What nice family christmas traditions/rituals do you have?

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Its mine and DH first Xmas that DS will understand what is going on (2yrs 10 months) and we are spending it at home just us. We want to start our own family traditions for Xmas but only trouble is mine and DH childhood xmas were far from happy. Consequently we don't really know what to do to make it magical besides the obvious stocking, pressies, tree, xmas dinner, leaving food out for reindeer.
What do you do?

did you see the leaflet from the childrens society about no cost ideas to make xmas fun. one of the ideas was to cover the entrance to your front room (or where ever you are putting his prezzies) in wrapping paper so ds has to burst through it!
I thought that was a brilliant idea! my two would have peed their pants at that one!!

We also do snowy santa footprints ( flour seived over a shoe to make snowy outline)from the fire place to xmas tree.

There's quite a few threads about this already I think. But to start you off:

• icing sugar around the hearth; tell him it's snow from Father Christmas' boots

• new PJs on Christmas Eve to be worn in front of a DVD - my two strange children like "Elf" but something like "The Snowman" might be better for a little one

• carols on Christmas Eve on the village green (in our case) or local church children's nativity or something

• tree decorated around the 16th December, accompanied by carols playing and the first mince pies of the year (if I've mangaged to resist that long)

• children go out just before the tree is decorated to choose a new decoration each

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Buy one special tree decoration each year...dc's choose them.

When older... each person writes a letter to each other in family on which they can give the other person anything!! My mum got a fridge and a new husband from my brother one year when he was 5 (parents were divorced)

Everyone makes something for the table ... food or decorations.

love that letter writing idea firefly, may have to try that one.
maybe someone will give me the pony i've longed for since i was 5!!

Carols round the crib church service is what we're trying this year especially catered for children(ds 21 months)

love the idea of icing sugar from santas boots.

We always used to leave a carrot, mince pie and glass of sherry/brandy for santa and the reindeers

Hope you have a lovely time.

we have a magic robin (pretend robin type bird thing available from any garden centre!) he comes to live in our house when the christmas decorations go up. He stays really still during the day (funny that!) but flies around at night so every morning children try to find where he has flown to. Much more fun than an advent calendar! Generally there is a small present under the tree from him too - he is a multi-talented old bird!

make sure to use adequate amounts of blutak to maintain this tradition. My own belief in the magic robin came to a rather premature end due to blu-tak shortage.

We get up early, start on Bucks Fizz and are p*ssed by 10:30. By 12 we've fallen out with at least 2 relatives and by 3pm we are comatose on the sofa. A revival occurs at around 5pm when Happy Hour starts and at 7:30pm we have to sit through Auntie Gladys dancing the cancan on the coffee table yet again (hopefully this year she'll put her knickers on first).

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We have a lovely tradition - DH often works on Christmas Day.

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Each year I buy my 3 dd a new decoration for the tree. ( dd1 has 13, dd2 has 10 and dd3 has 4) they are very special ones. When they eventually leave home (I hope never!) but when they do they will have a box full to put on their tree, that have been 'blessed' on our family tree iyswim.
I still put the ones my mum gave me on our tree (they are disgusting 70 efforts and are falling to bits, but never the less they 'speak to me'!!)

Thanks for all the great ideas. There are some lovely ones there that I shall be doing. I love the poor departed robin story.
Before DS came along we did the working Xmas, did bar humbug hate all that christmas rubbish, did sex drugs and rock and roll face down in the gutter xmas, did horrendous xmas's with our families.
I guess I am looking for a change of scene these days ....
Bring on the nativity, snow footprints and bursting through paper doorways

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