christmassy traditions

[secrethideaway]

...what are yours?

Mine with DD so far involve little things like new pyjamas and hot chocolate on Xmas Eve.. she's only 3 and there are only the two of us.

Might introduce her to Carol singing this year if I can find a nice event.

Interested to know what others do, what little things do your family 'know' will happen on and around Christmas each year?

we go to our local am dram panto, visit santas grotto, normally go the cinema if they have a Christmas film on, loads of Christmas crafts, christmas baking, Christmas film every sunday afternoon in december with hot choc etc and we go the school Christmas fair

We go to Frankie & Benny's for Christmas Eve breakfast in our Christmas jumpers. We head home after and go for a walk in the woods at the back of the house. We drive round looking at the Xmas lights as soon as its dark. Our dinner is always a takeaway then the Christmas Eve boxes mysteriously appear on the doorstep from our elf. Then begins the showers (no bath here) using their new shower gel baubles, changed into Xmas pj's, play with the new board game then Xmas films and hot chocolate.

We always go for a walk on the beach New Year's Day...it's always really busy that day, lots of hangovers being walked off!

My children are older now so bit different - aged 13 and 11.

Advent calendars - I make a treasure hunt - so they hunt for a small gift everyday. They don't have stockings. Also give them new pyjamas and Christmas jumpers, pants and socks on 1st. Put on their Christmas bedding. Decorations go up first weekend of December.

Theatre leading up to Christmas - this year its Witches and Peter Pan Goes Wrong in London. Followed by a meal at their favourite restaurant - Bills.

Christmas Eve - we have a new Christmas movie and game night. Will toast marshmallows around the firepit and drink hot chocolate. We have built a covered seated area outside so will sit with new Christmassy cushions and fleecy blankets. Puzzle on Christmas eve that we leave out to complete over Christmas.

Church service Christmas day as my son sings in the choir.

Silly hats, moustaches for Christmas dinner. Crackers with windup toys for a race but also go musical crackers with whistles where you can conduct a song this year. Also going to fill a bag with daft novelty gifts for a sort of lucky dip. Tea towel for washing up, inflatable reindeer, scratchcard that sort of thing.

Knackered just thinking about it.

Baking biscuits on Christmas Eve.
Pjs and Christmas films on Christmas Eve.
Unwrap the family present (a board game and big tub of sweets) on Christmas Eve.

I think we like Christmas Eve rather than the actual day itself!

In November DD makes a sign with our surname on and decorates it with as much Christmas craft stuff and glitter as possible. I sneakily laminate it at work and we go to the farm in the neighbouring town and spend a morning picking out our Christmas tree and put DDs sign on it to mark it. We go back and chop it down closer to Christmas. Another tradition is once we have chopped the tree down me and DH have an arguement about the best way to get a 7ft tree in a small ish hatchback and then Argue some more once were home about getting the sodding thing in its stand

Stir up Sunday dd helps me make a Christmas pudding as per my grandmas old county council recipe (she used to be a school cook)

Me and DH take a day off work and go round the Christmas markets in Manchester and over indulge in food and drink.

I series link Delias Christmas Collection and Nigellas Christmas series off the food channels and watch those. Despite having never made anything from them and having watched them every year for as long as I can remember. The delia one especially so. It's so dated it's bad

Christmas Eve we go bowling for dhs birthday

Christmas Eve - best day of the year- the nutcracker ballet, dog walk, Christmas Pajamas, hot chocolate and Christmas film. Perfect.

Christmassy traditions- my children. each pick and buy a bauble each year, on Dec 1st, so we have a collection of their bauble tastes as years go by and when they leave home I will give them their baubles for their first tree.

Stir up Sunday I always make Christmas pudding with the children and we all do the one stir for luck, and they put their silver coins in.

I make a pudding and mincemeat on Stir Up Sunday (and it's not the festive season until Stir Up Sunday has been mentioned in The Archers!).
I buy one special bauble a year, Swarovski if I'm feeling flush, and make a cross stitch one and a crochet one.
I like to put up the tree while listening to Christmas music and drinking Baileys!
A recent addition to the run up to Christmas is the Lidl mini stollen bites, though I have to severely ration them or I'd be the size of a small car.
On Christmas Eve we go to our local Christingle service. Christmas Day morning we have Bucks Fizz and croissants. The choice of meat at Christmas varies, but the one thing I always do, even though I'm the only one who likes it, is bread sauce. I really start feeling Christmassy when I'm studding an onion with cloves, making pigs in blankets, and spending far too much time with my hand up the arse end of some poor unfortunate dead bird while listening to Carols From Kings.

On 1st December we thread fairy lights all the way up the stairs and hang a wreath on the door.
Decorating the tree together. We each choose a new bauble once a year.
Carol singing on the green
Carol service at local cathedral
We go to a local lake and feed the birds every Christmas Eve. It's deserted and they're so hungry they perch on our arms to feed (highlight of my Christmas every year )
One year, inspired by MN I got the house organised on 23rd so we could have a lovely day out on Christmas Eve. We went for lunch at a really good restaurant then onto Winter Wonderland. I was sure it would become a family tradition but the DC said they like staying local on Christmas Eve, just walking by the lake and building up a roaring fire.

It's my first Christmas as a parent so I'm delighted with this thread - thank you all for lovely ideas. Christmas pyjamas is a thing, is it? That makes me very happy.

Breakfast with Santa at local garden centre. Pick up a few gifts whilst there and always get my son to chose a new tree ornament.

A few days before xmas we'll make gingerbread men and keep some for Santa. We drive down to my mums on xmas eve and stop at baxters for a massive pancake and have a look round their xmas shop.

My son always has xmas pyjamas on xmas eve. This year I bought him elf pyjamas with matching elf slippersfrom M&S! He adores elves and will look so cute.

On the day itself we each take turns opening a present whilst guzzling presecco and eating chocolates. This takes hours as my mum usually goes completely OTT buying millions of presents.
Always have table presents but I'm hoping this year we just do crackers as the boy loves the bang! We always eat lots of smoked salmon as it's lush and everyone loves it. It's the only time of year we really stuff our selves silly with it. We always have a nice bottle or two of Chateuneuf Du Pape. Hubby cooks because he's a chef and my mum usually harasses him pretending she's an expert cook 🙄 He's a saint for putting up with her during the stressful cooking!

In between xmas and new year we always go to the panto in the afternoon then go for an early dinner at the local weatherspoons. Oh the luxury, but to us that's xmas!

When I was growing up, from about age 9 onwards, everyone had to write a poem, however long or short, crap or talented, to be read out at Christmas lunch. Thinking about starting that one again.

Oh yes! Christmas bedding! They go on when the decorations go up.

Panto on the 23rd (ds birthday)
Christingle service at church on Xmas eve
Baking mince pies Xmas eve
Making mulled wine to go with the mince pies.
Putting out mince pie and beer for Father Christmas
Stocking on the end of the bed

Loving these :)

Another one I started to do a few years ago was that we each write a letter with a promise/resolution/hope for the new year, and pack it away with the Christmas decorations - then read them all out the following Christmas when putting the tree up -

We never manage to stick to them, but it's fun reading them out and laughing at how hopeless we all are at keeping the promises we made!

A couple of weeks before Christmas the DCs and I go to choose the tree and chooses one new bauble each (still do it and they are both mid to late teens). Then home to decorate the tree.

Christmas Eve we wrap presents and get fish and chips for a late lunch then we go to a carol service and to the pub with s bunch of families. Then home to watch polar express and hot choccies.

At some point during December, we will watch Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and the Muppets Christmas Carol.
Attend the Christingle service.
McDonald's breakfast on Christmas Eve before collecting the Christmas order from Sainsbury's or M&S. Everyone stays over on Christmas Eve, including the two adult children and a girlfriend.
One of my adult children has the same, inexpensive little gift in his pile every year and I can't say what it is as it would out me!

We have gathered lots over the years (lots from mumsnet too)

DC's get their Christmas box on December 1st. I prefer doing it this way as they get more use out of the contents! This year it will have their advent calendars, a Christmas jumper each, Christmas mugs, hot chocolate, marsmallows and squirty cream, chocolate coins and a new Christmas book each. And it's brought by the elves. We do our own very lax version of elf on the shelf. They have their own elf each who spend December chucking underwear on the tree and rolling down the stairs wrapped in toilet roll.

Throughout December we try and do something each weekend including panto, visiting FC at the local national trust, Christmas film at the cinema, movie nights at home with lovely treats.

The tree goes up the first weekend in December I am not allowed near it

First thing Christmas morning they bring their stockings into our room and open them on our bed while we have a coffee and wake up. I number the presents under the tree then the DC'S take it in turns to pull a number out the jar and they both open the corresponding present. Makes it last a little bit longer!

There's probably lots of other little things we do but those are the main ones. LOVE Christmas

I8toys fab idea about moustaches for xmas dinner! I need to get us some new traditions. was just reading this article with some good ideas.
When is stir up sunday? Am I too late to make us a pud?

can anyone recommend xmas films?

I go all out for xmas with my little ones. Drives my other half bonkers!
I normally put the tree up for the first of December but it's a school day this year so have to wait until the first weekend. We listen to xmas music while decorating. We do xmas arts and crafts every weekend as well as watching unholy amounts of xmas movies. We wear xmas jumpers as much as possible. Xmas photo of kids for xmas cards. Santa visit xmas week. Then the real madness begins.
Xmas eve morning we bake for Santa. Afternoon to my grandparents for a few hours. Home for a takeaway. Baths new xmas pjs (this year were all matching) hot chocolate with all the trimmings while watching muppets xmas carol, xmas bedtime story then bed.
Xmas morning kids have to rip down the wrapping paper from around the living room door (stops them sneaking to see) and have their presents. Breakfast of bagels and bacon. Xmas clothes on followed by a million photos to embarrass them with when they are older. Visits from a few friends. Then dinner. MILs house for a while then to OH grandparents then both sets of great grandparents then home.
Boxing Day we spend with my mum, her husband and my brothers. We love the day after because we don't have to do anything 😂

Telephone our favourites are Elf, Arthur Christmas, Home Alone, Mickey's Once (& Twice) Upon a Christmas, Tom & Jerry Nutcracker, Jack Frost and The Nativity.

There's probably loads more I will remember over the course of the day!

Bowies - oh cool thanks - I must watch the Tom & Jerry one!

Pyjama day soon after christmas where we just stay in and play games and watch telly. No visitors or chores.

We always go and watch a Pantomime on Boxing Day- at this point we're all desperate to get out of the house!