gown, slippers, and a new sippy cup for him to have a hot chocolate before going to bed. Once he is in bed, we will have a fish and chip dinner.
Christmas day we will be round my parents, so ds will open father Christmas presents in the morning, then after lunch, we open family presents. This takes hours as we bring them out 1 at a time. This will include my df complaining about how long it takes.
The Christmas day buffet in the evening, and Dr who.
At the weekend, we will be at dh's parents to do it all over again.
Luffly thread
SugarHut, thank you - have just ordered the Robert Sabuda book
Also it's funny how the things that get remembered are not always what you'd expect. DD started talking about Xmas recently and the first thing she said was "Xmas is when we get pancakes for breakfast!" ... so I guess that's a tradition now. :)
They also really loved getting a new cuddly toy on Xmas eve and I think that will become a regular thing, they don't get them at other times (in fact most of the ones they have are actually mine )
fuzzpig if you want to do a "GoodLuck Charlie" tradition , you need to make Christmas Tree Shaped Pancakes.
(If you don't know what GoodLuck Charlie is -- think yourself very lucky )
I wouldn't say all these are traditions but this is how our Christmas will go this year:
1st weekend in December ( actually starting 29th nov) weekend away in Manchester to visit Christmas markets and Trafford centre etc.
2nd weekend; tree up on the Saturday followed by Sunday school nativity then visiting Santa at a local farm. You can stay for the whole day and were going with sil and nieces and nephew so will have lunch there and see the animals too.
3rd weekend: visit big garden centre with Christmas decorations up and ds wants to buy a snow globe from there.
Not sure about 4th weekend but we'll definitely visit dh's grandparents.
23rd: do big shop in Sainsburys that is always randomly quiet in our town :o and do some Christmas baking and tidy the house.
Christmas Eve: have nice breakfast ( pastries I think), go to church with dsis and nieces( although our vicar is leaving in Nov so not sure what will happen with Christmas services with no proper vicar :( ) then have lunch in pub next door. Let ds and nieces run off some steam in park next door to that then home where Santa will have left an early present for ds ( I'm not a fan of CEH but this year he needs 2 things early so we're going to tell him that Santa delivers an extra present to boys and girls who have been really good in their first term at school). Ds will then have a (very) early bath with lush glitter bath bomb, get into his onesie ( from his early present) and read Santa is Coming to X ( seems silly to give up him that on Christmas Day when he's already been...) and then we're going to a ' onesie party' at sil's. I'm actually more excited for Christmas Eve this year!
Christmas Day: ds will no doubt have his annual lie in 
while me and dh wake up early and stomp around increasingly noisily trying to wake him up! Then we go down stairs to see if he's been :o ds will open his presents then we get ready and go to sil's again for breakfast, where the pils will also be. We'll swap presents there and stay til about 12ish and hopefully visit dsis on the way home. Then we'll open presents from each other ( we're each helping ds to choose the other one this year) and I'll make lunch. It's just for the 3 of us so no massive preparations but it'll be nice and there will be all the trimmings with christmas pudding for dessert. In the evening we'll have chocolates, wine/ lemonade for ds and tv.
Then on Boxing Day we always go up to the lakes for a walk and have lunch in a cafe.
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