Christmas traditions

[Candleflower12]

What Christmas traditions do you do with your family?

Christmas Eve tea we have a Provencal tradition called Treize Desserts

three fresh fruit [pomegranate, satsumas, grapes]
three dried fruit [figs, dates, apricots]
three nuts [brazil, walnut, hazel - though in bad brazil years we've subbed in pistachio or macadamia]
three sweetmeats [Viennese truffles, cinnamon biscuits, and shortbread after deciding fancy licquorice didn't really go]
and a centrepiece [Christmas pudding, because we were finding we weren't hungry enough for it on Christmas Day]

Whittards do a Christmas Hot Chocolate - when the boys were small they had a gorgeous spiced white one but that's defunct. A few years ago it was a weird plum thing, last year it was gingerbread

S1's partner has always made a gingerbread structure, so the two of them do that. In 2023 they made King's College Chapel (complete with historic fatal accident in belltower).

Our next-door neighbour throws a mulled-wine and mince pies gathering for the street, which is quite fun. Her Scottish other-side neighbour makes shortbread and I take more of the Finnish cinnamon biscuits (no I have no connection with Finland, I found them in a GH recipe book in the early 90s)

Too many.. need to trim some.

One nice one though that has come from my Chinese family is Christmas Eve apples. It came from the translation of Christmas Eve sounding like apple in Chinese, and as a result people give and recieve apples on Christmas Eve. You can get decorated apples, little apple bags for them to go in etc.

I've got a nice little apple bags with a Santa on, and I'll give my son an apple in the morning on Christmas Eve. It's just a nice quiet relatively non-commercial moment, before the madness of Christmas starts, just watching a little boy get excited about munching through an apple.

When the DCs were little and bouncing off the walls with excitement about Father Christmas coming, I used to take them for a swim at our local leisure centre on Christmas Eve. They are young adults and still like to do it. The pool is always very quiet on Christmas Eve.

We go out for lunch, then go to the panto and then home for chocolate fondue

Panto
Christmas eve mass and then drinks in the pub
Hosting wider family on Boxing day

My brother is in Truro, I'm in the Midlands (and I don't celebrate) my dad is in Lancashire.

So if my dad has been invited to my brother's he stays over night at mine. I always get veg samosas for him to take. Apparently it is now part of their Xmas.

When my brother's children were younger I would send various fruit / veg from the Indian supermarkets for them to identify. Truro is not a diverse place.

The kids do a gingerbread house xmas eve morning while I prep some food.
Granndparents come over xmas eve afternoon, we have hot chocolate and donuts.
Panto between xmas and new year

We always do panto around the 1st of the month, we missed the tickets this year so are going on Dec 29th instead which will be a bit of fun in the ‘between’ days.

New pjs on Dec 1st!

One present on Christmas Eve.

The last few years we’ve done a Nutella Christmas tree for breakfast, we’re going to continue this as DC love it and it’s so easy to make.

The kids do a gingerbread house xmas eve morning while I prep some food.

Wow, my dc take days to do a gingerbread house!

I do a North Pole breakfast on xmas eve morning but not sure it's a tradition yet as only done it for 3 years & they may not want it when older.

I posted this years ago. When I was little my dad would wake the whole house up every day in December by playing Christmas music downstairs, with it getting louder and louder until we were up.
When I went to uni I figured it was finished but my dad rang me and blasted music at me at 7am on December 1st and it’s continued every year (and I’m in my early 40s).
Now it’s a group call with dad, me, Dsis and now Dsis kids and my LO). The kids giggle, we all sing a bit then say bye and get on with getting ready for work/school. Bonkers but so nice.

We’re going to start some traditions with 3yr old LO but I want to keep it relatively basic. Christmas bedding and PJs on 1st December, a visit to the local Christmas shop (it’s a decorations factory that opens a great shop in November and December) to see an amazing Santa, a walk to see the local decorations, that kind of thing, and as he gets older I’m hoping to add panto or a musical in December.

when we put the tree up it’s a rule that Christmas music must be played

Christmas Eve
New pjs, chocs and hot chocolate.
chinese for dinner every year
watch the nightmare before Christmas
watch the random shit that’s on tv.
even though they are 17 and and 13 they still feel the magic of Christmas, we also have a cheeky look on track Santa.

Christmas Day
presents in the morning. We’ve always done that and I can not fathom making them wait until after dinner. They spend all day playing and I love it. We are not religious so to us Christmas is family, ending the year and presents…. We do make them open one present at a time from thier stocking just to give me and DP a chance to fully wake up… and they always come to our bed to do it. Maybe 2 teens and 2 adults in a double bed is not a wise idea but we’ve does it since DS was 5 ( when he truly got into Christmas) and it’s something we’ve continued and they love it.

always bacon sandwiches for breakfast because they are quick and easy
dinner is always between 2.30/3pm.

then every year since I was about 6 we’ve played games and then cards for money. Taught the kids. Now they love it .

Buying a christmas book to read with the children throughout December and finishing on xmas eve.

Oh I thought of more from my childhood that we may steal.

Every year we would be allowed to stay up ‘late’ and my dad would take me and Dsis out to buy mums present after school/work. He would help us choose, then give us the money to pay and afterwards we’d go out in the car to find houses with lots of lights.
He’d take a blanket and we’d have a drive thru McDonald’s (massive treat for us) which we could eat in the car as we drove around.

Dad would play Christmas music, sing, stop at the really OTT houses so we could get out and look. He’d chat to the owners so sometimes we could go in the garden etc.
We thought it was like magic, so grown up etc.

Another was our pretend baking. My nan would buy a Yule log sponge thing and chocolate then make a show of sending my parents out for the day as we were going to be very busy baking.
She’d make us wear aprons and play Christmas music while we melted the chocolate, smeared it on the Yule log and decorated it. Then we’d spend the day playing and watching tv and make a big show to my parents when they came about how hard we’d worked baking from scratch etc
Took me years to realise this was a ruse to give my parents a day off to get stuff done but we loved it anyway.

From the 24th of December until the Ist of January. Our traditional UK Christmas will be spent like this.

Demolishing our way through enough food to put an end to third world hunger.

Drinking enough alcohol to get permanently pissed and not knowing what day it is.

Monster hangovers

No worries. We have until next Christmas to pay it off.

Arguing and getting on each others nerves big time

Watching the most goddam awful repeat TV programs ever produced.

Can't wait

Jingle Bells

Happy Christmas Folks
Xxx

🇬🇧👍🥂🍾❄️☃️🧑‍🎄

Dress the Christmas tree with Christmas baubles bought from our holidays and places we have loved - Botswana, Ireland, Germany, Japan, etc.

I always do early Xmas first weekend of December for my adult DC and dgc. Friday evening I take DGC ice skating. Saturday morning I take adult DC their partners and DGC and we go to paint a pot and hand paint a Xmas decoration, usually a bauble that gets fired and then I collect from them 2 weeks later. Then home to a Xmas roast dinner I put in oven before I go and DH cooks the vegetables. I serve up about 1 hour after we get back home. We give Xmas stockings out after lunch and finish off with a Xmas film. I can't have my adult DC and dgc with me Xmas day so I make theost of my early Xmas.

Me and DH drink alcohol free champagne on Christmas morning. It feels very indulgent and special (and allows us to drive to family)

In December go to the local theatre Christmas family play (not a panto but usually a traditional take).
We have done a few light tours over the years but they are becoming very very expensive.

A silly family tradition is that on Christmas Eve we all go to the local town, small market town, armed with £5 and the name of another person who will be at the Christmas table: secretly drawn from a hat secret Santa style. We have 1 hour to buy a gift for that person with the fiver, the sillier the better. Everyone then rendezvous at a cafe before heading back home. They get given out at the dinner table on Christmas Day. (It started as a way to get us out of the house in Christmas Eve morning before heading back to prep all the veg etc for Christmas day)

We always do a panto, visit to Santa, tea or breakfast with Santa. We have Christmas at home just us and we go out for our lunch.

we always buy board games or card games and play these on an evening. Me and DH watch a Christmas film when the kids are in bed Xmas night. We always book to watch an older Christmas film at our local cinema too. This year they’ve chosen home alone.

We have an advent calendar that I made when i was pregnant with my first (assembled from a kit with use of a sewing machine). It has 24 pockets that fit a couple of chocolate coins or hero's chocolates from the tub.
Still a tradition, have to put it up even though the kids are grown and come and go...

We watch home alone on Christmas eve.

And we bought a shower curtain with rudolph on it when they were very little. That goes up on 1st December and down on 1st Jan. The kids used to take turns each year to be the first to shower with Rudolph. Silly things really.

Oh my goodness now I want it to be Christmas! Love a glimpse into other people's traditions!!

ours evolve each year but one of my treasured is we have my brother to stay for a weekend mid dec (he’s an adult and has learning disabilities) and we indulge in lots of Christmas unadulterated cheesy fun! Our ds adores his uncle and we always laugh a lot!!

Christmas music, Christmas candles, few aperitifs, pin the nose on Rudolph, gingerbread house, marshmallow snowman, window decorating, paper chain making, Christmas disco, uno, Christmas matching pairs, elf bowling and the craziness continues 😂

never any pressure or external demands and secretly I think I prefer it to the real deal! 🤫 🎄

Oh and the box of delights once ds in bed!!

DC are now adults ( DS will be 26 , DD 23 by Christmas )

We changed our Traditions over the years as they grew up . DS isn't really a Christmas person so last year DH, DD and I went on a 3 day Christmas Market Cruise in December , This year we're going on a UK weekend city break . Then we'll have Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/Boxing Day quietly at home .

Decorations - no tree as the cats would wreck it but I do the banisters, wreath on the door , LED candles

DH and I take the last Friday in November as leave to go shopping (though now we do most online so it's a mooch about and lunch )

Dec 1st Box -underwear , loungewear ,socks , pyjamas (all the exciting things but essential . ) toiletries and make-up for DD that she likes to use through December .

We go to see a play in London.

DD and I will go out to Bluewater for a day ( not weekend though , it;s mad busy )

I work between Christmas/New Year as it;s quieter on the roads (work is busy though )

Watch the CCF (Cheesey Christmas Films ) :and Christmas TV
Love Actually
Last Christmas
Lost Christmas ( Eddie Izzard )
Dr Who episode with David Morrissey / David Tennant
Eastenders )of course )

I;m sure there's more

Getting things organised , like booking a Sainsbury delivery , go out early Christmas Eve for the last minute things , get our Christmas theatre booked .
Christmas Clean-A-Long
Makes it easier and more enjoyable . No mad rush , so I can enjoy Autumn, Hallowe'en, Guy Fawkes and Christmas .

Oh forgot to add :
Christmas /Winter bedding on Dec 1st ( Nov 1st for DD !)
The Snowman toilet paper
Christmas handtowels and tea towels
Christmas straws
Shower curtain
Cinnamon orange soap

Most of these are re-used every year ( except the straws , soap , loo roll , obvs )