Christmas traditions

[Westiegirl3]

For the first year ever since leaving school I'm not going to be working crazy hours throughout December l, I'll have weekends off and will not be working Christmas Day (thanks COVID, the only positive to come out of all this)
I love Christmas as does my Husband but I've never been able to enjoy the month of December and the build up by making traditions or going anywhere.
We won't have a lot of money to spend but can you please let me know what you like to do to enjoy the festivities and traditions you've made as a family please.

November sometime tree and decorations go up, ctas destroy them.

Xmas eve all the lovely treats scoff scoff are opened and We always have Chinese takeaway.
Xmas morning pressys, bacon rolls (not sandwiches) with a cuppa.
Xmas Dinner all the trimmings with Yorkshire puddings eaten whenever it's cooked noon or 1.24pm. Kids lay the table and wash up.
Eat eat eat until its gone then Xmas is over whether it's boxing day or 29th December. Food gone and Xmas is over.

Die quietly until school and work goes back in Jan

This year, instead of going to a light festival or light switch-on, we’re going on a Christmas light safari in our car, with Christmas music, popcorn and travel mugs of hot chocolate.
I’ve bought a gingerbread house kit, and my DSis has too. We’re going to have a competition!
We get a real Christmas tree from a farm where you walk out to the field to choose it and chop it down yourself. The DC love choosing it.
We take the DC on a walk to collect pine cones to decorate.
My DC have always written to Father Christmas and we go to the post office to post it.
We have always had an advent candle. My DC love watching it carefully to check that it doesn’t burn out the next number.
We make reindeer food www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/reindeer-food
Make your own crackers (get a kit) and fill them with decent things.
Take a bag of old toys to the charity shop or some food to the local food bank.

You need this thread

A Chinese on Christmas eve is a must! In the morning we have mimosas with eggs and salmon on toast! Haha
Have you thought about going for a walk Christmas morning? We had dogs growing up and we would take them for a walk after opening our stockings. I again used to work Christmas day at a pub in my late teens for a few years, my family would walk to the pub I worked at in the forest and have a drink :)
The build up this year is going go be different for us too, we usually do the Christmas markets.. something we started last year was going to see a film with DD and then taking her around the Christmas markets and shops. We will do that again but without the market!

We have a Christmas movie hamper and pick a movie from it every Saturday, we have hot chocolates, mince pies, popcorn and quality streets and a snuggle under a blanket. When ds has gone to bed we have an adult Christmas movie and a few beers for dh and dissarano for me.
I love a Christmas day out but I don't think we will be doing that this year. Maybe a walk somewhere will be a nice idea instead.
We have Christmas puzzles that we all do together over the Christmas period. I have a puzzle board so I can put it away when it's not in use.
Gingerbread house decorating and cake baking will be happening this year.
Also we make our own Christmas cards and decorations.

We have a Christmas Eve tradition of a large box under the tree with new pjs, hot chocolate and either a film or game. In the early evening when the children are too excited to sleep we wrap up and go for a walk around the village we live in looking at all the Xmas lights. Last year my children saw a satellite in the sky and were convinced it was Santa roaming up high to see who was still awake!

We do the mince pies/ carrots thing and off to bed they go.

Christmas Day is just us at home. We tend to stay in our new pjs all morning (or longer) eat croissants or pancakes with nutella for breakfast and open presents.

A Chinese on Christmas eve is a must!

In our 20s DH and I would get a huge Chinese on Xmas eve, I'd finish the leftovers next morning, then we'd have a full fry up, then Xmas dinner (and pudding), then doorstop sandwiches in the evening. Can't believe it looking back, that would kill me now!