Christmas traditions

[Candleflower12]

What Christmas traditions do you do with your family?

Theatre trip to see musical/ballet in December
Go to buy a real Christmas Tree from a local farm
Visit family grave Christmas Eve
Family movie nights all through December where possible
Kids school fair, I organise this every year as a member of the PTA
Christmas morning picnic and walk on the beach
Christmas Eve box for the kids

I love these!
I have special Christmas books that come out dec 1st. After the last day of school/work before the Christmas holidays we all sleep downstairs and watch Christmas movies.
And dh takes the kids and the dogs for a walk whilst I put the Christmas tree up and lights, and then when they come back we have hot chocolate, watch the same movie and decorate the tree.

Something I do that has inadvertently become a 'thing' as everyone has gotten older / young adult kids...
I've always done new PJ's etc on Xmas Eve and made out Santa has delivered them/left them on the step (still do that because I'm a daft old sop)
Each person has their own gift bag (recycled each year, some of them must be at least 10yrs old!)
I write rhyming poems on each one, from Santa, individual to the person - mentioning funny/ silly things throughout the year.
Everyone reads theirs out in turn.
Like I say, my kids are young adults now but I know that this daft little thing is a really favourite part of their Xmas Eve and they don't want me to stop.
Me being me, I write the poems about 10 minutes before they are given - this used to fluster me but I now see it as a challenge - always do my best work under pressure 😆😆

We go to a show (not panto, though we also do that) in London's West End and then go and see the lights and have dinner in chinatown.

We also always put the tree and decorations up on Dec 1st.

A real tree goes up on 1 December- if we are going to be away for Christmas this may be a small tree in a pot from Aldi that can then go in the garden, if we are home it will be a bigger tree from the farm shop or garden centre. Decorated with all the bonkers baubles we have accumulated over the years, including a jellyfish and a hamster. I try to buy a decoration whenever we go on holiday so we have lots of happy memories whilst decorating

Baking Austrian almond crescent biscuits, my great aunty's recipe

A carol concert at some point during December

DS has now outgrown the annual visit to Santa. Last year I took DD with her BFF and I think I will do the same this year, probably their last year now as well.

Stockings for the whole family and also any guests, likely to be MIL this year and potentially BIL too. DH, DS, DD and I always open ours together on our bed first thing on Christmas morning. We may also give the kids one of their presents from us at this point, then others are opened later in the day

If we are home for Christmas then Christmas eve whoever wants to goes to Christingle then everyone meets at the pub.

Christmas lunch is usually either at ours or my mum's with whoever is around, including DH's family and my cousins and brother.

I live alone so not just family but on December 1st I have my best friend round to help put the Xmas tree as they don't really have one at her house - this year it's going up 30th November as the Sunday makes more sense! We bought one of those 'fill your own Quality Street' tins a few years ago and we refill that every year and it gets cracked out the moment the trees up. Expensive but does last us throughout December to be fair!

On Christmas Eve for the past 15+ years I've gone to the local panto with my Mum and when my nephew was born he began joining us. However this year he's a teenager so has said 'no more panto', did suspect that would be the case LOL so we're doing an escape room instead which I'm looking forward to 😊Though neither my Mum or nephew has done an escape room before so that'll be interesting!

We have a few traditions that have come from places we have lived in the past, as well as being past down through our actual families, and added our own twist as well in our 23 years of marriage.
Tree goes up first weekend of December( this year I have been given special dispensation to out then up a month early as we will be away for December) and any other decorations as well (wreath on the door, little collection of snowmen ina corner etc) and that's that for decorations :) advents calendars except not this year as we are going away for the whole of December and taking them with us will take up precious suitcase space!
Xmas Eve we prepare the turkey (this is my husbands job-he was initiated into the task by my father when we got married) and I make mince pies and sausage rolls in the wood burner. I also make a German potato soup but the kids don't like it much, so if I forget it then it isn't a big deal! Xmas for us is a time for family, and family is anyone we choose to invite into our house, we invariably have maaany friends sitting around our table, last year we had ten of the kids friends stay over for Xmas Eve and Xmas day. They made christnas ornaments and gingerbread houses andd drank most of the vodka and we had so many laughs!

There's a lake near us where a flock of white doves nest. We always take bags of bird seed and feed them on ChristmasEve.

Always go to a comedy show, a carol concert and midnight mass.

From teens, always collect DC from whichever party they crashed at for New Year and drag them for a walk on NY day. DH and I always go to friend's for NYE with champagne. She does a brilliant small party every year.

Often have a very trad family Boxing Day party with baked ham, sherry trifle etc that all the older relatives love.

We do this. Always quiet and relaxing.

Christmas Eve have a Chinese takeaway, watch Home Alone and Tom & Jerry Twas the night before Christmas. Play the Nintendo Wii.

Christmas morning have mimosas with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Open presents, get progressively drunk throughout the day. Have dinner about 3, fall asleep. Go round to friends about 7 and play stupid games.

Every day in December in the wooden advent calendar there is a small treat or gift and a challenge or activity. December 1st is always to decorate the house for Christmas- the Christmas music goes on, the tree goes up, the Christmas cushions and soap dispensers come out and tie tinsel round everything.

Every December evening, the elves deliver a Christmas book- these change up every so often but there are some that stay the same- always The Mousehole Cat on 23rd and The Night Before Christmas on 24th.

One day is when we go on a walk or a drive (depending on weather) to the houses with the best Christmas lights. There's always a movie night in there.

Another day we do Christmas baking and make gingerbread.

On Christmas Eve we have a North Pole breakfast which is the one morning of the year I allow DD to mainline sugar for breakfast.

Then in the evening we do Christmas Eve boxes which have new pyjamas and fluffy socks, a book, a bath bomb, a hot chocolate sachet, and other things to make for a relaxing evening and a good night's sleep.

Christmas Day we always have duck or goose a l'orange.

This year though, we're surprising DD with a trip to Lapland so we'll have to work out how to pack most of our traditions into a suitcase.

@CrazyBaublescan your dad be my dad too please?

We go to a Christingle and/or Crib service, plus church on Christmas Day. Will do a carol service at the nearby cathedral once DS is a bit older.

Always go to a decent grotto to see Father Christmas, and we all go to choose a real tree at a local farm which goes up around 18th Dec. We’ll do a Christmas treat type outing in London. Last year was a carol concert at the RAH, this year it’ll be The Father Christmas at the Lyric in Hammersmith.

We have a homemade Advent calendar that I sewed a few years ago; I always pop chocolates in to that and we have a religious paper one plus an advent candle wreath. We read children’s Christmas books to the DC throughout advent.

Christmas lunch is always the traditional one with homemade Christmas pudding (made on Stir Up Sunday) and Boxing Day lunch is the cold meats, pickles, bubble and squeak followed by trifle. I bake a ham on Christmas Eve. We play traditional games on Christmas night; charades is a favourite, and we watch the King’s Speech, Father Christmas and the Snowman. We usually have family visiting at some point over the holidays, and try and do lots of country walks.

Highly recommend watching Delia’s Christmas on Amazon too.

It's only me, partner and dog.

We love a proper fresh Christmas tree so it's become a tradition to go out and buy one, dog included and then out to a pub lunch.

We then come home and later I'll decorate the tree. We have some beautiful decorations and I love looking at them as we put them on. Festive music playing and also the fire on (on tv as no real fire lol).

Someone asked me once 'how on earth do you celebrate Christmas with no children'..lol...just like everyone else.

Well there’s the sitting stuck in heavy traffic on the m5 tradition We go to my parents and mum does everything bar a little washing up (which my brothers are excellent at jumping up for) we are all middle aged and she still insists plus my dc, everyone’s partners too, she’s amazing

Ever since our DDs were tiny, on Christmas Eve Father Christmas would deliver "an early sack". This was billed as only a privilege for very well behaved children but seemed to appear every year nonetheless... 😂

At some point in the evening it would appear underneath the tree - very easy to slip there age 4 or 5, increasingly difficult as they got older!

The sack would contain always new PJs and a film to watch together (there have been some great ones and some absolute flops - but the first year has never been beaten is the unanimous view - Arthur Christmas). Other things vary a little but all about a Christmassy wind down and depending what's needed eg slippers, dressing gowns, Christmas mugs and hot choc, face masks, Christmas story book. Sometimes Father Christmas includes little gifts for their cats too - a Christmassy collar or a bauble with their picture on.

DDs are 16 now, the sack is still one of their absolute fave things, and they still try and catch us putting it under the tree (it's bloody hard these days!).

(I'm also going to share a top tip for those with small children who want to prolong the believing as long as possible - we told our kids that every family has their own elves and the elves get to run things how they want to which is why different houses do different things eg. we had a sack and friends didn't, some people have their stockings wrapped, some don't. Our elves were a mixture of older elves who had come to us as children and new ones and that was why some things were just like when we were children and some things were new. They absolutely loved this idea, and it helped explain lots of the doubting questions when they were just on the cusp.)

A Christmas book, wrapped, from me, on everyone’s pillow. Easy way to get DC’s to bed. We open and sit on one bed to read together. Started when the DC’s were tiny and continued every year.

All of the Christmas books are in wooden box, this comes out every year when we all read again, laugh, reminisce.
Fab to see your 18 year old enjoying the ‘Jolly Christmas Postman’!

Pre-Christmas:
Listening to Christmas music while decorating the Christmas tree
A visit to Santa's Grotto to see Father Christmas
Viewing Christmas lights in London
Christmas afternoon tea and walking around the Christmas markets
Ice skating
Making gingerbread house
Taking the kids to pick out toys/gifts to be donated to children in need during Christmas
Kids school fair
Kids wearing matching Christmas pajamas
Reading the Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve

Christmas day
Opening presents
Christmas buffet
Christmas countryside walk

Boxing day
Boxing day buffet
Watching Christmas movies

We celebrate on Christmas Eve (Finnish) but add in some Britishness so we have stockings first thing (though they're filled by the elves, not by Father Christmas)
Have rice porridge for breakfast
Open tree presents while listening to Christmas carols
Later in the day, after we've eaten, a local Joulupukki (hired man dressed as Father Christmas) comes round to hand out the rest of the presents and chat to the children.
The night before Christmas we always have pizza for dinner while watching a Christmas film and we go to sauna.

That sounds glorious! I will be in Saariselka for this Christmas so we will also be having a Finnish Christmas!

Hope you have a lovely Finnish Christmas! The Christmas food is delicious, especially the ham and the pickled herrings - so much better than turkey.

The same advent calendar which slots in figures to make a nativity scene.

Christmas tree up on last day of term.

Lindt reindeer

Could I have an invite 😄🤶

Theatre show in December. A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic last year was amazing. This year we are going to see Oliver.
Christmas Eve we have party food and watch Muppet Christmas Carol and Elf.
Christmas Day either go to my sister’s or stay home. If we don’t go Christmas Day we go Boxing Day (depending on niece’s arrangements with her in laws). Boxing Day watch football. Try to fit in Trains, Planes and Automobiles. Love every moment of everything we do

I love his commitment to this