We need your Christmas customs and family traditions

[CatherineMumsnet]

We're after all your customs and traditions - stockings, leaving stuff out for santa, dressing the tree, when you open presents, what you eat, carol singing and anything else that makes Christmas in your home.
Thanks everyone

Ok, deep breath.....!

Xmas decs, tree etc go up on 1st Dec each year. At the mo cause dcs are still little, its done when they are in bed!! Letter written to santa.
They have a picture advent calendar and then an advent sack with chocs in from the grandparents which they get to open after bfast each morning.

Xmas eve we have fish fingers or something for tea whilst watching The Snowman. Then its bath and bed time. A little table is put out in the hall with stockings, mince pie & sherry for santa and carrot for rudolph. We then sprinkle some reindeer dust (oats & glitter!!) outside the window so he knows when to stop. Read a xmas story before bed, either Twas The Night Before or Follow the Star.

Xmas morning stockings are opened in bed with us. Then we get up and make tea and open pressies from santa. Then we have a full english breakfast with champers. Dp's parents usually pop over at this point for an hour and we open all the presents under the tree. Afternoon is spent playing and dozing and we have xmas dinner at approx 5ish then its countdown to bedtime and more snooze time!!!

I bake massively at xmas. We make gifts from the boys to all grandparents & godparents so cakes or chocolates with some sort of photo. Last year it was a chutney in decorated jar with a laminated calendar that had pics of ds1 (ds2 not born at this point!!).

I looooove xmas!!!!

When I was little on the 4 sundays of advent me, my sis and Mum would light candles and my Dad would read to us from A Christmas Carol, finishing the last installment on xmas eve. Haven't really got any hard and fast traditions yet with my family cos we've only really done one xmas yet, though DSD and I decorated the tree with xmas songs playing and we made xmas stockings to hang over fireplace. Will need to make one for DD this year.

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Busy till 3pm then what isn't done/bought then won't get done/bought!

Christmas Eve my mum and dad arrive and they stay over till Boxing Day. We get them settled then go up to the church at 6pm for the Nativity service.

Home and get the drinks and tin of chocolates opened. Brother, sil, niece and niece's boyfriend arrive, we play daft games, then they go home.

Christmas Day, we all get up bout 7ish, and open pressies, drink bucks fizz and eat sausage rolls for breakfast, apart from my dad who doesn't function unless he has his porridge
We have gone out for Christmas lunch for the last 6 years and it is absolute bliss!! We get dressed up and head out to the hotel and meet db, sil, niece and n's bf, and our aunt and uncle. Have fabulous meal, then its all of us back to my house where we get our jeans and t-shirts on, open rest of pressies to each other and play more silly games, (the telly is banned on xmas day although we tape stuff we want to watch), drink loads, eat nibbles even though we're all stuffed, and have a fab time Couldn't imagine a Christmas without my family around me, tbh.

Boxing Day some of us go to the football and some of us go to the pub. mum and dad go home around 7ish, them me, dh and ds curl up together and chill.

My personal tradition though is just for me. The night I put the tree and decorations up (usually around two weeks before christmas) when I've finished and put everything away I get a drink and just have the fairy lights on around the fireplace and on the tree, then I find the part in "Its A Wonderful Life" (my favourite film!!!) where George realises he's alive, (you know, when he's on the bridge and his lip is bleeding ) and watch the rest of the film from there!! You can't beat it, its magic!!!!

We have a few traditions in our family christmas:-

The men cook the meat, the ladies do the veg, children set the table.

dh makes his own bread sauce as my mothers is apparantly wrong. This splits the family as we all have to choose sides. There is tension.

Children over 10 will drink baileys and get tipsy and daft. Some of the parents will disapprove. No one will admit to giving the children booze.

The stockings will all contain a choc orange, one of which will be stolen and eaten by the dog at some point in the day.
The dog will be sick under the sideboard in the dining room.

Mother gets a Christmas Jigsaw with 1000 pieces which traditionally must be finished by boxing day evening. This is always taken over by my dh who, despite hating jigsaws, is compulsive about unfinished puzzles.

The children put on a show requiring hours of set up (sets, make up and ticket design). It usually includes ballet, magicians tricks, performing pets and a complicated light opera featuring power rangers, baby jesus and fairies.

Great aunty Marg smokes a fag all the way to the filter keeping the ash in tact (fabulous party trick).

We play Boggle.

Oh and we all get a chocolate santa from my parents, all of us. Not one of those expensive jobs, just a common or garden choc santa, it isn't christmas without those!!!
Mum decided one year that we were all too old (The shame!!!) to have one and there was bloody uproar!!!

Bit late to this, but hey!

I always decorate the tree "tastefully", maybe 2 or 3 colours as a theme. At some point I'll go out and DH re decorates it with every single bauble, bit of tinsel etc he can find.

We stack the cupboards, fridge every spare space with as much food and drinks as possible, then spend all of Christmas plouging through it all!

Love Christmas, my only "rule" is that we have the day at home, not trapsing around GPs etc, they come to us , so that the kids can play with their new toys etc.

Excited now!

The timing of the traditional Christmas Dinner is very important in my house. It always starts at 5 pm on the dot. This gives everyone the best day: Mother doesn't have to panic in the morning and can be as chilled as everyone else. Father can help as well as play with dd. Dd can open and enjoy pressies without being rushed. It takes everyone nicely from day to evening with no anti-climax.

Probably my favourite tradition of the few we have is making the crib. We have a set of Provencal santons - lifelike dolls of the holy family. Dh and the dcs spend a good few hours creating a crib for them from a cardboard box. The innovations year on year can be spectacular Last year ds2 drew loads of spiders and ds1 made them a loft extension.

Out to lunch on Christmas Eve with friends, crib service in the parish church at 4pm then home for a Snowman/Father Christmas/Polar Express marathon.

On the day itself it's always stockings as soon as they wake up on our big brass bed, Santa presents after breakfast, other presnts after lunch.

Christmas Eve treasure hunt for the DC's with clues leading to a present each (usually Christmas PJ's and a DVD) then off to bed.

we always have new PJ's for xmas eve and i always buy 1 tree ornament for DD each yr. DD in bed by 7pm, stockings put in about midnight, and pressies put under tree. wake by 7am, brush hair and teeth, have a cuppa T, then into lounge to open pressies, clearing up and xmas dinner on, usually turkey, beef & lamb with all the dressings inc brussels yuk!!! visit each family in afternoon, come home, bath and get cosy and snuggly and drunk LOL. same goes for boxing day too.

Christmas for us starts the first weekend in Dec when the boys and I decorate the tree (cue Xmas music,glass of bubbly and first mince pie of the season). Once the boys are in bed I take all decorations and lights off and redo (control freak I like it to be symetrical and match the decor). They get a new bauble each every year from Father Christmas along with a letter thanking them for his letters from them.

We always go to a pantomime and the local cinema for a Christmas film as a family before Christmas.

Christmas eve we go to the 'birthday party for Jesus' at Mum's church, sing traditional carols, birthday cake and the children dress up as characters whilst the Christmas story is told then its back to Mums for tea and bubbly. Home then we all snuggle in new Christmas PJ's to watch The Snowman DVD before the Christmas story is read, stockings, sparkly reindeer food, magic key etc are put out.

Once the boys are in bed (and asleep!) I wrap all their presents (in the special paper Santa uses) and cut gift tags off those from DH's Mum (does not matter how many times I tell her the boys think ALL presents received on Christmas day are from Santa she still insits on putting tags 'with love from Grandma and Grandad on!!) whilst drinking wine and eating mince pies. DH assembles any pressies that need it.

Christmas Day I am usually awake before the boys as I am too excited, Daddy goes downstaors to see if Santa has been (in reality to turn fire and put kettle on), then downstairsto much glee at the size of pile Santa has brought. Presents are opened and excited phone calls to Grandparents erc with wonder at presents Santa has brought made then breakfast - selection box chocolate for boys, Champagne, croissants, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for grown ups. We have a procession of visitors throught the day BUT always have dinner (with table presents) at home (although people are more than welcome and often do join us) then once all guests have gone about 6/7o'clock we walk to DH's parents for a party with extended family.

Then boxing day we do it all again (more presents!) with DSS and the day after is our wedding anniversary.

A tradition my Mum did and I have followed is we have a big fanmily meal New Years Day and we always get a New Year present, which makes the presents last a week.

Just thinking about this has made me all excited!!

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Xmas Eve, DH runs around town frantically trying to find last presents, I prep the veg and some of the other food for the next day and get slowly sozzled on red wine

Very early Xmas morning, DH wraps presents...

We always toast absent friends at Christmas lunch - no matter where we are or who with.

We always eat sausage rolls and mince pies when we come back from the pub/midnight service on Xmas eve.

We always play cards on christmas night, after the party games for the kids that is!

tree up about 2 weeks before xmas day, this year we are having a real tree so we'll all go shopping for that

Around that time is DD1 preschhol nativity/bazaar and xmas party (am chairperson of preschool so will be helping with these bits)

Xmas eve DH always has to work so me and the dd's will see my parents (normallyt my Dad as Mum at work) and go for a fry up in cafe and then a nice brisk walk to burn off some excitement. DD's put mince pie/drink etc out for FC and the reindeers and Xmas eve night is always a takeaway once kids in bed and then sort presents from a certain man and normally a fairly earlyish night as they'll be up early.

Christmas morning, downstairs for presents from FC and us and a few from friends. Then put a dvd on and ligfht breakfast and spend an hour unpackaging all the toys and trying to work out how they work. Off to my parents (or il's depending where we're going) around 12pm, Dad, DH and my brother go to the pub for an hour (this year dd1 (who's 4)going and nephew will go as FC normally makes an appearance. Dinner around 2pm (normally my Mum and I sort all this out whilst they are at pub) more presents from my parents/family. Then on to wherever we're having tea (last year I did it all at mine, this year we're going to my parents fro lunch and onto my brotehrs in the evening as he has moved and close to my parents house) more presents there from them and then home around 8pm as the dd's overtired/exhausted and generally throing a tantrum or wo by then.

Boxing day is spent with whatever parents we didnt see xmas day (so off to il's this year) presents from all of that side of the family, buffet lunch and generally chillk out (DH has to go back to worj 27th so less alcohol involved that day!!)

Decorations down by new year as dd2 birthday on the 5th jan!

I always cook the Turkey on christmas eve so Dp and I can have turkey and stuffing butties when the Dc's have gone to bed, the boys always have new pj's for christmas eve because you have to look nice for santa

Christmas morning we have crumpets and croissants with fresh coffee, then open all presents with me sat there with a black bin bag for all rubbish!

I try not to have the telly on at all on christmas day but i think Ds1(4) will do my head in otherwise, so i'll let him watch something christmassy while i cook dinner.

Tip for anyone cooking dinner..get some big foil trays in for your turkey/spuds/parsnips/sausages and cook them in that, saves on washing up!

Ah now we don't 'do' Father Christmas for various reasons. I try to keep Christmas for religious reasons.

We usually contact the local homeless shelter and ask what they are short of for Christmas, also if you have a Refuge Centre nearby they are usually grateful for things too. So we go shopping and drop that off the day before Christmas Eve. The kids get involved too as I like them to know that Christmas isn't all about receiving.

Christmas Eve we'll go to Church. Then we'll get home and light a candle in front of the nativity, both kids will wish Jesus a Happy Birthday and then they'll put out their pillow cases for the morning and go to bed.

Me and dh will then finish off a bottle of red wine, naturally, followed by some Baileys.

Christmas morning - presents. They come first before breakfast, it's cruel to keep them waiting!

Wish Jesus Happy Birthday again.

Visit Grandma and spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day there, which is good because we tend to hunt out the pub that's open Christmas Day night and head off to that.

That's it really!

All DH's and my family arrive on xmas Eve.
I cook a huge pork and we eat hot pork sarnies while watching a movie.
Once the kids are in bed we put out all the presents. We also leave evidence of Santa's visit - glitter, a sleighbell, hoof marks on the drive. I think this will be the last year they believe
Kids wake us and GPs and whoever else is there at around five. After the present frenzy I spend the day cooking and drinking champers - bliss.

1st Sunday of Advent, I make a wreath with evergreens & 4 candles & the 1st is lit. I put up some xmas lights (white) outside on one of the trees. We celebrate Santa Lucia on Dec 13th with saffron buns & glög (yum!) & on Xmas Eve we have a Swedish meal at my mum's as my stepdad is Swedish. Every year I insist on listening to my Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole etc Xmas music & Haendel's Messiah while dh loves his King's College choir carols. We buy a real tree about 10 days before Xmas which I decorate (dh gets cross with the lights tangling, dc break the ornaments). Xmas eve I'm always wrapping pressies at the last minute & stuffing the stockings. I also leave a Corona & some Xmas cake for Santa Claus, carrots for the reindeer & the dc write him a little note. Xmas morning, we have prosecco & orange juice & panetone. Dh & dc go to Mass (I'm CoE & intend to go to "my" church but never do because there's too much to do). My parents & any other family who happen to be visiting come over for lunch, which my mum brings - smoked salmon on toast & champagne & then we open the pressies. The rest of the day I'm chained to the kitchen, getting increasingly ratty because everything takes longer than expected. Dh makes the bread sauce, washes the brussel sprouts (& puts Xs on the bottoms!), peels & cuts carrots, peels potatoes. I do the rest. The dc play with/fight over their toys or can't put them together & pieces get lost or broken. We always get dressed up for dinner, which is supposed to be at 5pm but never really gets going until 7. We have xmas crackers that someone's managed to smuggle over from the UK & wear those silly paper hats & read out the stupid jokes. We have a traditional pudding, with flaming brandy & clotted cream. I'm always soooo glad at the end of the day that it's all over for another year & get sozzled on leftover champagne.

We don't really have our own traditions The traditions we follow are basically my family's, I might nick a few from here to make our own though!
We open a small present on Christmas eve before going to bed-can be any present from under the tree.

Stockings are opened first thing in the morning, as kids we used to take them into our parents bed but dd has opened hers downstairs in front of the (extended)family for the past 2 years because she has been too young to really be excited about it and it is very boring for dh and I to watch her open the presents we shoved in a stocking a few hours earlier for her. I think this year she'll be more excited so I'll leave the stocking on the end of her bed and see what happens!

Then breakfast as a family, start cooking lunch then into living room to open presents. The children hand out one present at a time and everyone watches you open it. DH's family all get a pile of presents and open their own ignoring everyone else but I prefer my way-makes it last longer for one thing!

Then we eat lunch and then everyone else falls asleep and I get annoyed (am incapable of daytime sleeping).