It wouldn't be Christmas without...

[KBear]

Cherryade - (that no one drinks . "It's tradition" I cry, when questioned as to why I have to buy it at Christmas. When we were kids (cue Hovis music!) we didn't have fizzy drinks very often but mum always bought cherryade and limeade from the Bilco drinks lorry at Christmas.

What wouldn't it be Christmas without in your house?

Stones ginger wine.

Those little sausages with bacon wrapped round them (mmm - you can never have too many pork items)

My Dad ALWAYS says after the most blow out Christmas lunch "Oooh, I think I've just got room for a pilchard sandwich". I challenge anyone to envisage a pilchard sandwich after Christmas lunch.

Hi heifer

Don't be sad. When I was a little girl, my dad died the first week in Jan and even today, the build up and the day still make me a little sad (30+ years later). But, you can't stop Christmas and it always comes once every year. You can't avoid it even if you try to.
Its only 1 day, so cheer up and think how much they would want you still to enjoy it.
I have my own way of doing things which are different each year, (more by chance than planning), it makes everything easier than trying to stick to yearly traditions.

The only thing I do like, as mentioned earlier in this post, was a bucks fizz to kick start the day!

don't get me wrong - I wasn't sad until I read this thread...

I know that we will still have a great Christmas... especially as DD birthday is 20th Dec...

Just realised that all the crap that goes with it - is actually quite important to me...

So I will be buying tv times, jelly fruits, chocolate oranges, etc

Great..hope your DD has a lovely Birthday

What Xmas day film do you think will be on?
Odds are Sound of Music or Wizard of Oz!

Oo! Have just realised this will be our first Christmas As A Family so need to think seriously about setting traditions in stone. You just can't start too early when moulding the minds of infants. So - eating a poached egg on toast about midnight on Christmas Eve. Wearing revolting nylon black jumper with gold lurex snowflakes knitted into it for the day itself - part of a skirt'n'top set Mum had in the 60s. Complaining and huffing when elders insist on watching the Queen's Speech, but secretly needing to watch it too as part of the 'ritual'. Leaving all the ripped off wrapping paper lying around as long as possible in a rustly festive forest floor effect. Terry's Chocolate Orange. Being ready for a big bowl of trifle arse deep in cream about 5pm, despite mahusive turkey lunch. Very large gins and tonics. I feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it (sigh)

Red cabbage. My mother always made it and then my dad would be eating it cold for days after - he is a great one for leftovers. (I once saw him eat leftover turkey, roast potatoes, cabbage, custard - it gets worse - and pilchards in tomatoe sauce, all on the same plate). I have carried on the tradition (the cabbage not the pichards and custard thing) but no-one EVER eats it. I always seem to end up cooking a huge platterful that hangs around for days before i eventually throw it away as my dad is usually at my brothers. I don't think even he would eat week old red cabbage. Last year I bit the bullet and threw it straight in the bin when I was clearing the table. Every year my partner questions why I cook it in the first place - but I just can't help myslef.

my most favorite thing about christmas ( and i have loads!! it starts in october in our house,with me and my dh forcing the kids to watch christmas movies!!) has to be the little ones all getting up at some ridiculous ,not to mention ilegal time in the morning and all getting into bed with us dragging their stockings with them and tipping it all over the bed and the sounds of oooh,aaah look what ive got etc etc wake me and dh up for the longest (but best) day of the year!!! xxx

The Coke Advert

And games. Our family used to have Christmas with another family for many years (we were all adults by that time) and would spend days over the Christmas period drinking and playing cards and other games. My brothers always used to win all our money and then gloat for ages. And the arguements over the board games because of all the cheating. Top tip: never play Scruples with people that you want to stay friends with or want to keep as a girl/boyfriend.

Having cocoa pops for breakfast. Mum & Dad couldn't afford them usually, along with fizzy pop, we would only get them at christmas.
My Dad reading "How the Grinch stole Christmas" on Christmas eve.
Chocolate orange
Chestnuts
Sausages in bacon

A tradition I am hoping to use with my LOs...String! Dad would tie a piece of string to the end of our bed, run it all over the house (one year mine went over the top of the roof) leading to a present at the end. He would also change the colour of the string so you couldn't cheat. As there were 7 of us to do it for, it must have taken AGES. I still get a bit giddy when I see string now

We were the same an arrangement of brightly coloured fizzy drinks from the milkman only allowed at Christmas. Big tins of Quality Street, piccalily, pickled onions, turkeysauras (could only just fit into mum's oven), terry'c chocolate orange and toblerone, new slippers and dressing gown {smile}

Satsuma in the toe of the stocking

Watching It's a Wonderful Life

Carols from Kings College

We have our own traditions now: Pizza on Christmas Eve (from when the oven broke down at 9pm Christmas Eve and we had to get a takeaway, which we then shared with the fairy godmother slightly drunken electrician who came out to rescue us)

Croissants, posh fruit and a bottle of Ame or similar for breakfast

Oh and a great January tradition - going out to the amusements on the pier on New Year's Day

What a lot of us seemed to get a glass of fizzy juice! We did, it was the only time of the year we got, it my parents couldn't afford it any other time.
other things include the satsuma in the stocking, and my grandad used to stay and he and my dad always washed all the dishes, so the men in myhouse at Chrismtas do all the dishes as well.
I always have After 8's, mainly because i love them. I also always have to have crackers - i have this lasting image of my dad sleeping on the sofa with the hat over his eyes.

Yes we did the cracker thing too, everyone sleeping in front of the Queen wearing their paper hats. Trying to scare my poor Nan with the party poppers, TOTPs, bacon sandwiches and fresh orange juice for Xmas breakfast, midnight mass and a Panto!

We were never allowed to open our present until after breakfast, and it was hard, believe me, as we had to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen. It was because my dad and little brother were diabetic, and in those days there weren't the epipen type injections that you can take when you want, it was set times for insulin and food within half and hour. So we had to wait. Due to that, i always let my two open theirs before breakfast, then after we open the ones under the tree from family and friends

haven't read the whole thread but has anyone mentioned the obligatory family arguement after too much booze?

seems worldwide to me!

... money to pay for it. Sigh.

Great thread!

Ham sandwiches on Xmas Eve before bed with a big glass of milk - Dad always cooked the ham on Xmas Eve and when we got older and were out in pub on Xmas Eve we got into habit of a big pile of sandwiches before bed - did wonders for the hangover!

Selection boxes - "Santa" always forgot them so they would magically appear under the tree while we were doing dishes after lunch.

Family game of Trivial Pursuit - and my sis getting REALLY competitive - fuelled by too many bacardis!

Mince pies
Turkey with loads and loads of stuffing
Turkey sandwiches in front of TV in the evening
My Mum stressing about the food - don't know why as my Dad does it all!!!

Xmas crackers

Can't wait!!!

My mum dragging us out of bed at 5 in the morning shouting "get up he's been!" And us telling her to go back to bed for a couple of hours.

Dates, love them, satsumas, good for the bowels after all that grub. chestnut stuffing! yum. lots of wine. mince pies, eating too late to get round to cheese and biscuits,

mustn't forget bread sauce..

when we were kids & mum made the christmas pudding (that seemed to have every ingredient known to man in it + alcohol) we'd all take turns to give it a stir & make a wish. ds is only a baby so this is his first christmas but I'll probably do it next year , though I'll change the recipe 'cos I'm now famous in my sister in laws (american) family for the foul tasting english tradition of christmas pudding.

but what can you expect from a family that has sweet potato & marshmallow as a thanksgiving side dish (with turkey!)

Winter!! We're in Oz, so having Xmas in early Summer has taken some getting used to, though having been here 7 years I'm getting used to it, it heralds the start of the LONG school holidays, involves a BBQ, otherwise the usual too much food and booze....

satsumas in the toe of the stocking
a real fire on christmas eve
having the house tidy (i still think it must be christmas if the house is tidy - even in june)
too much food
turkey dinner, just like my mum makes it (not how the in laws make it, obviously!) with brussels
going to church
walking in the cold
having the nieghbours round once the family have gone, and then getting very drunk & full on all the left over things (about 28th dec!)
oh, and the Coca cola advert!

shiny pennies, nuts and satsumas in sockings
a box of orange and lemon slices
a box of turkish delight
a James Bond film on at some point.
The Scrooge film where they sing 'Thank you very much'
Port Salute on the cheese board
a bottle of Baileys - to toast my beloved and much missed mum
large tin of Quality Street
Sausage meat stuffing