Christmas Traditions..

[FairyDust92]

So! We're nearly there and I'm a lover of Christmas! 😂
What's everyone's Christmas traditions or just little things they like to do?

I'll start with mine.
We go for breakfast on Christmas Eve and then get a take away for dinner round my mums with everyone 😋.

I have to have my Christmas play list sorted by at least late October/Early November (it's a rule!) 😂

My tree and decorations go up in November!

We always have a family quiz made up by my BIL they're very good and very entertaining!

Oh and of course we can't forget an argument on Christmas Day! Usually the kids though! 😂

@70isaLimitNotaTarget thanks. That sounds lovely 😊

We do Christmas Eve boxes with new bedding, pyjamas and bath stuff. So they have a bath and then get cosy in their new pyjama and we’ll read the night before Christmas.

Tree usually goes up the first weekend day that DH isnt working. Sometimes its the first weekend in December, sometimes its just shortly before xmas but we couldn't possibly do it without him. We then spend the next however many days retrieving baubles from around the lounge every morning after the cats have played with it that night (they're 13, you'd think they would be past that phase now).

Present shopping is usually finished by early December. If DH is going to be home xmas eve then we save the wrapping until then & do it whilst watching a movie and drinking champagne. However if he's working late shift then I'll wrap whilst the kids are at school. Its early but at least its done.

Xmas eve is my favourite day!! We usually chill in the morning, i sort any food that needs to be defrosted. Then around 11am we head out to meet my friend and we go for a walk across the local common, which is absolutely beautiful and jam packed full of historical sites. It leads direct into the high street where we then stop for lunch to warm up before walking home. Once back i begin to prep the veg whilst the kids play, or watch tv, whatever they want.

Whilst they have dinner the elves leave new PJs under the tree. Its then when we sit down to watch a christmassy film, ideally Elf but last year was the Grinch. After that kids shower and off to bed.

Once theyre asleep we get the gifts downstairs (and wrap if needs be) and just enjoy the brewing excitement. Finally before we go to bed we drop chocolate coins leading from the bedrooms, down the stairs & to the present pile as if they've fallen out of santas pocket and sort out the stockings to leave in the kids rooms.

In the morning the children wake nice and early and come into our rooms with their stockings. They get opened and then we head downstairs and the kids use their stockings to collect all the coins.

We open gifts, and have drinks and start dinner. If we have guests they arrive around midday and the day is spent eating, drinking and tidying.

Previous years I've had my sister but I'm not this year as she takes advantage. Potentially we could have no guests which would just be wonderful. I love the idea of a quiet xmas just the 5 of us.

Love all the traditions! It's getting me so excited for Christmas! 🎅🏼 🎄.
Can't wait for my LB to understand!
I'm a big kid at Christmas.
Love that one of you mentioned your son is born in Christmas Day! That's one to remember haha!
New pjs are a must though aren't they! I also do a big clean on Christmas Eve.
I'm guilty of putting my tree up late November and always buying more baubles than needed and decorations especially when they go on sale in January!
Does anyone else have a lot of mixed baubles? It was my first Christmas away from home last year I did have matching colour scheme then I saw some others at the local garden centre now they're all mixed! Love a mixed tree!

Now.... can I please see some pics of your house/trees at Xmas? 🥰
Oh no wrapping on Christmas Eve is a no no! So stressful and shopping last minute 😪

Here's a few of mine.

Christmas Eve - Muppets Christmas Carol.
Boxing Day - Muppets Treasure Island.

This is our only constant

@FairyDust92 first pic is 2017, second pic is 2018.

Will be going back to a spruce this year - 2017 was my fave tree!

Trimming up wise I don't do much other than a tree and a garland with some lights but will be going all out this year!!

Christmas is my fave 😁

Christmas tree up 1st December

Cinema and party food on Christmas Eve

Crossaints for breakfast Christmas morning

Cant think of any others

@Whitecandle wow your trees are beautiful 😍😍

Sometime in December I do an online order for a present for my dad, sometimes I get my brother and his family something at the same time.

I also place an order with superdrug to be delivered to my local women's refuge, they often have 3 for 2 offers so I spend about £20.

In the week before Xmas my dad comes to stay overnight on his way to my brother's, he usually wants to take me out for a meal.

We go to the local sweet centre and buy a load of vegi samosas that are now part of my brother's Xmas tradition.

Then for me it is over.

I just don't do it, I watch the world going slightly insane. Christopher Hitchens once described it as being like North Korea, all the songs are about the glorious leader, all the shops are decorated for the glorious leader etc.

Tree goes up the first weekend in December, we add one new bauble to it every year.

Sometime in the first week DD writes a letter to Father Christmas asking for something she really wants and we burn it on the fire to send it up the chimney to the North Pole.

DD and I make mince pies in the week before Christmas and DH always complains that I haven't made enough (no matter how many I make).

Christmas Eve all the presents get put under the tree and we hang DDs stocking by the fire and leave out - a carrot (for the reindeer), a mince pie and a dram of whiskey (for Father Christmas).

Christmas Day starts with stocking, then breakfast (scrambled eggs, smoked salmon/bacon, toast, bucks fizz). Then we usually open one present each before going on a walk round a nearby lake to a playground. Then we come back, and open all the rest of the presents. Christmas "lunch" usually happens at about 3pm and involves all the trimmings and a Christmas pud. Then it's a film and playing with presents until bedtime.

Boxing Day - DD opens her "tree present", which is a small present hidden in the branches of the Christmas tree, helps to stave off the Boxing Day blues. Lunch is turkey sandwiches, salads, nice bread etc and dinner is usually veg soup from the freezer.

This year I think I might give DD some new PJs on Christmas Eve, that sounds like a really nice idea.

As a child, we always had open house on Christmas Eve. All our family friends who were heading “home” for Christmas called in and it was busy, loud, full of food, music, excitement and fun. I always loved it even more than Christmas Day. I’ve tried to recreate it with our friends now we’ve all got small children, not on Christmas Eve itself, but either I host a day or we meet somewhere for something like Breakfast with Santa all together. It’s lovely.

Christmas Eve involves a nice breakfast, a walk in our local park, a Christdingle service, and a Christmas movie. The day itself is all about the food, opening gifts, and being with family. Boxing Day is a big walk followed by more food!

I love the idea of a Christmas Eve box on December 1st. That makes so much more sense to me to get the use.

We keep things laid back in our house. Our family all live over 100 miles away (at least) so after years of logging two DC and their Christmas paraphernalia around the country, we called time on it three years ago (the same year we bought this house).

I take the DC to our local garden centre that has a legendary Christmas shop a few weeks before Christmas and we all choose a new bauble each. DS1 (8) favours garish and blingy, DS2 (6) has excellent taste and I don't know what I want until I see it. Sometimes we'll get a mantle decoration too. DH and I inevitably row whilst buying the tree.
I take the tree branch offcuts from wherever we buy the tree from home as I have a wicker wreath. I then make the new wreath using those, plus some fake berries and bells I bought the first year that I did it.

Christmas Eve evening, the DC lay out beer, mince pies and a carrot on a beautiful personalised wooden platter that my husband bought a few years ago. Husband will drink the beer and leave the empty bottle and the cap on the platter.
On the day itself, it's super relaxed. The DC have personalised stockings that will have been hanging up on display, but on Christmas Eve they take them to bed. They bring the sticking into us and open them on the bed. Then we go downstairs and see if Santa has been.
DH and I don't tend to do gifts for each other,we prefer to just watch the DC (we'd rather combine the money we would have spent on each other and do an activity together).
We then spend the rest of the day inevitably building Lego and Playmobil (DS1 got the Lego police station last year, it took DH hours). DH cooks the main bulk of dinner (think he's doing pork this year as requested by DS1), aided by me doing my vegan option and the veg. We lay it all out on the table so we can help ourselves. There's crackers. The usual.

The TV is on and off throught the day depending on whats on. Last year I was looking forward to watching the new Julia Donaldson adaptation, but ended up falling asleep on the sofa during it.

DH and DC haven't made it out of pyjamas for the last two Christmases. I can't sit down for dinner without a bra on, despite my love of pyjamas.

We do pop up to see my MIL (lives the closest) for two nights between Christmas and New Year, and we do gifts up there, but not the fuss of dinner.

We've had to change our traditions over the last few years. DH starts bringing the decs out on the 1st. We have to live surrounded by boxes for a week or so whilst he puts it up. Cue the first of many rows as he won't accept help and it never goes perfectly like the previous years. Then once they're up the Christmas beer starts, cue another row because he keeps moaning I won't drink it as much as him.

Then about the 8th or so the tree goes up. Again Mr Pernickety has to have it just so. I am, with kids if they're around, decorate the tree. He then moves all the decorations around to the way he likes.

Then finally the cooking starts, mince pies mainly. Last year I burnt my hand badly on Christmas eve as melted marzipan dripped from the enormous stollen and it welded itself to my finger.

Christmas day depends on who's here. DSiL has a tendency to get jobs that mean he has to work Christmas eve until late. If that's the case we have alternative Christmas Dinner and the works between Christmas and New year. Which is great because everything nice is seriously reduced.

Love reading all of these.

First weekend in dec we put up tree, open the advent calendars and take down our advent craft box from the attic.

December evenings are spent writing cards to classmates, making orange and clove pomanders, rolling beeswax candles, painting baubles and baking treats.

Christmas Eve is a busy day of shopping, cooking and cleaning. In the evening we light a candle to put in the window, leave treats for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and snuggle up for bedtime stories.

Eventually the dc go to sleep and I put their gifts under the tree, create a scene in our living room to show Santa has been and stage some reindeer evidence.

Some years we host, some we visit. There’s no template for who turns up and when. Some years we’ve had an unexpected houseful for Christmas Eve, last year we had last minute breakfast visitors. It’s always busy, a bit mad and lots of fun.

We have a special Christmas breakfast though really it’s just an ordinary breakfast with a decorated North Pole table. The table gets re set for dinner. There are lots of heirloom pieces that bring back lovely memories of people no longer with us.

After dinner we lie around on sofas at 45 degree angles for a while. There’s always a big lego set among the dc’s gifts to keep them occupied during the post prandial recovery period.

Eventually the cards come out for a game of 25. It’s simple enough for the dc to join in but brilliantly strategic for the grown ups.

We graze on leftovers and chocolate for the next few days and laze around reading all the new books, playing games, building lego. I bloody love Christmas.