christmas traditions

[unfitmummy]

hi there,
my dd is 2.7 so this will be the first christmas she really understands. because we live far away from both my folkes and MIL/FIL we always go and stay with them for christmas. i've been thinking about adding some nice traditions - nothing involving more presents! so any ideas? our christmas traditions currently are:

weekend before christmas: me and dad put up tree and decorations. - considering allowing DD to buy a new decoration to add to the tree each year?

christmas eve - cook turkey, sausages, stuffing, leeks, peel all veg. go to watchnight service (well, the early one at 6.30) i really enjoy this. i would go to church on christmas day if i could persuade everyone else, but it's difficult enough to get them out on chrismas eve.

christmas day - open stockings in your room whenever you wake up. wondering whether to actually allow DD to do this or to leave her stocking outside her room this year and just take it in to her when she wakes at a reasonable time? show stocking presents to my parents on their bed. make tea for mum and dad (always been a rule in our house that mum and dad do not get woken until after 8am and you don't get to open the presents under the tree until they are sat downstairs in their dressing gowns with a cup of tea in hand!!) get washed and dressed while christmas carols are playing. go over and visit with MIL and FIL for an hour (we alternate each year) open others presents when they have all arrived. watch queens speech, eat christmas dinner. mum is re-awakening another christmas tradition we used to do when we were younger which was that the youngest person gets a game which all the family can play together in the evening after dinner - she's already got a game to give to my dd. all collapse in front of tv!!

boxing day - go shopping!!

any suggestions of other traditions you lot do which my dd would enjoy?

We do simple things.

Christmas Eve we watch the web site which shows father christmas journey (sorry completely forgotten web address at the moment) we give dd1 and dd2 (this year) new pj's and read a new book before bed.

In our house cristmas day is very much do what you want when you want.

Christmas Eve is our main one. We make a Gingerbread house from a kit. If the weather is OK it's off to the woods to collect pine cones to spray and put on the table for Xmas dinner. Then a film after lunch as DS gets a bit sleepy.

After that we go next door to our elderly neighbours to exchange presents and Bruno the bear (who is about 70) makes an appearance in his Christmas outfit. The children and him sit at the kitchen table and have milk and biscuits. Then home again and the woodburner is put on. Bath, new pyjammas, then toasted marshmallows dipped in chocolate in front of fire.

Bedtime story is a Christmasy and we have some poems from the poetry book I had as a child (which really sadly has vanished so will have to print them off the net). Mince pie etc out for Father Christmas who has been tracked on the Norad site during the afternoon.

Our Christmas is devoted to Delia and my sisters. I buy and prepare the turkey. My sisters do a ham and lamb. We throw together salad and veg (middle sister does brussels -yuk!). Brother in law brings a salmon. We divide the alcohol list between us. Our day goes as follows: the kids wake up - anything from 7.30am (they all sleep in one bedroom so as not to confuse the man in red). We listen as they "discover" that FC has left them stockings. We hear lots of laughter and then footsteps. When they go into the lounge they see the Christmas tree and all the presents (put there by us the night before). We go in and all open prezzies. Not as restrained or as good as some of you. We open as many as we want to. But then my three sisters arrive with even more prezzies later. I make smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and pop open a bottle of champers. The kids eat chocolate. The turkey goes in the oven and we phone everyone we can think of and sing badly down the telphone at them. We can't ring my mum until the kids have gone to bed because she lives in Jamaica. We go to Church and enjoy the family service. The family arrive about 1pm whereupon madness ensues. The kids and their cousins eat more chocolate and junk. We serve up lunch. Drink too much and then the bossy sister(because there has to be one and no it's not me) will clear away. The fellas will wash up and then we'll divide the remaining food into tubs so that we all have lots of lovely leftovers. They all leave about midnight and we fall into bed. We go to friends for leftovers lunch on Boxing Day and take the kids to run around the woods. We do the same thing every year. The kids love it, we love it and so it will remain. I posted this last year. Will continue to post it cos my Christmas always makes me smile.

This are our traditions;

Tree goes up the week before Christmas, as does crib etc in the fireplace (behind the fireguard so DS can't eat any more of the animals in the stable)

Drinks with friends Christmas Eve

Midnight mass (with sleeping DS )

Breakfast with champagne, and pressies

Christmas lunch - anything but turkey

Off to the New Forest or the beach for a walk/paddle/run around for a couple of hours.

Back home for mulled wine/present destroying (DS) and either a Bond movie or a B&W war movie (DH )

Marslady, can we come to your house please?!

I was thinking about this last night and remembered there was a similar thread which you may find interesting although i'd like to hear if anyone has any other additions as i'm looking for a tradition to start this year. Thread is here

Wabbit you don't like Turkey! lol My turkey is always gorgeous. Nothing dry about it!

I like ham and lamb though

It's not that it's dry, I just don't like the taste. We're having beef on the bone , last year venison, year before goose...

Oh god I need to go and buy food for our anniversary dinner tonight!

we get our tree a couple of weeks before and put it in our front room.

christmas eve we bake the ham

christmas stockings opened in bed then we get up have croissants with cheese and tomato (dh) and bacon on toast (me). once breakfast finished and cleared away we open presents. all to cheesy christmas music in the background.

lunch is anytime from 2 onwards, which i prepare. we have turkey, pork and one red meat, lots of potatoes and veges.

then it's pretty much relaxed all afternoon.

boxing day we always have people over for cold meats (aka leftovers) and roast potatoes and salads.

main tradition is that we have christmas at home - we never go to parents or ILs.

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and here

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