Family Traditions

[user2234534]

What are your family traditions that you love for the Christmas period ?

It isn't really a tradition but I always used to help my grandma out with the food preparation on Christmas Eve. Something very small but I always looked forward to it and meant a lot to her.

We go to Church every Christmas Eve to the crib service (we’re not a religious family), and then everyone comes back to ours for gammon cobs, and hot chocolate.

That sounds lovely. I've been to the midnight mass before (not religious) and the choir always sound so magical 🥰

Making the Christmas cake in the October half term. Everyone in the household has to stir it and make a wish.

Christmas light safari one Saturday evening in mid December. We take hot chocolate in the car, put Christmas music on and drive around our town to look at people's Christmas lights.....there are some amazing ones locally.

We always go to a café for a fancy hot chocolate on Christmas Eve.

Christmas light safari sounds fab. I did a very small version of this last year just to entertain my three year old on the way back from somewhere... "Mummy, there's a dinosaur"..."I don't think it was sweetie, maybe it was a reindeer?"... "No, it was a dinosaur"... I ended up detouring round past the same house and lo and behold... I'd missed an epic Christmas dinosaur 🤣

You've inspired me to do a 'proper' Christmas safari next year 😁

Sounds amazing!! Absolutely love that idea xx

Every year I want to make a Christmas cake but nobody house likes it 🎅

@DreamloverTealover
I don't like Christmas cake or mince pies 🤢 I really really wish I did, feel like I am missing out 😂

@user2234534@user2234534@user2234534 I was like this with mince pies before years ago but I trained myself to like them 😂

Also I don't know why your tagged three times 🤣 I can't get rid of the extra ones 🤦🏻‍♀️

@DreamloverTealover
Haha yes I should try that so I can join in the excitement!! 😂

Have NC'd because this is outing and I've mentioned it on similar threads.

My all time favourite tradition is going to McDonald's on Xmas eve and watching Deck the Halls on DVD.

My DS was born on 1st Dec 2012 and was in the NICU until Xmas day, we stayed over in the hospitals family room on Xmas Eve and spent the first night ever with our wonderful new baby. We had barely eaten since he was born and were starving and the TV in the room was broken, we obviously didn't want to bother the nurses with a broken TV so I sent DP home to get our tiny portable DVD player and an Xmas film. He brought back the Deck the Halls DVD and a McDonald's and for the first time in a long time I felt right.

We all drive there together and sit in the (ridiculously long) drive through queue together and it always reminds me to be grateful for my family.

We have a family Xmas dinner at my mums the weekend before xmas where my siblings come as well.

We have a mini disco in our living room on Christmas eve before the kids go to bed. Complete with 'dancing sticks' as my eldest delightfully describes them, glo sticks to you and me.

I love it, cant wait for my youngest to get into it a bit more this year!

@xmas2022 Your post was lovely to read, what a special tradition. Both my children were born prematurely and spent a few weeks in NICU. It’s incredibly difficult to go through, which make your special tradition even more wonderful.

Aww that's lovely!! I love the meaning behind the tradition 🥰🥰

That sounds so fun!
Bet your kids look forward to that. Such nice memories for them.

We watch a “Nativity” film every weekend in December.
Nachos on Boxing Day

We have a "Christmas breakfast" on 1st Dec, party plates and eggy bread cut into Xmas shapes using cookie cutters. Then we all open the first day of our advent calendars together

My brother makes American-style pancakes on Christmas morning. There's something particularly charming about this because the tradition started when he was about ten years old and inspired by Jamie Oliver(!) (Brother is now in his thirties.)

I have an evening at my parents, helping to wrap presents. Have done this since I was a teen and I love it. Dad and I do the actual wrapping while mum passes us presents, writes the tags and ensures we are suitable fed and watered (with whisky) and my dad always has some really rubbish Christmas album playing (if he can find it he plays an album of the Neighbours cast singing Christmas songs from the early 90s)

DH and I have a traditional argument about when the decs go up. I want first weekend in December. He wants 15th or later.
It’s lighthearted and every year I come from work to find the decs down from the attic and DH muttering aloud about how much bigger the collection seems to be this year.

Favourite (and slightly bonkers one) started when I was very young. Df would wake up the household every December morning by playing Christmas music downstairs and gradually turning the volume up.
When I went to uni I thought that would be the end but no, my dad called me at 7am on 1st Dec and blasted music down the phone.
I’m late 30s now and he still does it every year. It’s morphed into a group call (parents, me and dsis). We listen to one song, chat for 2 mins then go about our day. DH and BIL think we’re mad

I absolutely love the Christmas music one and am going to steal that this year! Brilliant.

We also have American style pancakes for breakfast with fruit. They are made into Christmas shapes, snowman, snowflake etc!

@WeddingBella aww I absolutely love that and that he has continued it!!

Every year I buy a posh bauble or two for the tree, write the year in a discreet place with a CD marker and if they can reflect a milestone from the year all the better. I look at them all every year and each one prompts a lovely memory or is in memory of someone we miss.

@user2234534 I'm so glad you like it (rather than just thinking we're bonkers)

My dad loves making Christmas magic - not really a tradition but every Christmas Eve he looks out of the window and shouts that he can see Santa and tells you to "come quick before he disappears."
Was amazing when I was small. Not so much when I was 14 😂 but there have been various children in the family over the years to love it.

Hot dogs and home alone on 'little christmas eve' 23.12.

We have takeaway every Christmas Eve, ever since I can remember. Mum never wanted to cook as she would help my nan cook for like 10 on Christmas Day. When I was younger it would be either mcdonalds or Burger King, we’d walk the dog to town (15 minute walk) get food and eat it walking back. Over the years the takeaways have changed and for the last 15 years it’s always been chinese. (Except 2020, the owners had covid so we had to get kebab and it’s just didn’t feel right)
we also watch a nightmare before Christmas every Christmas Eve, have done since I was about 7, kids love it now.
we also go out for a drive in the evening and check out Christmas lights. DS is 14, has ASD and other disability’s so can’t walk to far. DP drives to maccies for a McFlurry and we eat it whilst looking at the lights.
on Christmas Day Eve we always without fail play cards. Kids join in and we play for money.