Christmas Eve traditions

[Zanetta]

Hi everyone, I'm a curious person, so I'd love to hear about your interesting and inspiring Christmas traditions. Share what's been a part of your Christmas traditions for years.

Every Christmas Eve I write my late husband a letter.
I tell him what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling and that I miss him and that I love him and I folded up and I place it inside of his Christmas stocking.
I've got a number of years worth of these letters folded up in there and I never take them out and read them because they were for him.

I love this

That’s so lovely .. I hope that you have a lovely and peaceful time with many blessings.

Working the morning (luckily business closes at lunch!)

But pick up food order first thing. Then work. Then we usually try and get the DDs doing something active, previous years it was swimming. This year we're going to the climbing wall.

Then out for lunch. And back for movies, picky bits and popcorn on the sofa.

And then a mini Christmas disco with the christmas lights on their most mental flash setting before heading up for baths and bed with the night before christmas.

We go out for a nice breakfast in the morning, we watch Polar Express at the cinema pyjamas party and then home for Chinese or party food nibbles. Then once the kids are in bed we watch another Xmas film and a couple of glasses of wine while putting the gifts out.

oh and usual leaving snack and milk for Santa, reindeer food etc

@StruggleFlourish I imagine you would like nothing more then to not have that as your tradition. It is beautiful though. I wish you a happy and loving Christmas 💐

Usually do some last minute food / basic shop. DH takes kids to the park so I can do last minute wrapping, hiding, moving of presents. Cook dinner (we usually eat ours Xmas Eve as go to in-laws on Xmas day.) Watch a Christmas Film. Start tracking Santa on the TV. Gin and tonic and snacks once the kids in bed.

This brought a tear to my eye.

Food shop comes.
Prep what we can.
Slow cooked ham goes on.
Panto or cinema, then a meal out with a card game.
This year is panto.

Ours has changed a bit as our kids are young adults now but things we still do:

cheese board for tea
we put out mince pie and drink for Santa and carrot for rudolf
we watch Elf with the kids then DH and I watch it’s a wonderful life. I used to use that time to prep veg in front of the TV but now the kids are not kids anymore I usually find I have time during the afternoon to do that now so can relax.

Go to work (it’s a normal work day though usually finish by 2pm) go pick up dsd and then we drive to my parents. Drinks, dinner, maybe a game. All adults now

We do Xmas eve box (well bag really) which has PJs, toothbrush, new book, a fun supper and hot chocolate.

Other than that not much, one year we could only get pantomime tickets on xmas eve and that was a nightmare, felt like way too much. Usually we are using it to finish all the little tasks (finding stuff that was put away safely last year but we can't remember where, trawling shops to find an important fresh food item the will inevitably be sold out virtually everywhere, DH panic buying/wrapping because he left it all til the last minute, cleaning and tidying etc...)

Oh of course the kids track santa via the google thing too.

Butternut squash soup with part baked bread rolls that you finish baking - followed by Christmas Eve mass (ours is at 7pm). Then Christmas movie with hot chocolate and popcorn. 🍿

Going to my in laws' this year where their tradition is making a big pot of chilli and eating it round the fire pit in the garden - started during covid times. First time for our toddler joining so that will be interesting/less relaxing 😅

We always get a Chinese in for dinner, watch Christmas films and then bed time for the kids. We then wrap all the presents and put them under the tree