Lovely Christmas Day Traditions

[FoxglovesRosesandPeonies]

Hello all, looking for suggestions for making Xmas day really lovely and enjoyable. I’ve always found the day itself to be a bit of an anti climax once pressies are opened. What lovely activities/board games/ traditions do your family do that make the day lovely and avoid that lull? Also thinking ahead to when DC’s leave home - what family Xmas traditions will they want to come home and do or look back on fondly? I want to create a really lovely Xmas experience for my DC’s etc as my own weren’t that great.

I dated a man once and his family tradition was that his dm, his ddis and him heated up home made soup and went for a walk and with soup and nice bread. I've never done it as I usually do the full Christmas Dinner but I still think back to that tradition and ponder it.

My grandma is German and we often have our Christmas Dinner on Christmas eve, if we did this then the walk and soup would work well now my dc are teens!

We have a nativity set that we build gradually throughout December. Then on Christmas Day, someone always gets baby Jesus in their cracker (we do the DIY crackers).
We always start a Christmassy 1000 piece jigsaw on Christmas Day and aim to get it done by midnight on NYE. Everyone chips in now and then.
We play a load of games, including the After-Eight-on-the-forehead game. Last year we did a couple of zoom calls with distant relatives and played games with them which we think well do every year.

We spread out the gift opening. Stockings and Santa are opened when we wake up. But other gifts are opened before dinner.

That has worked very well when the dc were small because they would be excited to get back and play, and then the adults could sit at the table for longer.

And after dinner, there’s the snoozing, card game or board games, puddings that we couldn’t manage after dinner and more lounging on furniture at a carefully judged angle to avoid pressure on the belly.

Depending which set of relatives are visiting we play the card game 25, or with another group we have our own made up card game from childhood. Either is always a lot of fun.

I’ve got 2 teens & last year we had smaller Xmas with just their grandparents my in laws due to Covid. We had a lovely day it was one of my favourites as quite relaxed. I bought Pass the sprout from Asda which was hilarious and then we did Xmas bingo from Amazon for £5 prize that went down well too

We don’t open presents until after the Queen’s Speech at the earliest. Sometimes we go for a walk first. It spreads the day out a bit

We spread the present opening throughout the day. Dh family always did this and I thought is was weird and miserly, but we started it when dc1 was a baby and have continued. It’s actually really good for keeping the magic and excitement going throughout the day. The dc will be 9 and 6 this year and we’ll still be doing it.

Just shows how different we all are: we open all presents in the morning and would never, ever watch the Queen's speech (it was turned over in my house growing up too).

We always film the kids coming down the stairs and opening presents - we'll have that forever to watch back. We then do smoked salmon, eggs and bagels for breakfast. Christmas day is quiet (my older 2 go to their grandma's with ex H) and lazy because Boxing Day is mad! I'm one of 5 and we all get together with all kids for food, drink and ridiculous games. I think Boxing Day will always be that day they all come back for.

When I was growing up we opened stocking presents in the morning, and then we didn't open any other presents until we'd had dinner and everyone had helped with the washing up and cleaning. Then my Dad would sit down in the living room and we'd surround him with the presents and he'd hand them out one by one. It spread everything out through the day which I really liked. It came from my Dad's side of the family - his father was a traindriver and had to work christmas morning so they wouldn't open the presents until he got home later in the day.

We spread the present opening too. It’s stockings and Santa first thing, in our bedroom. Everything is wrapped and we take it in turns to open a present each so even though it’s not a huge quantity of gifts it takes a while!

Then we have breakfast, when dc we’re smaller they’d play with toys a bit while we got on with preparing lunch. Grandparents arrive mid morning and we do the under the tree presents from friends & relations.

At lunch we have home made crackers with a silly tiny present in each one.

We sometimes go for a walk after lunch or just lounge around. We have a leftovers Christmas tea (with trifle!) and have one final “ table present” each. When dc were younger they’d make some sort of centrepiece for the table with grandparents help (eg a papier mache igloo or a cardboard box gingerbread house) and with grandparent’s help they’d put a little present for everyone inside it. And at tea time dh and I would pretend to be really surprised to find presents inside it. Now they are 16 & 18 we just reuse the last one they made (a festive Dalek....) but the dc (and my mum) still put presents inside it.

Then we usually play charades, the post-it note game and the fruit bowl game.

We have a dog so always take her out to our local woods then come back for a lentil soup and crackers/cheese lunch.

We eat our Xmas dinner quite late around 6 then we play cards then watch a film. My DD’s are teens and this suits us really well.

We tend to have our nice traditions on other days. So, ice skating, Christmas markets, making gingerbread houses before Christmas Day and pantomime on NYE. Christmas Day we open all presents in the morning, big Christmas lunch and in the afternoon we usually watch whatever Christmas kids’ film is on and play with the new toys. I think a nice, chilled low key day is actually quite nice. Boxing Day and subsequent days are when we usually meet up with extended family and friends so it’s nice to have some quiet time before that.

We do stockings first thing, and a few presents, then go for a walk (always to the same place at about 10.00), take a flask of hot chocolate and come back home for brunch, usually maple bacon pancakes.

We don't have a Christmas Lunch, instead we have a buffet, just graze all day.

More presents, pyjamas on at about 4, snuggle up on the sofa with more hot chocolate, quality Street and a film!

There's usually only the three of us and we love the laid back vibe of the day.

We open presents first thing, kids play, me and mum cook...
my uncles pop round
we eat, scratch cards after dinner without fail..
Everyone retires to the living room
Then we play cards and eat choccies until we are all too tired. Even the kids... been a tradition since my mum and her siblings were little.

I light lots of candles around the house before the children go downstairs to open their presents. My daughter often says one of her favourite parts of the day is waiting in anticipation as I light the candles.

We have scrambled egg (with far too much double cream and butter), smoked salmon and bagles for breakfast each year.

We always host Christmas lunch and a picky tea usually attended by 20-25 family members. Following lunch, music is played throughout the afternoon and evening with carols and contemporary songs played on a combination of the piano, guitars, harmonica etc

I also think my children will remember the happy and chaotic nature of gift giving and receiving and a lounge full of torn wrapping paper

We used to have Christmas lunch at about 4 o'clock, but it meant then everyone just fell asleep after dinner and did nothing in the evening.
Now we have Christmas Dinner much earlier, like 1 o clock. Then we can go for a walk on the afternoon or play games or visit someone and be ready to go back for more food at 7ish 🤣

Christmas as a kid: open all presents as soon as open my eyes, watch cartoons, visit a million boring relatives, spend the day at my grandparents opening more presents and playing.

Christmas as an adult with partner: walk first thing with the dog. Stick turkey in oven, gammon in SC. Open our gifts to one another / let dog open his. Have some form of breakfast with clampers, all the fam arrive between 11am-1Pm. More drinks. Music on. Gifts exchanged. Food consumed from 1.30pm - 5/6pm. Lots of chat, laughter, dancing and games.

Christmas this year: we will have a newborn and heading out for Christmas Day lunch with the fam. I’ve no idea how the day will go and I can’t bloody wait!

Our traditions are a merger of DH’s and my experiences as children with some of our own.

We’ve recently adapted as the kids are all adults but still under our roof and have been working or going out with friends on Christmas Eve. Plus, I do a volunteering shift (only short) to fit around. It’s possible one or more of them might work Christmas Day this year.

Ours was this when they were small.

Decorate the Christmas tree* (and house but not much) on Christmas Eve whilst eating Celebrations (or similar) and watching a film.
We’d have supper by candlelight and the kids would have a bath and hair wash and come back downstairs in PJs. We’d have hot chocolate and a homemade Christmas tree biscuit (Nigella’s lebkuchen) whilst reading Christmas stories.
The kids would hang their stockings up, go to bed and we’d start wrapping!
Christmas Day, stockings first and our gifts to them.
Between main course and pudding we’d open other presents from one side of the family, Boxing Day the other side and the next day friends, g-dparents, etc. That changed as they got older to being all on Christmas Day.

This year we will be in a new house 100 miles away so I'm looking for a new tradition as well, as the morning will seem weird otherwise. We have older teens+

We normally go to church as lots of kids from the church youth groups used to go, so my kids liked that. Then we come back and open presents. We take turns to open one present at a time, which is really lovely and something from my childhood. Then I start cooking in earnest. It always takes way longer than planned so it's usually food during the queens speech. The kids usually want to do something after that like games. DH isn't fond of games so he'll often disappear and be snoozing. We save the dessert and nibbles to the evening.

The DC open their stockings first thing, then we have breakfast of pastries, fruit and orange juice/Bucks Fizz. After that we open our presents from each other. At one point I'll put some nibbles out and cook the dinner. We only eat main course and then have a break before dessert. After dinner we open presents from others, play games/a board game and maybe watch a film.

Ours are older now. We usually have a shooting competition on Christmas Eve, followed by midnight Mass. One night we have a cocktail party, one night we turn the dining room into a Casino and another night we have a bonfire.
There's a lot of alcohol but we do try to get outside for walks or a park run as well.

• open stockings on our bed all together. DH goes to check if Santa has been and brings us all breakfast in bed (usually pork pie and chutney for us adults).
• go down and open all other presents next the the tree. Paper everywhere, Christmas music on loud. Grandparents pop in mid-morning, open the champagne.
• everyone gets dressed up ready for lunch at 1pm. Set the table nicely and make sure we bring the wreath in from the front door to place in the centre of the table at lunch (with a candle in the middle).
• after lunch, get all wrapped up and take the dog out for a walk. Stop at the pub, sit outside with a hot chocolate.
• get home, change into pyjamas, open the last present under the tree which is always a new jigsaw. Compete jigsaw together. Put Queens Speech on (taped from earlier).
• More playing with toys by DC, us adults clean everything up and bring in desserts to eat in the lounge. Put Christmas film on and cuddle up.

DD opens her stocking (and any presents beside it) in the morning, and we enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast (a rarity in our house) - freshly squeezed juice, freshly ground coffee, pastries (baked from M&S frozen or Jus-Rol tubes), fresh fruit (I chop on 24th), etc.

We go to mass in the late morning. We also have at least 1 family call to do after that if we are at home. And we also usually go for a walk either on the pier or through the woods as well.

When we get home (between 2 and 4 usually), we turn on the oven and cook some nibbles while doing other work, getting turkey ready to go in, lighting fire, turning on lamps/lighting candles, opening drinks for everyone etc. So we only open presents once those are done, with the drinks and nibbles to enjoy. After that, we need to ring extended family and pop in and out basting turkey/turning on potatoes and veg etc.

After dinner, it does get quiet, but we usually turn on tv for whatever movie is on then, enjoy cheese and crackers later, and pudding if we feel like it, and then retire, replete, to bed. (I keep meaning to get a game we would enjoy, but DH is not great at games and DD is in a very "anti-other humans" phase for the past few years...so I don't push it).

As every other day is very hectic, that quieter day is much needed to recharge and enjoy in peace.

If we are not at home, we are visiting extended family so spend the entire day running between mass, DMILs and DPs - desperately trying to get a walk in somewhere to reduce the impact of 2 turkey dinners, and a few minutes peace from the chaos of both houses. So downtime isn't ever a problem those years..... :(

Not a Christmas Day thing but in the run up to Xmas. Each of the children get a new Xmas decoration each year. They all go on the tree, which is now mostly special decorations with only a few normal ones in between. When they eventually leave home they will have a set of specie decorations to start off their own trees and have those lovely memories as they decorate their tree each year.

@GoldenBlue

Not a Christmas Day thing but in the run up to Xmas. Each of the children get a new Xmas decoration each year. They all go on the tree, which is now mostly special decorations with only a few normal ones in between. When they eventually leave home they will have a set of specie decorations to start off their own trees and have those lovely memories as they decorate their tree each year.

That's so wonderful. The best tradition I've heard of

@GoldenBlue ah we do that too! Although I don't know now if I'll be able to bring myself to let them take their decorations when they leave home, they have so much sentimental value to me too!