swellmomma Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 The post about creating traditions made me wonder what traditions others have for their holidays. I am the type of person that needs as much as wants traditions, so we have then for all holidays not just Christmas. For example we ALWAYS have hot dogs on halloween. We rarely have them during the year and look forward to having them (on fresh white buns fo course), Thanksgiving always includes everyone going around the table stating something they are greatful for from that year(which reminds me we leave in 1 hour for our dinner and I better think of something), and we draw the names for xmas gifts. After dinner we sit around and play dominoes(we do this with every famil gathering/dinner). Christmas traditions we have several of. My mother reads "Twas the night before christmas" ever christmas eve. SHe read it right through our childhoods and now she reads it to the grandchildren. We always get chinese food on Christmas eve. Christmas morning we take turns passing out gifts and then we open them together, ohh and ahh over them before the next round gets handed out. This makes gift opening take hours(given how spoiled the kids are, and that we were as kids) but helps slow down the pace and have thekids really appreciate what they are getting. Last year my sil to be brought a tradition from her family of find the pickle. A glass pickle is hidden in the tree, whoever finds it gets a special gift. my brother and sil will now do this with the neices and nephews(and eventually their kids) each year. We do a big family dinner on Xmas day, and then again pull out the dominoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 We used to every year pick someone to be "santa" and santa would pass out the gifts one at a time to be opened. We always have Steak Soup on Christmas eve (we don't do this now because of scheduling with in-law etc). And we have beef tenderloin on Christmas. We 'painted' christmas cookies when I was a child each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadiegirl Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 flashlights....my mother-in-law puts in a flashlight in each person's stocking ! This gets interesting as she finds ones that are perfect for that person...I love purple so one year, I got a purple one. My son loves fishing so one year, she found one like a fishing lure. It's fun and something we always expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Christmas Traditions We read one Christmas book each day the whole month of December. I try to buy a new one every year and we fill in with library books. We read an advent book/devotional. We have a birthday cake for Jesus. We set up the nativity set on December 1st but baby Jesus is not out. He is always hidden in one of the Christmas gifts. When that gift is opened on Christmas morning we stop everything, sing Away in a Manger and read the Christmas story. The three wise men are also not at the nativity. They travel all over the house during the month of December. We move them after the kids are in bed at night & they look for them every morning. They arrive at the nativity on Epiphany. The kids will find a tiny gift by the nativity that morning & that's our last Christmas hurrah! Christmas gifts are placed under the tree a few at a time leading up to Christmas Day but none of them have names. I create a code every year and the kids spend the entire month trying to figure out what my code is. One year I did all reptile names for one child and bird names for the other. Another year I did random numbers but one child always had a 3 in their gift and the other had a 7. I try to make them harder as they are getting older now. Our Christmas tree has mostly handmade ornaments and each child makes 1 or 2 each year to add to it. We bake a ton of stuff and pass it out as presents to neighbors and coworkers. The one year I missed doing this, everyone was so disappointed. Christmas Eve is always church and then driving around town looking at Christmas lights. We don't have much going on Christmas Day. We stay in pj's all day. We don't have family nearby & most folks ARE with family that day so it's pretty quiet. That's all I can think of right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 We set up the nativity set on December 1st but baby Jesus is not out. He is always hidden in one of the Christmas gifts. When that gift is opened on Christmas morning we stop everything, sing Away in a Manger and read the Christmas story. I love this! I may have to adopt it.:001_smile: The three wise men are also not at the nativity. They travel all over the house during the month of December. We move them after the kids are in bed at night & they look for them every morning. They arrive at the nativity on Epiphany. The kids will find a tiny gift by the nativity that morning & that's our last Christmas hurrah! A woman at church told me she did this when her children were young. Such a lovely tradition. We don't have a lot of traditions. Before dd was born we often traveled over the holidays. One that I did bring from my own family is to have potato latkes for dinner on Christmas Eve. I have added to it to include opening 1 gift afterward - and it's always new pajamas.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Christmas Eve-We go to Mass with dh's family. Then we have dinner at their house. Santa comes by to give all the under 18 kids one gift each, and then we open presents from extended family. Christmas morning-I wake up waaaay earlier than everyone else (because I'm too excited for the boys to see what *Santa* brought). I sneak into the living room to turn on the Christmas lights and music. That usually wakes my oldest who loves waking the others. The boys ohh and ahh over Santa gifts and then we open the rest of our gifts. Before my parents' divorce, we would meet my two sisters and their families at our parents house for a very specific breakfast-homemade drop biscuits, chocolate and white gravy, eggs, sausage, and bacon with chocolate milk and orange juice. We've had the same Christmas morning breakfast since as long as we can remember. Now that my parents are divorced, we force them to stick to tradition since they were the ones who started it in the first place. :tongue_smilie: Breakfast is held at either my house or my twin sister's house now. We do an Advent calendar of some sort every year. One year we had a little manager and added a piece each day with Jesus being added Christmas morning. Last year we did a paper chain with little things written on each *link*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Such lovely traditions... Each son gets an ornament for the tree. We love to make it somehow specific to something that happened in the year or related to their likes or personality. We try to arrange for everyone to be home for the tree decorating. The older everyone gets the harder that is. We open the Christmas season by watching 'White Christmas' as a family. On Christmas Eve if we don't have a church service to attend, we watch 'It's a Wonderful Life.' We watch it on Christmas Day if our church does an eve service. We have a wall hanging piece--a Santa holding a big bag, then pockets for 24 days. You are supposed to fill all the pockets and each day put a toy in Santa's bag. Our boys somehow reversed it and we always take a toy out of the bag and put it in th pockets. We also take turns opening gifts. We open stocking stuff first, then fix breakfast -- cinnamon sticks with juice or milk--then afterwards open the rest of our gifts. No family here, either, so we spend the day cooking lunch, watching movies, and playing with our new 'toys'. We often grill out for lunch since no one really likes turkey or ham all that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I love reading this stuff!! We have a few traditions that we've created over the years. ~Everybody gets a new ornament every year. Then when the girls move out into their own home, they will have a set of ornaments for their own tree. ~We take off school the week (or 2) before Christmas and do a Christmas craft every day until Christmas. Two years ago, we took the whole month of December and did a craft every day. That was fun, but exhausting! I was crafted out. :) ~On Christmas Eve, everybody gets to open one gift, and it is always a new pair of pjs to wear that night. ~On Christmas morning, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we open any gifts. ~We go to my parent's house on Christmas right before lunch for a huge brunch with every breakfast food you could ever imagine! I love the idea that Daisy posted about the three wise men. We might do that this year if I don't forget! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Christmas gifts are placed under the tree a few at a time leading up to Christmas Day but none of them have names. I create a code every year and the kids spend the entire month trying to figure out what my code is. One year I did all reptile names for one child and bird names for the other. Another year I did random numbers but one child always had a 3 in their gift and the other had a 7. I try to make them harder as they are getting older now. Wow! This system looks useful. I'm going to use it this year. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 We always watch the Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve, and I cook my Batik cake in lieu of fruit cake. My oldest is only 2, so I have another year to get my other ideas floating, but I'm also looking to build a collection of suitable picture books. We are not Christian, and not into Santa, so it's tricky to find books with no Santa, and that any religion is presented in a digestible way for us. I'm also making and collecting nice Christmas ornaments. I want to make an advent calender with little bags holding two Christmas ornaments, one for each child to hang on our, well, it's not a tree, but anyway... :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 We're still sorting ours out. Neither of us can count on any family being around. Mine live across country, MIL in another province, but we have had BIL one year, Wolf's nephew another, and spent our first year with his sister (NEVER again!!) So, its usually just us. Since we've been together, Wolf and I rarely exchange gifts...when he does get me a gift (from the kids, usually) its a running competition to find the UGLIEST jammies. I think I've actually broken him of the ugly part though :D Socks are a tradition...funky ones. From my growing up. Last year, the kids all got jammies to open Christmas Eve. We're building them as we go. Wolf doesn't have any that he liked growing up. The one thing he flat out refuses is to wait until sundown to open gifts if Christmas hits on a Saturday. His mom did that to him and he loathed it. Since we're not SDA, its not an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 The kids make pine cone bird feeders and on the solstice, we hang them in the trees out front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Christmas Traditions Christmas gifts are placed under the tree a few at a time leading up to Christmas Day but none of them have names. I create a code every year and the kids spend the entire month trying to figure out what my code is. One year I did all reptile names for one child and bird names for the other. Another year I did random numbers but one child always had a 3 in their gift and the other had a 7. I try to make them harder as they are getting older now. This sounds like SO much fun. What a cool idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 One big tradition here is on New Year's Day. My dh plans a mystery. He writes these rhyming clues and leaves them around the house. Some years it's that something has been stolen and the kids have to find it. Some years it's just been to find a special treat. I have a birthday tradition to serve the kids a special birthday dessert for breakfast on that day. It used to just be birthday cake, but then I realized the kids like other things better (ice cream, donuts, cookies, etc.). We have fun decorating our Christmas trees in the house. We buy ornaments on every trip we take (at least the ones we can find), and it's fun talking about the memories of those trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks for sharing everyone. How could I forget the ornaments. My aunt makes one for me every year, and has since I was 2. I buy each of the kids a new one each year to carry that on. I also always buy them new jammies and a new book for xmas. My dad always buys me tin of cashews and a box of smores pop tarts. Neither of those things would I ever risk spending our meager grocery budget on, so he treats me to them each year(they are among my favorite snacks). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I, too, give my kids a new ornament each year. I try to find ones that complement each other but also suit each child - like this last year I gave my daughter a mermaid ornament and my son got a penguin (think Madagascar). We always decorate the house on the Saturday closest to 12/1. I make a huge deal out of it since it takes the majority of the day. The kids love to help hang the ornaments, we put Christmas music on, and I throw a meal in the crockpot so we can smell it cooking all day. When we're done, I turn off all the house lights and turn on the tree/decor lights, and we sit around and sing a few Christmas songs. We always visit a gorgeous lights display with thousands and thousands of lights sometime during the holiday season, usually with my in-laws. I make quickbreads - the miniature loaves - for the whole family at Christmastime. One year I created molded chocolates and everyone asked for the bread back. We make a Christmas "chain" of red and green paper, and each night the kids take off one link so they know how many days are left till Christmas. My MIL's husband always calls the kids a few days before Christmas as Santa and makes sure that they've been good and listens to their wish lists. Now that the kids are getting old enough, they always write or draw a Christmas list and place it in their stockings, and the elves come and get the lists and take them back to Santa (great keepsakes for when they're older!). Christmas gingerbread men and gingerbread houses and cookie decorating!!! I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Mine is a continuation of one my parents started 52 year ago! The first year they were married they wanted to have a big party on Christmas Eve, but didn't have much money. They invited all their friends anyway, and they all ate White Castles and drank cheap champagne. We did it every year of my childhood, and I still do it today, as do my parents. We don't have White Castles in the South, but I refuse to change to Krystals (it isn't the same!), so I buy the ones from the grocery store if I have to and make due. It's a silly little thing but, it's ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 We are a little sad around here. Many of our traditions were built around a fun uncle that moved far away last week. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petepie2 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 (edited) Our favorite Christmas tradition is our Jesse Tree (I wrote about it on my blog a couple of years ago...there's a photo included), which we start on December 1st. We also have an Advent wreath that we light on the Sundays of Advent and have corresponding Scripture readings. Our kids, even though they are still little, LOVE the Jesse Tree and Advent wreath. I have found it a wonderful way to keep Christmas Christ-centered in our home. On Christmas morning, we start by lighting the last Advent candle (the Christ candle), putting our last ornament (the star) on the Jesse Tree, and reading the Scripture passages. Then we open gifts from each other. (We gave Santa the boot last year.) I'm sure as the kids get older, other traditions will be developed in addition to these. Edited October 12, 2009 by petepie2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.