October 2009 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Favorite Holiday Tradition
Hey ladies. What is your favorite holiday tradition? It can be one that your family has or someone else's or even one you want to start. So, lets hear it 
Re: Favorite Holiday Tradition
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My fav tradition is actually my husband's family's. But I am stealing it!
Since the mom didn't want to be in charge of stockings anymore, every family member has to come up with a $5-$10 stocking gift for everyone else's stocking. They can be funny, practical, etc. They do stockings on Christmas Eve and it's always a riot. This works for them now b/c their kids are grown. My SIL still does "regular" stockings at her home for their kids. I just think this is nice for grown kids.
Another tradition I just heard about was that the mom leaves one last gift at everyone's place setting. So when all the presents are opened and it's time for eating, there's one more gift for everyone. This works for all ages. Who doesn't like one more present??
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Christmas is my favorite holiday because of my family's ongoing tradition. There's so many special feelings associated with it!
When I was a kid, we had our Sunday School Christmas Program on Christmas Eve. So everyone would get dressed up in their new Christmas outfit, and either before or after the program (depending on the one we were scheduled for), we would go out to eat at a nice restaurant by the church. My parents always found a way to take two cars, "just in case there's a wait at the restaurant" or "you have to be there early for the Christmas Program," etc. The parent who took the other car and came later would start shoving presents under the tree, so that when we got back, we would see that Santa had magically come.
When I was a teenager, the restaurant we used to go to closed down, and I was obviously not in the sunday school programs anymore. Because my sister was married with children by that time, it became more of a thing for them. Our new tradition is to get dressed up and go to my sister's, where we have Chinese take-out (the high quality kind - not your Panda Express, or whatever). Afterwards, we go back to my parents where my nieces see that santa had come and left presents for them.
We all open gifts, and it's mandatory that my dad, who is a big music buff and has all the best christmas music, plays christmas carols over the stereo while all this is going on.
After presents, our church has a candlelight service at 10:00pm that we all head to.
And Christmas morning is always started with Dad going out for the best doughnuts you've ever had, and us all picking up and going to church... again.
It's what I refer to as "Happy Church," though, and I always feel happy and uplifted when leaving.
Then, Turkey Dinner and my dad's famous pies.
So I just wrote a novel here, but Christmas is very special to me. I hate to say it, but I was kinda depressed last year spending Christmas with my then future in-laws. This year it's by my family, and I hope DH will love it as much as I do.
Our traditions have changed a bit in the last few years because of some divorces in the extended family
, but one thing that has never changed is that we all get new pajamas each year. My mom buys them for my little brother, myself, and DH (we've been together for 6 years and he has done Christmas with my family since our first one together because his family doesn't really celebrate it), and DH and I get some for my mom and dad.
We open them up on Christmas Eve so that we all have new pjs for Christmas morning, and then we pretty much stay in them all of Christmas day. We also always get together with my mom's extended family for a big Christmas party and have ping-pong and card tournaments and eat ourselves silly.
We had to miss it all last year because I work for Congress and they were in session up until the very end of the year and I couldn't take leave...so DH and I are SO excited to get back up there this year!
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About 10 years ago we started a tradition of having our closest family friends over (at my parents') for Christmas Eve after church. Everyone brings their leftover cookies from the house, we make spiced cider and hot chocolate and play games until LATE.
I absolutely love it because that's my "real family." The last couple years it has been hard because DH's whole extended family celebrates on Christmas Eve. Since I was only the girlfriend before, I've always been able to cut out early to go to my parents to hang out with the old family friends. I haven't brought myself to decide what I'm going to do this year... it makes me really sad just thinking of it honestly.
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Foto- We hide the pickle in the tree every year too. It's always fun to see what mom has come up with as a gift; last year I won and got a cheese service tray. ha!
We have always decorated the tree together; mom would wait for me to come home for a weekend from college AFTER Thanksgiving to do it. We'd order Cecil's (awesome pizza), listen to Christmas records, and decorate. That is, was, will be my most favorite holiday tradition. I'm sad that I will miss it this year with my parents, but happy and excited that I get to start it with my husband.
We celebrate Christmas with Midnight Mass and then opening family presents on Christmas eve. Then "santa" presents Christmas day with dinner and then a visit to Grandma's house.
DH always spent Christmas eve and day at his Grandparents house (all his family came over too) and Santa came there.
We're in the mist of a big change on both sides, so traditions will be changing sooner or later.
Oh I forgot....when I was in preschool, we made these ornaments which was a small, round photo frame with a picture of ourselves. Every year, I make sure to hang it at the top of the tree...cause I'm an angel, get it?
Ours has changed a bit too because of trying to hit both families. We settled on celebrating christmas eve with DH's family and Christmas day with mine. Nothing special for DH's... Mine involves my dad making apple panekuchen and homemade mexican style hot cocoa for breafkast and then opening gifts together. Ususally mid afternoon we go hang out with my dad's extended family. I don't ususally go see my mom's side which is mostly ok. I'm not terribly fond of most of my in town relatives on that side.
DH's family always gets together new years day for games and food and celebrates the winter birthdays (of which I'm one but I've hated participating it because I don't feel like they should be getting me anything). Actually, I'm not terribly fond of DH's family either. They were horrible to us when we were planning our wedding!! I'll eventually get over it but I'm still a tad P.O.'d