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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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Christmas traditions
What type of Christmas traditions do you do with your family?
5/17/09 Silverlake Sprint Triathlon 1:28:32
10/3/09 Susan G. Komen 5K 28:58
1/17/10 Chevron Half Marathon 2:09:08
2/27/10 ConocoPhilips Rodeo Run 10K 1:10:49
Re: Christmas traditions
When we were younger the adults used to hide a pickle ornament on the tree and the grand-kids got to find it. Whoever found it got to play Santa and pass out the presents. They also got a little prize for finding the pickle.
Now I have my own pickle ornament and plan to continue the tradition with my family when my H and I have kids.
my mom, sister and i have always made cookies and fudge to give away. usually the week before christmas.
dh makes his homemade waffles for me on christmas morning - i only get them 3 times a year and this is one of them.
We go to church together on Christmas Eve.
Opening presents on Christmas morning (only barbarians open their gifts on Christmas Eve).
Watching Christmas movies together.
Church together with families (though we alternate between mass and candlelight services at the church I grew up in.)
Reading both the gospel of Luke and Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve.
We watch Midnight Mass at the Vatican while doing last minute stuff and putting out gifts for DD.
Christmas breakfast = Mom's monkey bread. I don't think I've ever had a Christmas without it.
Gifts opened on Christmas Day.
I guess we're barbarians then.... Actually it's a Swedish tradition passed down in my family for many generations.
We open gifts from family on Christmas Eve after we have gone to church.
We also have a big (mainly Swedish) dinner on Christmas Eve, prior to church.
We do cookie day with my nieces and nephews the week before Christmas.
Growing up we always went to church on Christmas Eve, and then went home (Grandma's house) to eat chili and tamales. I still do this even when we're not with my family.
We opened presents on Christmas day, but we had to do "The Program" first. Each family member must perform (sing, play and instrument, read a poem, etc.) in order from youngest to oldest. We also opened presents one at a time youngest to oldest. My family still does this, but I don't do it when I'm not with them.
We pass around our family nut bowl. http://raisingemery.blogspot.com/2011/12/family-nut-bowl.html
A few years ago, I started a tradition of exchanging pj's with DH (and now DD) on Christmas Eve, and my mom bought DD The Night Before Christmas, so we'll read that.
This year, I'm starting a Christmas morning tradition of mimosas (to get me through the rest of the day with the ILs)!
My Blog
Mass and pizza by candle light on Christmas Eve. We still do the pizza but there's too many people to do it by candlelight, it would be impossible to not knock down a candle with all of us.
Presents are Christmas morning, usually something special for breakfast. This year it will be crock pot french toast and a breakfast casserole.
As kids we would always go for a walk around the neighborhood and look at the lights on christmas eve. My dad would point to the sky and say look look! when we looked he'd say we just missed santa flying by. I'm hoping to talk DH into doing it this year, but for him it's torture to look at lights.
Santa gifts are always wrapped btw, except big stuff like a bike or scooter.
I made the barbarians comment b/c that's what I always tell DH. His family always opens them on Christmas Eve. I did have to laugh that you said it's a Swedish tradition though, because his family says it's a Czech tradition. I read somewhere on-line yesterday that it's a German tradition (my German BIL assures me that is crap though).
With my family we go to Christmas Eve service then have linguine with white clam sauce for dinner with champagne. Christmas morning we are allowed to open our stockings before our parents get up, but wait for the rest, we have biscuits and wait for the onslaught of extended family after noon.
rrr's heathen family
always had a neighborhood party on Christmas eve. I'm still trying to figure out their Christmas traditions because things are a lot different since his mom died.
I'm looking forward to spending Christmas in our own home in the near future so we can start our own.
My dad's parents even went to the point of Santa coming while they were at church. J still thinks it's very strange that we do everything on Christmas Eve. It does make Christmas with our families easier though.
We also celebrated St. Lucia Day on the 13th growing up. I'd like to do the same when we have children.
At TG we draw names for two exchanges - a) regular store bought gift and b) homemade gift.
At Christmas Eve we get together at my mom's to do dinner, White Elephan, Homemade GE and Store Bought E.
I LOVE this tradition as we add people to it all the time. This year my best friend and her husband have become part of our family more than ever and they are included in both exchanges. Knowing that my bff's hubby is in it has made everyone step up their game on the homemade. It's gonna be AWESsssoooommmmee MOOOOOOOM!!!
With the kids, we do gingerbread house (this year we're starting it with my BFF and her family like we do for pumpkin carving). And also baking and decorating cookies for Santa.
With my extended family, we always make someone that was married into the family be Santa on Christmas Eve night to pass out the gifts. The kids know it's not the real santa but thinks it's funny.
family ornament every year
ornament for the kids every year (we just have 1 child now)
New Christmas PJs every year
read Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve
Advent Candle
church on Christmas Eve
we do different cuisines every year for Christmas dinner (this year is Asian)
We stuff stockings on Christmas Eve
We do family Christmas Cards with pictures every year
DH's parents did it the same way your parents did. I asked him what they did on Christmas Day & he said "Nothing, it was basically just another day". That made me sad.
We celebrated St. Lucia Day a few years too, when my sister & I were the right age to get excited about it.
Growing up we always did church together CE. Then everyone would go to my mom's house after to have appetizers and hang out. That's changed up a little, but we still go to church.
We never were consistent with gift opening. Since we owned our own business, it would depend on if we had to meet someone for work (yes, even on Christmas) or not.
The only thing we've started as a family is that I want to get C books for his stocking every year and we buy him an ornament. Last year we bought a Chewbacca because he made this funky Chewy noise all the time and this year it was a Thomas the Train.
My b-day is on the 13th and my entire family pushed my Mom to name me Lucia or Lucy. Since our (long) last name started with an L she just couldn't do it.
Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
Mass Christmas Eve
Kids open up Christmas PJs on Christmas Eve.
Presents as soon as the kids are up Christmas morning and then Overnight French Toast, Hot Chocolate and Tamales (so we'll always have something to unwrap).
Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
Go to church Christmas Eve (for the first time in years I am actually a regular rather than the CE service being 1/2 my church attendance for the year). I'm so excited to watch Maddie sing with the other church children on Saturday!
Read Twas the Night Before Christmas Christmas Eve.
Read "Santa's Favorite Christmas Story" by Hisako Akoi (I started this tradition - the other book was something my grandpa read every Christmas eve night).
I sleep on the couch (because I cannot possibly miss M's expression when she sees her gifts under the tree for the first time!).
Make coffee and cook/eat monkeybread while M plays with unwrapped Santa toys.
After breakfast everyone takes turns opening presents.
Unless it's Christmas pj's I don't like opening presents on Christmas eve. DH's parents have had to get used to that because they always did. But then Christmas day was kind of boring.
ETA - this year we are going to load up 2 huge boxes of toys to either sell in a garage sale or donate before M gets to take any new toys to her room. I think this will be a new tradition.
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
We are starting new traditions being so far from "home", plus adding the old in as well.
Bake cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, watching Charlie Brown's Christmas.
Christmas morning open gifts.
My husband grew up with cinnamon rolls and bacon with chocolate milk after the presents were all opened so that is something we will keep doing.
I'm sure my sister and I will figure out something to do on Christmas Day.
Usually we would spend Christmas Eve with DH's family and Christmas Day with mine after we did the presents thing with his family. This is only our second year we've spent in Houston so we're just winging it. Ha!