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Christmas traditions - what are yours?

126 replies

hunkerpumpkin · 22/10/2005 21:18

I've read recently of the one about your children having new PJs on Christmas Eve and love that.

We buy a new Christmas tree decoration each year for DS and will do the same next Christmas for DB. They'll be able to choose or make something as they get bigger and it's going to be lovely seeing them decorate the tree when they're bigger with decorations that have history. Tree might look shocking though

So what else? I'm sure I read something on here about leaving a bit of sprinkled glitter and telling your children it's magic dust to help reindeer fly or something?

OP posts:
flamebat · 23/10/2005 10:34

Yup, new pjs on Christmas eve... where we (by we, I mean "I") do Yule as well, she gets a book for Yule.

I like the new decs idea - this year we need pretty much all new ones though, as most of ours were really cheap 5 years ago, and have died.

The only other thing we have (and its what I had as a child) is 12 days of christmas presents... for the 12 days following Xmas you get a little gift (only costing up to £1.50 at the most). It makes Christmas last that bit longer, and makes the boxing day "well is that it then?" sinking feeling go away a bit. You also know that when you've opened the last one that Christmas is over and decorations are coming down today. I know quite a few people don't like that tradition though because children "need to just accept that its finished", much like they don't like my birthday bunny who leaves a small gift for the non-birthday sibling "Children need to just accept that its not their day".

lilibet · 23/10/2005 13:08

We alwaysahve a very small present for everyone who comes for Christmas dinner which is given out byt the children (last year the ds's dressed as Father Christmas!)between the main course and the pudding.

This stops the children from being bored at the table and gives us a nice long break before the flaming pudding is brought in.

We also sing Happy Birthday!

doormat · 23/10/2005 13:41

kids and i decorate the tree, ds2 made a tree topper when he first started his sn scool and will go on the top

dh puts outdoor lights out at beginning of dec

xmas eve night i cook the turkey and crack open my wine as i am preparing and cooking it

lay out mince pie and a glass of stella artois for when santa comes to visit before kids go to bed

before i go to bed i always look out bedroom window and i am in awe at the peace and secretly looking for santas sleigh

xmas day we all go downstairs together as i love seeing the kids open their prezzies

we always say grace before xmas dinner

get pissed when night comes and kids have settled down

moondog · 23/10/2005 14:44

Franny,I love the idea of the dress from your mother. So touching.I am madly at work on a patchwork quilt for my sister's Christmas present.
I promised my parents and both sisters one each. Two down,one to go.

Floss,what else do Poles do at Christmas?? Do they tend to be like other Europeans and focus on New Year?

Mars,your Christmas sounds great.

Bubble,we will be in Wales for Christmas and dh has a whole month off!!
For once,we will not be entertaining hordes as we usually do (not that I mind,I love cooking and have a great family)but have reserved the whole four weeks for ourselves and the children.

frannykenstein · 23/10/2005 14:47

Moondog, I can still remember some of the dresses - a blue woollen one that made me look like something out of the Railway Children! I would definitely resurrect this tradition if I had a daughter (it's not so much a boy thing, I don't think).

twinsetandpearls · 23/10/2005 14:55

We also buy one new decoration for the tree every year.

WE start getting ready about now, pickling, making the cake, mincemeat and pudding and cards.

Christmas eve is always at mine, last year was lovely, I do a buffet and people drop in and we have s sing song and games. At the first star everyone can open one present, the kids can open two as one of those are new pyjamas.

WE put out carrots and a mince pie and a glass of sherry for santa and the reindeers, and a stocking in dd room.

We all go to midnight mass apart from the tiny children. After Mass we do the footprints in the hallway with icing sugar and fill dd stocking, and nibble the carrot etc.

In the morning we all go to Mass again, no presents open until after Christmas dinner which we take turns in hosting. I tend to supply the sweet stuff and sauces/ pickles.

twinsetandpearls · 23/10/2005 14:57

Moondog I love the fancy dress idea, am not sure I could get dd dressed in her sleep though, but we may try it as dd loves to dress up!

PeachyClairPumpkinPie · 23/10/2005 15:23

Yes the new PJ's- may have been me posting that I don't know, but we do that.

All the family gets together Christmas Eve for a party but in a very informal senses. Christmas Day everyone at my Mum's is up early.... 6? then Dad makes a huge greasy fry up and people open hundreds upon hundreds of pressies, then sit around and eat more, then lunch, then stockings....

Everybody has a stocking, into each one everybody puts a SILLY or HUMOUROUS gift costing only 2 or 3 pounds. Sometimes it's alcohol miniatures, sometimes, silly games... anything. It's nice and not at all serious: great fun

Tortington · 23/10/2005 15:29

make decorations for the dining room - they help put the decs up - becuase we dont want dh doing it as he gets agitated and starts shouting becuase hes an arse tit - so my lad 15yo now sticks the drawing pins in as i am the greatest fat weed.

then we make snowflakes and hag them from the ceiling. and make other stuff. the kids basically decorate with my instruction.

they do the tree.

xmas eve - on present opened after midnight - but not the main present.

xmas day - they get up open all prezzies go out to show mates. we have xmas meal cooked by dh at 3 ish. after tea we play family game - have a row. then get pissed.

wonderful can't fkin wait!

Rarrie · 23/10/2005 18:21

Christmas is huge in my family and we have loads of silly traditions...

Obviously post the letter to santa, asking for gifts and get the reply. We always used to make the paper chains... tacky but essentially Christmas.

Always watch a Christmas movie on Xmas eve (last bit of TV before Xmas starts!)

We have a party on Xmas eve and open one small gift, just to get the season going. Children also write a letter to Father Christmas to thank him for their gifts before they go to bed.

Presents go under the tree a week before Xmas, and every day you can make one guess as to what your present is. Naturally, they are heavily disguised so you never guess (like shirts in old lemonade bottles, small gifts put inside packets of cornflakes and then wrapped up and disguised etc). Each day we have a feel and a sniff our our gift and try to work out what we've been given (of course we never do!).

Father Christmas gifts are opened in mum and dad's bed.. they usually include the 'Christmas day outfits' which also means new underwear etc.

After breakfast presents from mum and dad are opened (one at a time). This lasts all morning.

After lunch, gifts from lesser family members and friends are opened.

TV is banned on Christmas day. Present opening usually finishes about 4 in the afternoon. We then have a buffet supper.

Evening is spent playing family games and having family time.

Boxing day is spent at the in laws.

The week proceeding Xmas is spent having small family parties... Each family hosts one supper. Time is spent playing games (winning small prizes) and usually includes one tree present.

Tree decorations are also bought one a year.

Children make calendars as thank you presents for the adults. Usually most of the materials to do this are given in their santa's sacks.

Thats most of them I think!

Caligula · 23/10/2005 18:25

Feel head bumps and have our personality analysed according to old Victorian phrenology book.

Go through Victorian medical books to allocate each other ailments.

Play with the orgasmatron.

Go for walk with friend's dog.

Read tarot cards and have my mother shouting at us about not summoning the divil on Christmas day.

Get drunk.

PeachyClairPumpkinPie · 23/10/2005 18:45

We let the kids choose one each year so we get three, and then we mark the back with name / year. I find the one from 5 years ago really sweet now

Lel1972 · 23/10/2005 21:16

oh I'm getting so excited reading all these!

some of my favourite things are the daft ones - like my dad always has a new bucket each year, then he peels all the veg on Christmas Eve afternoon and puts it in the shed in a bucket of cold water - DON'T ask me why and please don't anyone tell me it's likely to cause anything serious, it would break his heart! it's got to the point where my brother and I often buy him a bucket and wrap it up for Boxing Day, and he then puts it away for next year! there's probably a million old buckets in his garage...

we always have a 'tree' present on Christmas Eve, they're always wrapped by my mum and left at the various houses, without names on, so if she's not with us she rings us to tell us which shaped present is ours, adds to the suspense! only something little, like a lipstick or pr of earrings, or whistles for the kids, things like that, but helps you to sleep knowing you've opened one...

like the PJs idea - still looking for Dora PJs in the smallest size for my DD, she's 22 months but still in 12-18 months clothes!
She got a bit overwhelmed by it all this year, so we have agreed that it's just a few Santa presents on Christmas morning, presents from grandparents in the afternoon and then the others slowly over the next few days. however, if she sees the speed at which her cousins open the whole lot - no, i'm not going to let her see that, it always seems so manic!

this will be the first year that she helps us with the tree and we can't wait! not sure who is the biggest kid, DD, DH or me!

(please make sure no children listening before this next bit!!). before they go to bed, someone takes all the children to the window while someone else sneaks outside and rings a little bell, my nephew nearly always spots Santa and his reindeer really up high - hmmm.

tassis · 23/10/2005 21:35

We do Happy Birthday to Jesus. Ds (2.5) knows that Baby Jesus' birthday is next and has announced that he (Jesus) wants a Pingu cake.

Started the new PJs tradition last year.

This year plan to buy a lovely wooden nativity and a nativity Advent Calendar.

I always make a advent ring and light a candle for each Sunday in advent.

Roast Ham (I love Nigella's in Coca Cola) is a Christmas Eve tradition if we're here because it means there's lots of cold ham to eat with the left overs.

I'm going to make chutneys this week for presents for people.

Ooooh, I'm getting excited thinking about it. I LOVE Christmas!

Lel1972 · 23/10/2005 21:41

Tassis - I'm also looking for a wooden Nativity scene - if you find one, please let me know!!

tassis · 23/10/2005 21:43

Lel are you after a tasteful adult wooden one, or a painted wood one more suitalbe for kid's to play with IYKWIM?

I'm seen a few...

MarsLady · 23/10/2005 21:53

Traidcraft do a lovely wooden nativity

Lel1972 · 23/10/2005 21:56

Tassis - hmm, not quite sure what the word 'tasteful' means - think I mean one that DD can play with. oh hang on, think there's a box of tasteful stuff in the loft waiting to come down when she leaves home!

might try the Traidcraft one if I can get one...

MarsLady · 23/10/2005 21:57

traidcraft nativity scene

dramaqueen72 · 23/10/2005 22:08

we swap promises on christmas eve, abit like 'gift vouchers; of nice things to do (such as ds could promise to wash dhs car, or not to play his music so loud on a week day, dh promises to bring me cup of tea in bed every sunday for a month etc etc.....) the children delight in making the vouchers up to look just like ones from shops etc.
'santa' doesnt wrap stocking presents, aside from one near the top, the colour of this wrapping-which is different for every child- tells you which gifts are yours under the tree, as I dont label them with names to prevent early poking about!
we have mini advent sacks, which they take turns in opening, instead of crappy chocolate advent calendars. (the sacks are tiny, and you can fit say a kinder egg toy in them, that kind of thing)
we all have stockings, even dh and I, (they are my favourite gifts usually) and everyone piles onto our bed to open them first thing. after that everyone must be washed and dressed before breakfast and gift opening can start downstairs (otherwise my children would never get dressed!)
we also do the new pjs on christmas eve, and these come with special hot chocolate, sometimes in new mugs, before bed.
santa also always puts a toothbrush in the stocking, to make up for chocolate about to be eaten!! and as the 2 big children have got older I put a disposable camera in there too. interesting photos from their point of view resulting!

tassis · 23/10/2005 22:12

Sorry Lel, "tasteful" wasn't most helpful adjective! I was going to suggest Traidcraft, if you're after one like Marslady's link. I'm going to go for a painted wood one. I know exactly what I have in mind (ds has a noah's ark of this kind of thing), just haven't seen a nativity one yet.

They had some in ELC and WOolies last year and there's a gorgeous shop near me that wells wooden kid's toys that i'm sure had one...

Hope you find one you like!

triceratops · 23/10/2005 22:13

We have swedish apple soup on christmas eve with liebkuchen.

Lel1972 · 23/10/2005 22:14

we do the advent calendar thing too - I think I enjoy shopping for those tiny presents more than buying the 'real' ones! going to nick a few more of your ideas too, dramaqueen, if that's ok!

tassis · 23/10/2005 22:14

www.borngifted.co.uk/baby-gifts/product/~product_id=BG-176

I should really learn to do links, but the above is kind of what I had in mind.

VERY expensive though...

MarsLady · 23/10/2005 22:16

there you go (I hope)

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