American Christmas

[RedHelenB]

Just curious to know whether the naff Christmas movies are at all like the experience over there. Do you bake Christmas cookies and deliver to neighbours? Do you have candy cane lanes?

Some neighborhoods do decorate extensively. Some people bake cookies and deliver to their neighbors. Some people meet old lovers and get married to them. But, really. Do you think life in the US where there are more than 330 million people is exactly like Hallmark movies?

You know it’s a big place right?

When I lived there, our closest neighbours were a drive away. It’s like that for a lot of people in a lot of states.

Before I moved here, I didn’t actually believe it was all tea, scones and talking like the Royals because I’m not thick.

Love this reply @EasternTennessee, you nailed it.

You’re joking, right? 😆 That’s as likely as all Scottish men having red beards and wearing kilts while drinking a wee dram of whisky in their castle, having returned from haggis shooting just in time for a ceilidh.

I'm curious as to what Americans have for Christmas lunch

We have invited an American this year and she's making guacamole to bring ......

I haven't got the heart to tell her

I've always been curious about this too.

I know they have a big turkey dinner at thanksgiving. I can't imagine they do that again a month or so later. Or maybe they do?

@Maddy70 it varies a lot. But it’s rarely a big turkey dinner, that’s Thanksgiving. If people have a dinner it is often ham as the main meat, many of my neighbours would just do a huge brunch type of thing often set up like a buffet. Italian Americans do a feast of seven (?) fishes on Christmas Eve. Lots of other people I know do their big dinner on Christmas Eve. So it’s very different although the food aspect of Christmas is very important for them it’s not a one size fit all deal like it is over here. I always did turkey and could always find one at Christmas time so some people also do what we would consider it a traditional dinner.

I lived in a fairly wealthy suburb of a midsize city in a northern state. Lots of houses with crazy decorations, cookie exchanges, holiday parties, decoration exchanges, Santa would drive around and give out candy. So a lot of Hallmark like things. I enjoyed it and made the best of it but I found it very overwhelming and a bit impersonal. Lots of money spent on showing off I thought. I prefer my Victorian British Christmas with carols followed by a pint in the pub and Christmas farmers markets.

You do realize that Americans dont ALL do the exact same thing right?
I'm always (you would think I would get use to it) surprised that people on here seem to think all Americans do the same thing. Your "what do they eat for Christmas" question would have too many answers to actually answer. Because with 330 million people there will be lots of different foods being eaten.

Guac sounds great! Bag of nacho chips and you’re sorted for snacks.

When I was in the US I noticed Christmas was a lot less of a big deal. People didn’t travel to see families as much, for example. Probably because they just saw everyone for Thanksgiving.

We never have turkey for Christmas dinner but if asked what British people had for Christmas I would say turkey was normal

No need to give the op a hard time - get a cup of tea

I grew up in California. We had turkey and ham at Christmas… basically Thanksgiving dinner part 2. But my parents were from Europe; German/Czech. We ate a lot of foods from that region at Christmas time, especially the desserts and treats side of things.
Having left the States at 18 to live in Italy (where my dad had lived before coming to the US), my own Christmases here in the UK include a few Italian influences and the German/Czech ones I grew up with.

They don’t have crackers. That’s all I know.

Also the majority of our neighbours were immigrants like my parents AND it was the 70s/80s… not as showy as it is now. It was a different time. We baked a lot and mom made jams and cakes for neighbours. I miss watching her make the jams. That was always a nice thing she did.

Nope. No crackers or Christmas tree bags (which were more of a thing when I came to the UK years ago).

Brits usually have a standard Christmas dinner of a turkey roast. Starter and Christmas pudding. Of course there will be changes due to personal tastes but that's what we have. It's not unreasonable to assume Americans have something similar ?

@SerenityNowInsanityLater what are tree bags?

I’m another Californian. Some people go over the top with lights and sugar cookies for everyone. But in general, I feel like Christmas was a slightly less big deal growing up than it is here in the UK now. Partly because of Thanksgiving, which I think a lot of Brits don’t realise is such a big holiday.

My dc were asking me what Americans Christmas traditions were and I genuinely couldn’t think of many. We usually had a honey baked ham from a certain store that prepped them for you. But that’s it: no crackers, Xmas cake, pudding, roast dinner, special Xmas chocs.

We did the Spiral cut honey baked ham from the certain store too @hennybeans Turkey too.
All my friends baked cookies and we ate them when we met up for coffee.
It really wasn't anything like the Hallmark movies. Only a sprinkle of snow in 30 years.
We did turkey, ham, and pies for dessert, Chocolate cream, lemon meringue, coconut cream, all from Marie Callenders.
Presents in the afternoon and lying about eating too much.

Shame about the snotty replies.

The non-arsehole replies have been very interesting

I’m wondering this too..

A sack of presents placed under the tree or at the foot of a child’s bed (a few people I knew did this or waxed nostalgic about it when I first came here.).

My young American niece used to love crackers, so when she wasn’t coming for Christmas I used to send a couple with the presents. Strictly illegal, because of the minute amount of gunpowder in the ‘snap’, but what the hell.

DSis said some time ago that she’d seen them available somewhere ((they were in Cambridge, Mass.) along with formerly unavailable things like mint sauce!

Ah, a stocking.

@EasternTennessee I had tea and scones for breakfast l. One of the kids did too, the other had very British clichéd buttered crumpets 🤣.

Is Christmas or Thanksgiving considered a more important holiday? Are there lots of cheesy Thanksgiving films like the Christmas ones, but they just don't make it to the international market?