Our advent calendar is 25 stockings tied around the balustrade on the stairs, ds has mostly choccy coins in it.
Christmas tree goes up around 8th/9th December, after ds' birthday. He'll be 6yo this year. I need space to put on the lighrs, then he helps me decorate the tree. When he was 1yo the tree was decorated in fisher price cars and biscuits
we have very cute photos.
At some point in December he'll make a new decoration with me for tree and other decorative things at school - cork reindeers and loo roll Christmas trees and the like! He has decorations in his room that he has made previous years and things i have made - giant 2D foam baubles that hang from the ceiling for example.
We'll go and see the town Christmas tree lights go on and have hot chocolate and churros.
We'll go see one FC in our local department store, they don't give a gift but they do really good quality free photos and the FC himself is top notch, very patient with the children. DS goes with his same-age cousin and we'll get a pic of him with FC and a pic of him and cousin and FC, it is nice to see how they grow up!
Christmas eve evening we have a Caga Tio = a log that shits gifts
we go for a walk in the woods on the first Saturday in December and "find" him (DH takes him from the house in a big rucksack). It is a large-ish log with two front feet, a cheerful face and little red hat. You cover him with a blanket to keep him warm, feed and water him, then on Christmas eve sing a little song and hit him with a stick and he poos presents (that you hid under his blanket while child isn't looking!). Christmas dvd, chocolate, small toy.
Christmas Day: open stockings on our bed. Go down for breakfast - porridge, panettone and coffee. Take the dog for a walk. Home for showers and get dressed. Open presents. Have a light lunch - gifted chocolates, pancakes, sandwich - what anyone fancies. Continue opening presents and play afternoon. I'll be busy whatsapping pics/videos to various family members as a thank you, goes down very well. 6pm DH and DS walk the dog again while i make dinner. Dinner is non-traditional. Eat, xmas film, go to bed.
We live near Barcelona and the log is a Catalan tradition.
DH has lunch with his dad and bil/sil Christmas eve, just the four of them. Relations are a little strained and DH has refused to entertain them this Christmas (they usually come for CD lunch).
My family are in UK/Australia.
Boxing day is fairly normal: play with new stuff, eat nice food, walk the dog. The day after boxing day we'll be meeting our friends, or catching up with DS' friends.
However, in Spain FC doesn't bring the gifts - the 3 kings do on the night of 5th January. They arrive on boats at the port, go through the streets on floats throwing boiled sweets into the crowds of kids BOILED SWEETS! Some of them can sting! We go home gor a big family meal and DS has just one present from them.
We try not to overload DS with too much Christmas stuff - shopping, markets, making gingerbread house/biscuits (tried that, he wasn't interested). But he does enough to keep him happy. He'll still talk about Christmases padt in the middle of July
he is his mother's son!