help invent my Christmas

[Flingingmelon]

So this is the first Xmas me, DH and DS (2.5) will be spending in our new home. We live in a rural village near a commuter town. DH has given me free rein. I'm a fairly good cook.

What should be part of our traditional Xmas? I want ideas for things we can do for the next fifteen years or until DS can't cope being in the same room as his embarrassing parents.

Thank you!

I'd start from the situation you are actually in. What happens at Christmastime in your village? What do each of you remember fondly from your childhood Christmases? What do your friends/ neighbours/ family/ community do?

Then read some of the Christmas tradition threads and see what appeals from those.

But I think the best traditions are planned in advance from the very start but are either things you've always done and carry on together or are things that you do one year and everyone loves it so you keep on doing it, and it isn't "I read on Mumsnet that some people decorate their tree with biscuits" but "do you remember that year when you sprained your ankle and I was 8 months pregnant and we couldn't face getting the decorations down from the attic, so we just used ribbons and biscuits, and we've made biscuits for the tree every year since".

We did this, we thought about which traditions would not only be fun now but we would still want to do in years to come. We decided on stockings with small unwrapped gifts in, chocolate coins, new tooth brush, etc, but our mistake was to do them for adults too because ten years on its a bit of a bother. We also deliver cards to neighbours in the village by hand and go to the panto on Christmas Eve. We always play Cludo and Monopoly now, not a planned tradition but one that has emerged because we all enjoy it.

We also do a new book and pyjamas on Christmas Eve after the Panto, fire on, plate with a mince pie for Father Christmas, carrot for the reindeer. We both had different family traditions about who gave the presents so had to decide what would work for us. We decided that Father Christmas fills the stockings and people give the gifts under the tree.