Different traditions with celebrating on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

[december2020]

I'm scandi, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve (big Christmas dinner after we gather and open presents, play games, chat and watch Christmas movies). DH is British and it is presents Christmas morning, Christmas lunch, games and movies.

DS is 2 this Christmas and while we live in the UK, I'd love for him to still have a connection to his scandi heritage too.
What would be the best way to balance it? Alternate years? Try make Christmas a 2 day affair (will it take away from Christmas itself)? Maybe I could spread it with food (scandi food on the Eve and British food on Christmas day) but what about the presents?

It feels so tricky on how to incorporate both traditions and heritages without making one feel 'less valuable.

Has anyone managed this balance?

Try make Christmas a 2 day affair (will it take away from Christmas itself)? Maybe I could spread it with food (scandi food on the Eve and British food on Christmas day) but what about the presents?

I’d do this. And you can open some presents on each day. Your traditions sound lovely and your DC is really lucky to be in a position to celebrate according to both traditions.

Thank you so much!
My only worry is if it's make presents 'less special' in any way, but I think maybe it's all in my head.

But I love the idea of getting to have scandi food on the Eve and British food on the day to let both traditions come to life.

Presents from scandi relatives on Christmas Eve with food from your traditions? And then British Christmas on Christmas Day.
Sounds perfect to me and an extra long Christmas. So much build up for one day so to extend it sound ideal.

DH is German. We are allowed to select 1 present from under the tree to open on xmas eve, we also have a nice buffet.
We actually don’t eat xmas dinner though, we go out for a curry but that’s just preference rather than traditional- although I suppose it’s our tradition now!

DH is British but always opened a present on Christmas Eve and that is something we do now. It doesn’t take away from the presents on Christmas Day. You could do presents from Scandi relatives or just one present.

The thing is that traditions evolve over time and if something doesn’t work one year, you aren’t tied to it in future years. So you try something this year and if you don’t like it, tweak it slightly next year. You’ll still have enough of the things you do like to carry forward traditions.

I think people are doing Xmas eve boxes here now anyway?

We do opening new PJs, a book and chocolates on Xmas eve. The big presents on Xmas day.

Growing up we had a 2 day affair, not incorporating different heritages though.

Christmas Eve was the extended family gathering that started at teatime with a huge buffet. We exchanged and opened gifts from each other, played games and was generally very merry.

Christmas morning Father Christmas had filled the empty pillowcases we’d left in front of the fireplace with wrapped presents and the big main gift usually too bulky to fit in the pillowcase would be next to it unwrapped. The pillowcase contained cheaper things like books and stationary, puzzles and games. We’d have a 3 course Christmas dinner at lunchtime with immediate family plus one or 2 sets of grandparents.

The gifts opened on Christmas Eve did not lessen the excitement of those from Santa Claus on Christmas Day or make it less special. Christmas Eve was very much about giving presents as well as receiving them. It was exciting in the run up planning what gifts to buy and then going on outings with different relatives to choose them, all the whispered secrets and hiding them until they were wrapped and placed under the tree.

I’d incorporate both of your traditions over the 2 days to create your own very special ones for your family rather than alternating. Christmas for me was very much about both of the days not one more than the other.