Christmas Eve

[CabanaBayLife]

Please tell me your Christmas Eve Traditions,

Mine are get up early morning then go to harvester for breakfast then to cinema followed by back home to open Christmas Eve presents usually PJs, Slippers, Christmas DVD & bath bomb. Then earlier bath with new night clothes and then snuggle with a Chinese in front of the Holiday or Elf with a couple of glasses of wine, copious amounts of chocolate then bed ready for Santa.

Thanks in Advance

Xmas Eve is DH bday and if it's mon-fri hes normally at work. I get up early to make him a bacon butty and coffee and give him his presents then he goes off to work.

As I'm up n about at crack of dawn I do the last 'fresh shop' which normally doesn't take long. Then go somewhere with DD for breakfast come home and take the dog on a nice long walk. Normally cook a gammon for Xmas Eve tea so if anyone bobs round they can help themselves to ham, fresh bread, chutney and salady bits. Used to go out for DH birthday but since having DD it's just too £££ especially when everywhere adds a Xmas tip for themselves.

Do as little as possible is my personal tradition! What actually happens, any shopping that is left on Christmas Eve morning, then preparing as much as possible for Christmas Day lunch. In between relaxing and reading a book. Lunch out somewhere and then back home with a takeaway in the evening and a film. If things need to be done I like to do them by lunchtime and really relax for the rest of the day. DS is 13 now so may or may not stay up late, up to him. We don’t really have traditions other than it being a relaxing day, which is what I enjoy the most about it.

It's always been Christmas Eve nativity service and wrapping up last minute presents, making sure everything is clean etc. New pyjamas and being excited.

This year DS will be two and have a bit more idea that something is going on so I'm planning on waking up with his Christmas Eve Box; new PJs, plate, cup, stocking, santa key, twas the night before Christmas book, bath bomb and Santa flannel. Probably stick a festive gingerbread man in there too, no doubt there will be other bits.

And then maybe go for a play on the park or to see the boats on the canal. Afternoon will be going to the crib service (DS was baby Jesus two years ago and 3.5 weeks old ) and then home for tea (something easy) bath, story and bed to wait for father Christmas.

My parents will likely pop round, my dad in the morning, my Mam after church (they only live round the corner)

We're going ice skating in the morning this year then for breakfast. We usually do our food shop but I'm planning on getting it delivered on the 23rd this year. We make hot chocolate in the slow cooker and dh family come round and we all exchange gifts. Kids have baths and the elf will have left their Xmas eve boxes with their new pjs in. We usually watch a Xmas movie in bed and the I got to work (8pm-8am) and get home Xmas day morning. Once the kids are asleep dh will put presents out.

These all sound lovely.

We usually finish work early so ours usually consists of food preparation and house cleaning for the next day. Then, baking some gingerbread biscuits while listening to Carols from Kings on the Radio. Followed by eating the biscuits while watching the Muppets Christmas Carol by candlelight and singing along. Then, sometimes, midnight mass followed by Skyping loved ones in different time zones.

Last minute stuff like shopping for parsley and other things I leave out of the big shop a few days before.

Make stuffing and pumpkin pie and a pie or dessert for Christmas Eve. Make cranberry sauce, and custard for tiramisu, then assemble tiramisu later. Make sure turkey is defrosting nicely.

The DCs wrap presents for each other and for me, all in great secrecy.

Clean and tidy up, make sure serving dishes, gravy boat and silver serving tongs, spoons, forks are clean, polished. Set the table runner out, along with candles.

All of this is to the accompaniment of Christmas music of various genres, with a bit of Pink Floyd just to keep it all real, and the odd glass of plonk.

We go to Christmas Eve Mass at 6pm and are home by about 8.45. It's always jam packed. We eat dinner (usually something I have prepared a few days before and frozen, like lasagna) but sometimes we just go and pick up pizza. After dessert we open gifts to each other and from the DCs to me.

I put ingredients for cinnamon roll dough into the bread machine and make rolls when the timer dings, set them in a bug pyrex dish, butter them copiously and leave them to rise and fill the dish overnight, covered with a cloth.

The DCs head off to bed and I do Santa Claus and fall into bed myself.

When the boys were younger we all went out for the day. Various theme parks do breakfast with santa and then the park is open.

Now they are bigger I take them to the local pantomime afternoon performance and takeaway for dinner.

If it's a weekday I will be working in the morning, then there is always last minute shopping. Then in the evening we go to a local pub for dinner. The run up to Christmas is always busy so really enjoy going out, and the atmosphere is always good. Sometimes we do midnight mass but more usually home for PJs and tv.

This year will be different as DP will be working nights 😕

I'm working this year so going to be super organised and do all my prep on the Sunday . I normally cook my turkey on Christmas Eve but thinking may do it early Christmas Day this year . After work will do pizza , garlic bread & nibbles tea . Then The Christmas boxes even though my 2 dc are teenagers by dh rolls his eyes at this but it's just new pjs and chocolate . Then Christmas films tv shows like Gavin & Stacey Christmas special plus Prosecco .

Christmas Eve I will be working, only till 12/1. Then come home and prep the veg ready. We usually have Chinese for dinner, DP usually takes the kids out to see Xmas lights so I can start operation move presents to a more accessible place. They come back, bath then we watch whatever Christmas movies are on... and track Santa and then wait for them to go to sleep so we can mount operation Santa.

Whatever else, I have to watch or listen to Carols from Kings. Dates back many years, listening to it on the BBC World Service, when we were living in very un-Christmassy places.

Always cook the gammon on Chr. Eve, though might not eat it till Boxing Day. The smell when it's cooking with spicy glaze is deliciously Christmassy.

If I haven't found any beforehand, often go for a very late walk on Chr. Eve with dh - armed with a torch and secateurs to nick some holly from
a huge hedge in a nearby private road. Always have to have a sprig of it stuck in the Christmas pud.