What are your favourite Christmas traditions?

[Superworm24]

So for a bit of background, I'm a first time mum who had a difficult childhood/relationship with my mother. Christmas was always a massive chore to her and although she would put up a tree and buy us gifts it would all be begrudgingly. I'm sure it was far better than what a lot of children have but it never felt that special.

So I don't feel like I have any Christmas traditions to carry forward. And although our little one is still a baby I'd like to start doing things differently from the start for all of us (because I'm excited for the first time in forever!)

I know I want to do some kind of Christmas eve box. Obviously it won't really contain much this year but I like the idea of nice new PJs for photos in the morning and then adding craft stuff, hot chocolate etc as he gets older.

I have also got the Christmas chronicles book and the advent baking book after reading about them on here whilst pregnant. I haven't had a chance to read either but I'm hoping to do lots of baking and follow along with the chronicles book at the time.

What do you all do to make the run up special?

And then how does your christmas eve, day and boxing day look? Do you put stockings in bedrooms or hang them on the mantlepiece? What kind of gifts does Santa bring? Do you go for a walk at a set time or to the pub?

Thank you in advance for any replies! And of course there are no wrong answers and everyone does things differently.

Our tree goes up on the last day of term and stays up until just before term starts / twelfth night whichever is sooner.
I can't cope with academics and decorations. Still the same now youngest is at college.

However outside lights go up in November and go on when the town ones go on towards end of that month.

Love this thread! My little boy is 3 now, and asked today if we can put the tree up (just because he wants presents!)

Tree up end of November, we'll watch a Christmas film and do it together. We use a box Advent calendar to put my own chocolates in for him.

Last year on Christmas eve we went on the Santa Express.. would love to do it again but not cheap! Then we've got a Christmas eve box.. Will put in new pjs, chocolate, The Night Before Christmas book, the Jolly Postman christmas book, a new plate and cup set, Father Christmas's plate, a painting craft and a letter from Father Christmas.

Christmas Day we always have everyone at purs for a buffet. My parents are divorced and remarried and then there's my husbands parents, so it's just easier to have everyone with us than have to visit 3 different houses! My BIL and nephew and his gf join us too. With us from about 11/12 to 5/6pm. We open presents before hand and he loved showing everyone last year!

Boxing day we always go for a meal out with my mum and stepdad, and then we have Christmas Dinner on New Year's Day at my mum and stepdads! He makes the best Christmas Dinner!

Our presents tend to come from Father Christmas at the moment, but they won't always. He's told presents from family are from family, and not FC.

Christmas Eve:
we do a long walk in a country park (take hot chocolate in a flask with us!) and get the kids to run around as much as possible/play on play equipment to tire them out. Sometimes we go swimming instead (again something physical to burn off energy)
we then get a McDonald’s or a takeaway on the route home. We pop on a kid friendly Christmas film when we get home (kids can do Christmas colouring/sticker books if they want to as well) and dh and I pop in and out whilst we prep things in advance for Christmas dinner the next day.
Then it’s bath and bed time. We read a few Christmas themed books to them before sleep (night before Christmas etc)
Then me and dh have everything sorted ready for the next morning, we sit down with a drink and some nibbles (cheese, chocolate etc)

Christmas Day:
we stay at home just our little family and no guests.
dc wake us up and we get up all together and find their stocking (it’s the only presents Santa brings in our house and it’s just little bits under £5 typically ) in the living room. Open those and whilst they’re playing with that, we get dressed (just comfy clothes nothing fancy!) and have breakfast all together.
For breakfast we usually have bacon or sausage sandwiches. Did try doing homemade sausage McMuffins one year but found it a bit much!
Then we open all the presents under the tree one at a time (taking turns) with Xmas music on in the background.
We spend the rest of the day just playing with presents, watching films, we often head out for a walk. We tend to have roast chicken or lamb dinner with all the usual trimmings (no starters etc) we eat Christmas dinner at about 3/4.
Then in the evening we play board games if we fancy, and eat our Christmas desert (we’re too full straight after Christmas dinner so we have it in the evening - it’s usually Christmas pudding and a choice of something chocolatey)
we let dc stay up later than usual if they want too, but they’re usually tired so go to bed at a reasonable time.

Boxing Day:
lazy morning in pyjamas, we head off for a little walk/to the park for some fresh air.
pick at any leftovers (we generally don’t have many leftovers as I don’t tend to cook vast amounts)
then at about 2/3 I cook up some frozen buffet bits (sausage rolls, chicken strips, mini pizzas etc) and cheese/salami/pate etc and pop it out on the table buffet style. We then have a weird family disco. Our dc absolutely love it and it’s one of their favourite parts of Xmas, but they’re still young (all under 9) so they don’t find it cringy so it won’t be a tradition that they will want to do forever but for now they absolutely adore it. We bring dc’s disco ball light from their bedroom, turn down the lights and dance around to Christmas music, and have the buffet.
then when dc are in bed me and dh watch a film and pick at food again (chocolates etc)

we don’t see family Christmas Eve- Boxing Day as we don’t live close and we prefer to spend it at home just us whilst our dc are young. But we do make it a priority to visit everyone before Christmas and we spend a few days over new years with extended family. So it works for us.

Get two stockings, one to fill in your own time one the dc puts out on Christmas Eve. Then swap the two when dc is asleep. So you aren't having to stuff the thing flatter to one too many egg nogs and you want an early night for the big day.

Make sure the at the stockings are kept separately.

Reusable advent calendar - ours is a train with 24 little drawers in the trucks. Kids genuinely believed that it went to north pole every night to bring them a chocolate coin in the drawer the next day.

Ages 6-8 ish they used to write little notes to FC and leave in drawers which was so sweet ("Santa I feel sad because I didn't do good in my show" after she got stage fright and fled 😢 I still have it somewhere)

If I ever stopped this tradition I'd have outrage on my hands even though they are all too old to believe now. Finding the train on 30 November (don't do tree til school finishes usually cause we have mad cats) is the start of Christmas for me and I love it

We do like others - Santa brought one big-ish gift and smaller stocking fillers (including fruit, unusual sweets, and a book), but anything from anyone else was labelled from them. There was also a parcel from "Mum and Dad" for Dd - something more practical like clothes rather than toys.

Not a tradition but I would like to recommend "the night before the night before Christmas" and "the night after Christmas" to stretch out the holiday feeling. They are lovely picture books.

Our local church does a charity Christmas tree display - all local charities decorate a tree each - lifeboat, local animal charities, one where parents write a message for children they have lost. There must be 60+ trees in the church, and it feels very special to walk around. And it’s absolutely beautiful. We have been on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, for a walk around and to light a candle for a loved one. It’s up there as one of my favourite things to do at Christmas now.

We are expats and DH and I both come from different countries, so we have three lots of traditions to squeeze in. Plus we both have divorced parents but we’ve managed to establish traditions to bring it all together.

We have a reusable advent calendar, an advent crown (with 4 candles) and an advent candle we light each day. We also have a bunch of Christmas books that come out and sometimes I buy a new one.

at the beginning of December we have Swissmas. We invite all the family that we won’t see at Christmas to visit us and we run a full Christmas weekend. The tree is always up for Swissmas. Friday night is usually airport runs picking people up and somehow it’s become traditional that we always have chile con carne that night.
on Saturday we have a long breakfast and then the kids play, adults might go for a walk etc while I prepare the sides for Christmas dinner. At 2 pm DH and whoever wants to go, drive to the city to pick up the turkey, we found a 5 star hotel who sell them for takeaway, piping hot and ready to serve. Once back we get our party clothes on and sit down to English Christmas dinner. At 5.30 we go to the village Christmas market ready for the Sami Chlaus parade. After the parade we head home for ris alamande (danish Christmas dessert) after which we dance around the Christmas tree while singing carols (everyone gets to chose one starting with the oldest person present) and then we get to open some presents, only those from/to the people that are there.
at some point over the weekend I bring out the Christmas table cloth. Everyone signs it with a black marker pen and through the year I embroider those names with a specific colored thread for that year.
during December we go to pantomime and in the last week before Christmas, after school has broken up, I take DS to the circus. We may visit some Christmas markets and we always have a Christmas dinner with our group of adult friends, often cheese fondue.
christmas is usually at home or in Denmark but wherever we are we do danish Christmas on 24th and English Christmas on 25th. Usually our fathers and various siblings will join us, we‘ve never had a small Christmas with just us. It’s a ton of work but I wouldn‘t do it any other way.

We do a December the 1st box so they can enjoy all the Christmas stuff in it all month.

We visit Santa late November so that any Christmas gift lists can be done and mostly unchangeable from December 1st!

We post off Christmas list to Santa in the real postbox and put the address post office give but don't do a return address so I can order a specific letter for them instead of the generic one they send

We always visit a garden centre to look at Christmas decorations/lights

My kids have Christmas bedding and their own little tree to decorate

We go out for a Christmas meal with family

This year I'll try do some Christmas baking

Santa sends 1 or 2 presents tops and a stocking (on fireplace) and the rest from us or family

It starts with the Christmas Specials. I grew up watching those old stop animation shows like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, so it's tradition to watch them now. Then all the old Christmas movies, from The Grinch to Christmas Chronicles to Wonderful Life to Polar Express.
Tree goes up first weekend in December and I do a wreath workshop (used to do this with my DD but she's too busy now). Always an advent calendar (not chocolate but a beautiful one usually made in Germany).
I'd take the kids skating a few times. Maybe in to town to see the lights.
No Christmas Eve box (hate the concept) and certainly no Elf on a shelf (don't know a parent who enjoyed this after the second year).
Christmas Day up to open presents (don't do stockings) then a nice brunch of French toast and bacon then I start to cook. Dinner about 5pm and games (Scrabble etc) after then a movie. If with family (they live abroad) a bit more of an event.
Boxing Day used to have extended family (in laws) or go over to them - all passed on now. So low key just recovering (and probably still tidying) from the day before!
Traditions that really stick with me from my childhood: the TV specials mentioned above - you missed the broadcast that was it as no recording possible! Making my own advent calendar, going out with my Dad to find the perfect tree, decorating the tree (always my responsibility) and making decorations for it, baking Christmas treats, Christmas Mass, the strays my parents would have over for the dinner, her wonderful stuffing.

Look at this!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · Today 20:13
I might've collected small glass jars and put them down the path with LED tealights in them to make a "runway" for Father Christmas to land .

And taken my then 3yo son down the garden to the wooden playhouse with a candle jar lamp to peer at the Sleeping Elf ( made from a bathtoy in a cardboard box bed ) who was really really tired and Father Christmas would pick him up when he visited .

But I am not in the least bit artistic , that talent was bestowed on my sister and cousins but bypassed me

Our Christmas traditions have evolved over time, but the things I'm most glad we've done or still do are as follows:

Spend time with family. My family on the 25th and DH's on the 26th. We've lost both of my Grandmas in recent years and Christmases with them are very special memories and their joy at spending it with grandchildren and great grandchildren was priceless.

Buying each DC a Christmas decoration each year. DD has 18 now and sooner than I'd like, will take them and move out and decorate her own tree. It's been wonderful to lay the foundations of their tree decorating.

Going out to choose a tree and decorating it whilst dancing to carols and drinking hot chocolate.

Walking through the village to look at lights.

Playing the piano and singing carols.

Long walk on Christmas Eve before rushing home to open new pyjamas and a new book.

Christmas Eve baking.

Foraging for foliage to make decorations.

Advent candles.

Wicker baskets of Christmas books coming out of the loft on December 1st.

Sea swimming on boxing day.

Local Christmas markets.

I don’t do almost everything previously listed.

However, I do make pan forte for friends and they they give me almond biscuits in return. I love the sharing.

Forgot we have Christmas bedding and we buy a new board game to play over the holidays.x

Si wouldn't do the Xmas eve boxes it's just more stuff you need to buy.
It's materialistic.

Baking is good. Making Xmas decks for the tree or Xmas bunting.
Reading "the night before Xmas". Decorating a gingerbread house.
A Xmas eve walk, a Xmas day walk.

A tradition I started when DS was growing up and wanting more expensive smaller presents is to wrap the special Christmas items for under the tree to make a decent pile. So when I was laying the table for Christmas dinner, DS would unwrap the pulling crackers, later on he unwraps the biscuits for tea-time cheese. It's more a habit for me now, as he is no longer that excited by Ritz crackers in his mid-twenties!

The other tradition is putting the decorations up bit by bit, so outside lights go up early December, inside knick-knacks gradually appearing through the month, and tree usually a bit last-minute, but then it stays up till 12th night. (except last year when it fell over in the middle of cooking dinner)

My tip is if you have Christmas mugs and plates, when you get them out, put an equal number of the plain ones away in the loft or wherever, otherwise the kitchen cupboards get overcrowded.

We have a wooden board with Christmas and our names on which we leave out for Santa and Rudolph. There is space for a glass of whisky, a carrot and a mince pie.

Christmas morning, the whiskey and mince pie have all gone (leaving a few crumbs) and the carrot has been half eaten and left with teeth marks!

We walk around the village and look at Christmas lights.

Each year we buy DC a new special Christmas tree decoration as well.

We have a fairy door that appears on Dec 1st and the elf brings the advent calendar. The elf just sits on a shelf until 24th when he and the door disappear.

Dec 1st and Christmas bed linen is brought out.

Im sure there’s more but that’s the main traditions we have.

Ah OP - I'm excited just reading your post...you have so many lovely Christmases ahead where you get to do things your way and makes things magic for your little one!

Can I suggest an Advent box rather than a Christmas Eve one? Only because it makes the whole of December really special and means things can come out for longer! I started one with Christmas stories that I add to each year, and I love seeing their faces when the old books come out (with one or two new ones each year!)

We always have friends round for "Gingerbread House Day"...a tradition I started a few years ago now that mine are a bit older. As it says on the tin: invite their friends round, everyone gets a house kit (that I've put together that morning) and they go to town on it with sweets with Christmas films / music on. They all just love it! I'm hoping that one will last into teens / young adults.

We take them to buy a new Christmas decoration each year, and they have their own tree in the playroom to decorate. They loved taking it all off and redecorating every day when they were toddlers! Meant the main tree was left alone as well hehe.

Now they're older, we have a list of special food requests on the fridge that they can add to! They love that.

We always find a local house that's decorated for charity - so much fun!

Mine are ND so Father Christmas grottos were always a bit confusing / overwhelming and I wish we'd been able to enjoy those...but we just had to think around and find joy in other ways!

Our lovely local church does a Christmas crafty morning (and means allllllll the glitter stays there!)

We always have a takeaway on Christmas Eve which has graduated to going out for dinner this year. They think this is super grown up!

We always go to a show or the cinema...especially since the cinemas started showing old Christmas movies like Polar Express!

We have a family Christmas playlist on Spotify that they love listening to each year.

Hope you have a lovely time OP...half the fun is all the planning and excitement! 🎄🤶

Oh! And one more...a very specific slightly weird one.

We always pop a bag of crisps and a small chocolate bar in the stockings...years ago in some fit of "sod it, it's Christmas" we let them eat these BEFORE breakfast. I'm not exaggerating...it is all they talked about for the entire Christmas holidays!

Then asked if that meant they could do it each year...so now we have the annual crisps and a small chocolate before breakfast which they think is hilarious.

So, lots of silly traditions sort of pop up over the years that you don't just don't see coming!

@SussexLass87 your post reminded me of a weird thing we do.
Father Christmas brings only the stockings, so naturally he puts things in that mummy and daddy wouldn’t usually put in. For example slime (too messy!) and usually a can of fizzy drink (which they’re never usually allowed) something rude like a whoopie cushion/fart spray/joke shop things; and similar to @SussexLass87 there is usually chocolate that we allow them to eat before Christmas.
it’s inexpensive but the ‘naughtyness’ adds to the magic.

Ah I love your tradition! So similar to ours. Totally agree - it's the naughtiness that makes it all a bit magic!

There is a tradition between my DP and myself, which we do every year without fail. While he wraps his gifts for me, I’m in the room to keep him company. I can’t see what I’m going to get because I’m blindfolded, but it’s so much fun to hear my goodies being wrapped right next to me, and I look forward to it almost as much as opening the presents.

We do very similar as your posts reminded me.

I always put a treat like a chocolate bar or some sweets from a foreign country into their stockings (our local Asian and Polish supermarkets are very useful for this.) It is evidence of Father Christmas picking up something for DDs on his travels around the world and we would never let them have chocolate for breakfast but as Father Christmas has brought it they can. Their little faces are always so excited!

One tradition I do want to start is to fill my own Christmas stocking. DH is fab at gift giving but we don't do stockings for adults as they're brought by Father Christmas for the children. But so often throughout the year I see something small I'd like to buy myself but don't (a pair of earrings, some posh soap etc). But I think in future years I will buy these things when I see them throughout then immediately put them in my own stocking. I'm bound to forget what I've bought so it'll be a nice surprise on Christmas morning!

Go on everyone, go to the link. https://play.christmasfm.com/classics/ You know you want to.

And we can entertain ourselves at the random surge in clicks they will see when they come into work on Tuesday (bank holiday in Ireland).