Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Christmas traditions

86 replies

Vs2914 · 26/09/2021 10:40

Just coming onto see what everyone does for Christmas everyone is so different. The main thing we do is Christmas eve party my sister has done this for around 15 years and even though the kids are all getting up we all still look forward to it every year. I am thinking instead of a Christmas eve box I might do a December box where they will get more use out of it.

OP posts:
Ellarain · 26/09/2021 17:17

We watch Santa Claus The Movie every Christmas Eve. It's my absolute favourite. We always have new matching Christmas pyjamas and Christmas duvet covers.

CMOTDibbler · 26/09/2021 17:28

We do a big shop for the foodbank christmas hampers in November, and drop a load of 'nice to have' bits and pieces into the community cupboard.
Do fancy dress Jingle Jogs and other charity fun run things
We usually go to a fancy dress dog parade in aid of a local dog rescue the week before christmas
Make christmas cakes, mincemeat, mulled wine syrup for raffle hampers for a few charity things
I get a new christmas tree decoration every year

Snaketime · 26/09/2021 17:33

On Christmas eve we spend time as a family just the 4 of us, then me and my 2 DC go to Christingle while my DH starts getting food ready at home, we then have a buffet tea, before putting out the mince pies and the special key for Santa and the reindeer food for the reindeers. Christmas day is spent with my DP's and Boxing day is spent with my DH's family. Obviously we didn't last year due to Covid, instead we went for a nice walk, then had the buffet and spent Christmas day with my DP's as they were part of our bubble due to being my childcare.

TheKeatingFive · 26/09/2021 17:38

A box on Xmas Eve or 'December box' is not tradition in the real sense. It's naff.

Oh please, who made you the authority? We’ve been doing Christmas Eve boxes in my family for 35 years.

And who cares if it’s a ‘proper’ tradition. If the family enjoy it, that’s all that matters.

beentoldcomputersaysno · 26/09/2021 18:08

@SlamLikeAGuitar

It’s started by accident - but we do our kids’ footprints in salt dough every year on Christmas Eve to show how much they’ve grown over the year Smile
Love this! We make a gingerbread house early December, which is cute. We also do advent calendars, also put a little message/activity idea in the advent calendars, elf on the shelf, Christmas Eve boxes (although like the sound of December box instead), decorate a plate for Santa, Christmassy themed books in December, Santa duvets for the kids. They're very young though, so we will drop some of these as they get older.
Antinerak · 26/09/2021 20:38

Dh and I visit our neighbour on Christmas eve for a street party in their house. We have a buffet where we all bring a dish or two and have a couple of drinks with them. Then on Christmas day we exchange cards in the street. It's a village tradition that our oldest neighbour remembers from when he was a boy living in the same house he's in now. Last Christmas we all chucked cards at each other's front doors so hopefully this year we can revive it.

thecatsthecats · 26/09/2021 20:42

I quite like the sound of Icelandic Yule Lads but not sure of the Spanish pooping log, sounds messy

Well the yule lads cause mischief and the pooping log poops chocolate so you might want to reconsider!

TheKeatingFive · 26/09/2021 21:02

Ok I’ve just googled the pooping log and why the hell have I never heard of this before. It’s amazeballs.

😂

upinaballoon · 26/09/2021 22:48

Eat ham for Christmas morning breakfast.
Have Classic FM on, with Christmassy music.
Consider charities which feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the prisoner, care for the sick etc., unless I can do those things personally.
Put up very few decorations, quite late on, but keep them up until 12th night.
Buy too many packets of cards every year, addicted to them.

upthekyber · 27/09/2021 21:49

@ThreeLittleDots

We seem to be the only ones who keep our tree etc up until 12th night. That seems pretty different to most people!
I do
HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule · 28/09/2021 17:39

I keep it up til 12th night as a matter of routine. This year I toyed with leaving it up til Candlemas (because it’d been such a gloomy year for many reasons).

Allywill · 28/09/2021 17:48

We have meatballs on Christmas Eve. We had them 2 years running by coincidence then the year after the kids said we always have meatballs on Christmas Eve and refused to consider anything else. I guess that’s how traditions are made.

suspiria777 · 28/09/2021 18:47

Give strangers Turkish delight and turn my enemies to stone.

I honestly think the secular obsession with Christmas is more obtrusive and irritating than the god squad lot.
Thankfully it's tradition in my culture to go out for Chinese food.

SecretWitch · 28/09/2021 18:56

We are a mixed Jewish, Christian and Pagan family. We celebrate Hanukkah and the Solstice with food and lights. My mother makes roast beef for Christmas Eve, we traditionally stay over her house for the night. Our daughter receives her Christmas Eve box right after supper. It usually contains a Christmas lego set, pyjammas, sweets and hot chocolate.

We have bacon and eggs on Christmas Day. Now that our daughter is older we usually wait to open gifts until mid day. We order in Chinese food for supper.

RedHelenB · 28/09/2021 18:58

@ThreeLittleDots

We seem to be the only ones who keep our tree etc up until 12th night. That seems pretty different to most people!
We do too, although we're putting it up earlier too as the years pass by!
decafforme · 28/09/2021 19:06

@Noshowwithoutpunch no tradition was a tradition when it started. Your comment comes across a little rude. I've had an Xmas Eve box of sorts (book/film, pjs) since my childhood and now I do it for my own.

We watch muppets Xmas carol and the grinch every Xmas Eve. Host Boxing Day. Xmas Eve walk.

There's lots of new traditions I want to add over the coming years with my own dc, can't wait :)

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 28/09/2021 19:22

@ThreeLittleDots

We seem to be the only ones who keep our tree etc up until 12th night. That seems pretty different to most people!
We do, too. I don’t understand why people take everything down so early, even on Boxing Day 😱 - January is dreary enough as it is.
WearsideBridge · 28/09/2021 19:58

@TheKeatingFive

Ok I’ve just googled the pooping log and why the hell have I never heard of this before. It’s amazeballs.

😂

His name is Tio, We have one bought in the Christmas market in Barcelona.

I bought my DC's a Christmas bauble every year and a box to keep them in, including tissue to wrap them. Individual by their likes sometimes - one DC was into 'vintage' one year so I sourced a vintage bauble or two, another loves glitter.
It was supposed to be a bauble box that they would take with them when they have their own homes....I really don't want to part with them and have delayed that to their 'permanent' home rather than student house...😂. I did this because as a child I loved unwrapping the baubles every year, guessing what was inside, remembering this that had been given by my gran.

I also bought them a Christmas Eve book, wrapped and left on their pillow for bedtime - bribery to get them upstairs, quiet time sharing the book in bed. I actually did this until they were late teens, so moving from the Jolly Christmas Postman to 'Christmas Cocktails' 😂as they have grown up.
We've collected them in a large box and even though they are early 20's we still get out all of the Christmas books when we decorate the house and leave them for Christmas reading.

Rizzoli123 · 28/09/2021 19:59

You can get Christmas cutlery in next

lachy · 28/09/2021 20:11

A box on Xmas Eve or 'December box' is not tradition in the real sense. It's naff

In your opinion!

We do a 1st Dec box for DD. Mostly it's items like her santa mug and plate, Christmas Books and her Christmas duvet, but I add Christmas Pyjamas, jumpers, craft kits and her Advent Calendar too.

It costs very little, particularly as I buy jumpers and pyjamas from eBay for next to nothing.

ThreeLittleDots · 28/09/2021 20:45

We do, too. I don’t understand why people take everything down so early, even on Boxing Day

I know! I also make a point of singing carols around the house until Jan 6th..

ShanghaiDiva · 28/09/2021 20:51

My dc were born in Germany and Austria and we still celebrate Nikolaus with shoes out on 5th December ready to be filled with sweets when they wake on 6th.

stitchy · 28/09/2021 21:02

We used to do a Christmas Eve treasure hunt for the kids which now they're older (and also because we've exhausted all of the potential clue-hiding-places near to our house) has become Christmas Eve Taskmaster - the prize is always new Christmas pyjamas to wear that night. Tasks such as making a recognisable animal out of marshmallows and cocktails sticks and squirting the tallest squirty cream tower in 1 min etc. Everyone wins though because it's Christmas

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 28/09/2021 21:02

I’m single and the only ‘child’ (am 45). I have zero family traditions, never did, never have. Any chance you could get this moved to the Christmas Board?

FizzyPink · 28/09/2021 21:07

First Sunday in December we put on Christmas songs, drink champagne and decorate the house.

Then the following Sunday we go for a roast and do Christmas at Kew.

Christmas PJs for the whole family on Christmas Eve.