Christmas Traditions.

[threeangels]

I would love to hear what others do every christmas holiday as traditions. We have a B-day cake along with singing for Jesus. My dd came up with this idea several years ago. Also like many other families I know we let the kids pick one gift on christmas eve to open. I would love for my kids to grow up with many of the traditions that I grew up with.

Stockings on end of bed, which we all open together.
Other than that, our actual Christmas days are really varied - picnic in the forest one year, tea with friends another, extended family some years but not all, etc.
Choosing small gift from each of us from Good Gifts Catalogue: dd's birthday is very near Christmas, and we're trying to set up a 'birthdays are all about celebrating the person whose birthday it is, Christmas is for
giving and including everyone' sort of tradition.
Still building up family traditions (dd only 2.9) so will look out for more I can steal and add!

We do the new pj's too, infact have already brought them.

Ooooo that sounds dull - - we do have a tree, pressies (but not huge ones), decorations, food and most of all tons of music too.

There's a fair bit of cultural mishmash in our family, occasional angels but not that much Santa and no Church, prefer a good roast chicken to turkey, chocolate/chestnut log to christmas cake....making it up as we go along

Referring to my post, Nutcracker, obviously, not yours!

another vote for new pjs! We always used to get a couple of small gifts, a satsuma, chocolate coins, a new toothbrush(?!!) and a load of nuts in their shells that you couldn't open in our stockings (for stocking, read dad's old army socks from when he did national service (!!!!)

I am loving the new pjs idea. We also go decoration shopping every year and buy a new tree decoration each. DD also gets a new snowglobe every year for Christmas (although this will only be her third Christmas, so not a great collection just yet!)

Can't belive it was cod who resurrected this thread!

We do the new PJ's here too.
And a Christmassy book to open on Xmas Eve.

Bibiboo, we do the new tree decoration every year too. The first special one we bought was when I was pg with dd1, I'd better get my skates on and buy one for dd2 while she's still on the inside!

1. Stockings by the fire with chocolates and stuff in.

2.Pillow cases at the bottoms of the kids beds with a couple of pressie to open before they get us up!

1. Santa is left and G&T and rudolf likes a bit of cake in our house.

1. When you wake up you have to say "has he been yet" and we always have a nice brekkie of smoked salmon or bacon sarnies.

1. everyone has a new outfit for christmas day.

I will be adopting this year the PJ tradition and the snow globe tradition - thanks

Here is a modern tradition to start

Norad (North American Aerospace command) do a Santa Tracker on the internet, search for Santa Tracker. We watched it last year and I was quite impressed.

You can also check out "Santa's Naughty or Nice List" on-line. We did last year and it was so cute.

My nephew is a terrible eater and Sata said he need to eat more fruit and vegetables - the look on his face was priceless!

Whenever we go on holiday we try to buy a Christmas tree decoration, so lots of memories are brought back as we are dressing the tree.

WE do new pj's too and one we started last year which we will be doing again this year and as long as we can each year after,to visit princes street gardens in edinburgh,they have an xmas carnival,germen market and outdoor ice rink.We went on xmas eve and came home in the dark on the train the whole town was lit up and it was cold and we were cosy in our winter clothes,we all came home jumped in the bath got into our new cosy pjs and cuddled up watched a movie then off to bed to await the 'man'!

oh loobie - we do that too!! i just love the german mkt in edin. go through on train. it's just lovely. am preg just now so wont be delighting in the (very alcoholic) mulled wine with spirit - but lots of other treats to feast on... can't wait!

We have got our own traditions since having dd (she will be 3 at the end of jan). we put up decorations when she is a sleep so we can see her excitement when she see them for the first time.

She has a christmas sack on her bed which we open on our bed.

Then i go down stairs to put on kettle (very Important) turn on tree lights get video camera, then dh brings her down and the look on her face when she see all the pressents under tree (put under when she is a sleep). She opens as many pressents as she wants at the speed she wants.

We have a light breakfast, then Dinner at about 2pm my mum comes for lunch and then my sister and her dh come late afternoon early evening for tea cheese and crackers and cake if wanted.

The most important thing about the day is that it is done a relax pace.

Then we have to go to mil on boxing day where we then have to have eat christmas diner again at 2pm with veg that is put on to cook at the same time as the roast potatoes. Forced to eat vast amount of food.

They have a very tidy santa who puts all the grandchildrens pressents in nice neat piles for each child.

Then at 5pm she will be making sandwiches etc in case your are hungry. Then get enoyed that no one wants to eat.

I will say we will not be staying late or staying over after last year.

EEEk, exciting! Christmas is huge in our family and we have loads of traditions (plus a few I nicked from here last year) but here goes...

In the build up....

• Starts with a visit to a Christmas market, usually Bath or Lincoln. *Trip to Oxford Street to see Santa and the lights turned on, cause that's where the proper Santa is!
• Letter to Santa (we pay for a reply)
• Children make Xmas decs and calendars for family members to give out at Christmas.
• Old toys sorted out and some toys bought for others in the Christmas box appeal thingys.
• Friends round one night for mulled wine and mince pies.
• A few presents put under tree about 10 days before. Everyone has one present but it is very heavily disguised (shirts in lemonade bottles that sort of thing!) each day you are allowed a feel and a guess. If ever you guess (and I never have in 30 years of doing it!) then you are allowed to open up that present!

Xmas Eve...

• Family over for evening.
• Food out for Santa and magic dust for reindeers
• Small Christmas eve pressie to get everyone in the mood for Christmas! The usual...

Christmas Day...

• TV etc is banned for the whole day.
• Morning starts with opening gifts in our bed from Santa. That includes outfit for the day.
• Nice breakfast in bed for us - pancakes, champagne etc...
• After baths etc and when we're dressed, we all go downstairs to open up tree presents (from us).
• Presents to be opened in turn - so we watch and see what everyone has been given.
• One tree present to be a jokey present, with clues that you are given as you unwrap the multiple layers. You are not allowed to open it until you have guessed what it is / or its the end of the day!

*Round to mums for Father Christmas #2 - with same rules.

• Eat lunch
• My grandparents visit tea time and we have a family tea and more presents.
• Special buffet tea
• Evening spent playing family games together.

Boxing day - visit the inlaws and presents santa's visit number 3!

27th is hubby's birthday, so special tea for him or day out and a few presents are held back for my DD (Those gifts from aunties etc).

One tradition we used to have but not now (and I miss) is that each aunt would then host a special christmas buffet, and we would all bundle round their house (They'd have both sides of their families, so we all got to meet the inlaws' inlaws iyswim!) every year. This was usually followed with games for the children (pass the parcel, party type games!), and very small tree presents up to about £5. Unfortunately in my family the kids all grew up and we haven't moved on to the next generation yet!
But yeah, Xmas is pretty darned special!!!!

we put up out trees on the 1 weekend of december, we have one in the loung that i decorate and one in the den that DH does.
December is a while of visits, we go to a lovely garden center that has a winter wonderland and meet friends.
My sons have a Christmas party for their friends, that santa comes to (friends dad, knows the big guy from school fates etc)
I wont leave the house xmas eve as i hate to see all the shops taking down christmas things and putting up sale signs.
Family dinner xmas eve, i then fo to mass and DH helps santa.
Christmas day boys get to open their stockings in bed then iwe get up, put on a christmas cd and the boys open there gifts takeing it in turns, after an hour we go in to the den and the adults open gifts.
DH sis and the neighbours go to the pub for a drink and my mom helps me with the dinner,
After dinner its more gifts and i set out a buffett tea so people can help them selfs when and if they feel like it.
It the only day my children get to eat chocolate from morning to night if they want to,
Boxing day we open the rest of the boys gifts (they always get far too much stuff) and great aunty and uncle come for dinner and games.
I have never left my house on christmas since having my children as if people want to spend christmas with us they must come to us as im not dragging my family here there and everywhere.
Always have my mom and sister there for christmas.

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and another

IK you're a real old softie at heart aren't you?

Bought DS (10 months) his own bauble at the weekend which we'll hang this year and once he's old enough he'll put that on the tree. Going to spend the first Christmas in years in our own home and it will be our first family Christmas so we'll be starting traditions.

I love the magic reindeer food idea and am storing that for later use. Ditto, the little presents across eve, day and boxing day.

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Love this thread, DS and DD are 1 and 2 so my christmas tradition of late is to have the turkey delivered on christmas eve and buy all of the food in ready made from M&S. No inlaws, no-one else, just the four of us, Easy Peasy - the best christmases i've ever had.

i love christmas!! still getting their with the traditions, as for the last 2 christmases we have had newborns arriving just in time for santa :)
this year however i am not preg and looking forward to the 3 dcs excitement!

in the build up we always take dcs to see santa and get a photo, which is displayed along with the other decs. i also take the dc to choose one tree decoration each, they love this!

i am going to pinch the pj traditon and the one about the christmas book on christmas eve, i think my dcs wil love that! very magical!

oh and i am going to try and arrange a nice shopping trip for me and dp without the dcs to have a nice meal and alcoholic beverage

i really want my children to remember christmas as this magical occasion and look back and remember how special our christmases were :)