what are your xmas traditions?

[nappyaddict]

xmas eve - we always go to the crib service, have xmas eve dinner, open their xmas eve pjs, get dressed for bed and watch a xmas film. the kids drink hot chocolate with marshmallows and the adults drink mulled wine. then we put out water and a carrot for rudolph and baileys and a cookie for santa and we put our pillow cases in the living room where we would like to sit and open our pressies in the morning.

xmas day - first person to wake up gets everyone else up and we all go downstairs together. everyone picks one present out of their pillowcases to open and plays with it whilst the adults make breakfast and drink bucks fizz. All the pillowcases have a £1 coin in th bottom cos of the story that father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney. The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn't landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry.

After our yummy english breakfast we go to church. We come back and open the rest of the pillowcase presents whilst lunch is cooking. we have xmas cds playing non-stop throughout the house all day. we eat at about 2-3pm then we open family/friends presents and watch tv, play games etc. For supper we always have sandwiches and nibbles and then the kids go to bed and the adults stay up and get drunk tehe.

Can I come to your house for Christmas please.

feeling pissed off at 12
pissed at 4
maudlin at 7

maidamess - is it cos of the baileys "santa" gets to drink?

Christmas eve we go for a walk around town to look at the lights and pop in the chippy on the way home (Rare treat). Then open pressie (pjs) and watch a christmas DVD.Put mince pie and milk(Probably) out for santa. Sprinkle raindeer food outside! Stockings hung by their beds.

Christmas day normally all wake up and go downstairs and go mad opening presents. This year i am planning a one at a time rule so it takes longer.
DS's will be going to their Dad at about 3pm until probably late afternoon boxing day so the afternoon will be just me and the girls.

Boxing day there is a little gift each on the tree.

oh yes i forgot - we also go for a walk to look at the lights on the way back from church.

we start on xmas eve with the visit to santa that I book and pay for the week before. they get to ask him for their most wanted gift (which under no circumstances should change that day, are you listening DS1??? santa has NO WAY of getting a changed request at that short notice however magical he is!!!)(can you tell we had a tearful boy last year as he changed his mind too late for mummy to do anything).

anyhoo.....we then take the kiddies for whichever their most wanted meal would be (last year was MacDonald), and then go to the beach for a walk.

come home for tea, do the santa routine of cookies and nilk and a pre-thankyou letter for santa containing a hug for the pressies given, and they then get given a pressie from mummy and daddy, which each year is a new pair of PJ's to encourage them into bed sooner. as they are getting older tho we normally now have a new xmas DVD to watch before bed.

once kiddies asleep DH and I swap our pressies at midnight so we get OUR time, meanign xmas day is centred on the kiddies.

xmas morning we wake to squealing kiddies finding their stockings hung on their doors and all pile into bed to open them.

downstairs for breakfast and then they get to dive under the tree for the rest of their gifts from us. Grandma and Grandad come for xmas dinner and then the rest of the family, or we go depending on whose turn it is and we get the family pressies and then a buffet tea before games and alcohol.

boxing day flame and family come over and we repeat with a smaller round of pressies but much more alcohol!!!

Christmas eve,
christmas service at church with PIL,
home for nibbles,
kids find new PJs on bed from Santa.
Leave out stuff for santa,
sprinkle reindeer food out back and
lay out reindeer landing lights on grass.

Christmas day,
Kids open stockings in my bed,
Every one gets dressed,
PIL appear (were previously here for stocking opening but I am holding them off ,
Tea and toast while wee all settle in living room for pressy opening,
Kids play posty and pick up parcels read labels and take it over to the person (in the room), this slows things down and kids see what everyone else gets too.
Break for brunch, pate, crackers cheese etc.
More pressy opening or assembling until late lunch about 2pm (or later usually than planned).
Everyone out for a walk after lunch

xmas eve we always go to panto and heckle the cast, then come home and drink too much and try to get kids to go to bed early, unsuccessfully.

xmas morning kids wake at 3am and have to be persuaded that it isnt morning yet and please go back to bed. they wake again at 6.30 and this time there is no chance of a reprieve so we all go downstairs and have major wrapping paper ripping fest for half an hour. we then put on someones new xmas cd, whilst kids have chocolate orange for breakfast,(and dinner and tea come to that)and me and dh have oysters and bloody marys for breaky. this year eldest ds wants to join us so have had to order extra oysters.

we then trail to pil for crap presents, and then back home for unconventional lunch (anything except turkey, cant stand it). this year its lobster followed by goose and lamb. we eat and drink to much, then have rennies followed by a coma in front of the tv if allowed, though more often than not it is acting as mediator between rowing siblings. bed by midnight with a headache and a mouth like the undercarriage of a train. joy.

oh yes i forgot our walk after lunch (if you can call it that - we don't normally finish til about 4:30)