How Do You "Do" Christmas

[anmom]

DH and I have been talking about how we want to change up the way we celebrate/"do" Christmas this year. Normally we always read the Christmas story from the Bible and then everyone just goes crazy opening gifts. They do play with their new stuff that day, but I feel like it's just so quick. I'm curious how you all do this? Do you take your time? Let everyone just dig in? What are your traditions for that day and even for Christmas Eve?

[Chris in VA]

Christmas Eve, we go to the early service (5pm) so dd can sing in the choir. Last year, she said she wanted to go to the late service, too--so we did (11pm so Mass is at 12am). We eat lightly that night. The "kids" go to bed and I stay up finishing things. Dh comes home from church with the gifts he's stashed in his office, and we put everything out. Stockings are filled and we set them beside beds and then go to bed. Oh--the baby goes in the manger and the star goes on the felt Christmas/Advent calendar.

 

In the am, everyone opens stockings in bed, then dd usually goes over to her brothers' room (only 1 home now) or comes into ours (we have an "after 8am" rule). If my parents are here, we go into their bedrooms and wake them up.

 

We go downstairs (parents first) and make coffee and set stuff out to nibble on, then go into the tree (in living room). Dh says a prayer, then we sit on the floor and pass out gifts. Everyone gets one. We open at will, with us passing out stuff. THere's usually more for dd than anyone, because hers don't cost as much and because dh and I don't get as much.

 

After we share what we've gotten (ongoing as we unwrap-- exciting, Wow-look-at-that!), we clean up the paper and refill coffee and eat a little more. Then we look over more what we have. It's very unstructured. Dinner happens around 2pm or whenever we get it ready (big dinner--tenderloin this year, sometimes crown roast or ham). We light the Christ candle and put it in the middle of the Advent wreath. Some years we replace all the purple candles and the rose candle with white ones, but we haven't done that but a couple of times.

 

 

[Night Elf]

We pass out all the presents and then the kids open them at whatever pace they choose. My kids don't enjoy being stared at by others as they open gifts, so we can't do the thing where one person at a time opens a present. I have a trash bag out and clean up as the wrapping comes off each gift. At the end, the person is surrounded by his/her gifts and they may show what they got to the rest of the family. When the kids were little, we kept the toys in the living room near the tree until dinner and then we moved everything into their bedrooms or in the designated play areas downstairs.

[Desert Strawberry]

I usually make a big dinner on Christmas eve, we watch a Christmas movie-a classic like Rudolph, I read Twas the Night Before Christmas, we put something out for Santa-sometimes cookies, sometimes a plate of dinner, sometimes chocolate and wine, this year, lasange, and we tuck the little ones in. 

 

In the morning, we take our time. We turn on soft music, brush teeth and such, then we open stockings. We give the kids time to enjoy those gifts before we start opening other presents. We take turns and take breaks when they want to stop and play. 

 

We ate finger foods, sandwiches, leftovers through out the day. After all the gifting is done, and we have cleaned up, played, eaten, we settle in for a movie. I like Christmas Story in our bed, but if the kids have received a movie, we watch that. 

 

It makes for a relaxed, slow paced, easy holiday, heavy on fun, light on stress. 

[historically accurate]

Kids can dig into the stocking and the one Santa present before breakfast.  Usually, we have a full house here on Christmas, and we wait for everyone to arrive around 10 before opening.  This year, it will only be us and 1 other person, so we will probably start earlier.  

 

We open one at a time, no free for all.  The kids have the most, but they don't get to open 2 in a row; older child (12+) or adult plays "Santa" and hands out gifts from under the tree in order to keep them somewhat equitable.  We're usually not done by lunchtime, so break for lunch and finish up early afternoon.  After presents, we play any games, open up all those annoying toy boxes with the wires holding the toys in, and generally admire everyone's gifts.  

 

Then, break for dessert and come back and finish up with a birthday party for my brother (he's a Christmas baby). 

[milovany]

The kids open their stocking when they first get up (we do it all together, but first thing). Then we get a small bite to eat, or coffee, or whatever people need/want at that point.  Then we again gather around for gift opening; we do the one person at a time.  For us, that really spreads the time out more and makes it less of a frenzy. I know some people who do the 12 Days of Christmas thing where they open a present a day for each of the twelve days after Christmas (obviously some presents would be less expensive than others), so that would really spread things out even more, but I don't know -- we enjoy blessing our kids (and they us/their siblings) with numerous gifts this one day of the year.  (And then there's the 12 days times 7 kids equals 84 presents thing!). After that, we have a delicious breakfast and a slow-paced, good day. Later in the afternoon we have people over from church for pizza and ice cream. 

 

ETA -- Something that has really helped us spread the joy out for a longer period though is celebrating the twelve days of Christmas (minus the gift-a-day). Rather than having the celebration part of Christmas start around Thanksgiving and lasting until Christmas day, we start the celebration on Christmas and it goes until theophany, January 6th.  That way there's a time of preparation in the weeks before Christmas (which does include some shopping but not in a crazy way) but then the actual celebration lasts longer than just one day. 

[katilac]

Our only real rule for presents is that the kids have to wake us up so we don't miss the fun! Other than that, they dash to the living room and dive in. My youngest is 14 now, but she would still implode if expected to eat breakfast or anything first, lol. 

 

They each have a pile of presents (on the sofa, not under the tree), a shared pile on the hearth, and stockings. They open their own stuff first and then the together stuff. By this point, they might be hungry enough to eat before emptying their stockings. 

 

When we  have an extended family gathering, there's plenty to fill the day. When we have had a quieter day at home, we just played with the gifts - a new family game or puzzle is great for this. And I've never met the kid who didn't love the chance to have mom and dad down on the floor playing with Legos or Polly Pocket.

 

Deliberately slowing down the gift opening would not fly at my house  :lol:

[PrincessMommy]

DH and I have been talking about how we want to change up the way we celebrate/"do" Christmas this year. Normally we always read the Christmas story from the Bible and then everyone just goes crazy opening gifts. They do play with their new stuff that day, but I feel like it's just so quick. I'm curious how you all do this? Do you take your time? Let everyone just dig in? What are your traditions for that day and even for Christmas Eve?

 

First we go to Church on Christmas morning.  Kids have had learned patience ;) as that only started about 12yrs ago.  After church and some food we open presents.  I grew up doing the "crazy gift opening" thing, so I definitely wanted to change that too.  What we have always done is everyone gets their turn... and we go round robin... first one opens, then another kid, then maybe me, then another kid, then hubby... and so forth.  Now that we have 6 kids + 2 spouses + grandson...yeah, it takes a while.  But, it also shows generosity towards the other person.    Last night I even suggested to one of my kids that we maybe let 2-3people open at the same time so it doesn't take so long to open presents.  She was like :eek: "Why would we do that?!? I like it the way we do it."   Of course, we don't do a ton of gifts per person...but it does take time. 

 

Oh, and now that we have married kids, we wait for everyone to gather.  So instead of right after church it's more like mid-afternoon.  Like I said, they're learning patience.

[Alice]

We celebrate with dh's family on Christmas Eve, it's a big dinner and all the cousins and aunts and uncles. My parents also come (I'm an only child). We do presents then. We go to church in the evening on Christmas Eve. 

 

Christmas morning it's our family and my parents. We don't have a set way. Usually we just open all the gifts. I make a egg and sausage casserole  for breakfast and sometimes we've eaten as we're opening. Last year I think we did stockings and then breakfast and then other presents. While we did breakfast we did the last of the Advent wreath devotions. My parents give a LOT of presents so there is always a lot to open and it works to spread it out a bit. I have to round at the hospital this year on Christmas morning so they'll have to wait for me to get home, they may have breakfast first and then we'll open presents. 

 

For the past 6 years or so, dh and I have gone to a movie in the afternoon on Christmas day. At first we felt guilty but my parents enjoy being with the kids and it's an easy time to go out and have a sitter. The kids just want to play with new toys so they don't mind. After the movie we come home and do a Christmas dinner, usually ham, mashed potatoes and salad with a cake that was my great-grandmother's favorite for dessert (Christmas Eve was her birthday). 

 

 

[katilac]

Oh, and now that we have married kids, we wait for everyone to gather.  So instead of right after church it's more like mid-afternoon.  Like I said, they're learning patience.

 

So. much. patience!! 

[Momof3]

Christmas morning, I like to have a gift wrapped by each place setting (we don't do stockings). Don't know that the kids have picked up on this yet, but it's always a book. :) This year, I got dd4 a kids' cookbook, and ds6 has a book of science activities...

 

Anyhow. Then we have a church service for 1 hour. When we get home, we read the Christmas story. Dh & kids sort everyone's presents into piles while I set out snack stuff. We usually have cheese & sausage with crackers (dh's absolute favorite) and other little family favorites. We snack throughout the afternoon, and regroup later for a light supper.

 

We take turns opening gifts - the rule is 1) gifts from outside the family first, 2) relatives next, and 3) immediate family last. (We also open gifts directed toward the entire family before individual gifts.) 

[TracyP]

We open presents on Christmas Eve. We will eat an early dinner of finger foods (kids help plan the menu) and then open gifts. We have everybody go around in a circle and open gifts. We don't do a lot of gifts and some will be gifts for the whole family. This goes pretty quickly. We don't have much time to play immediately because we go to a candlelight service at 6:30. By the time we get back, the little kids have time to play for a bit then go to bed. Dh, the older kids, and I stay up late to eat snacks and play our new games or puzzle.

 

On Christmas, we are bums all day. We watch movies, eat easy meals, play games, play in the snow - whatever we feel like. It is one of my favorite days of the year. :)

[Rachel]

We don't have a set plan. Christmas Eve we do drive around and look at lights. Christmas morning is some variation of sleeping in and waiting on my inlaws to arrive before opening presents. The kids really like having grandpa and grandma here for that. I usually fix monkey bread so we may eat before they arrive if they are coming later. We will have a nice lunch with them as well. Sometimes the kids open stockings first other times last.

 

I like controlled chaos for present opening. I enjoy watching the reaction to each gift but we don't really take turns either. This year all three kids are getting a similar gift so I will have them open them together.

[milovany]

I'm athesist. I don't understand the desire for the whole Christmas thing, or the interest in traditions for the sake of traditions.

 

It's fun to get together with family. So I'm all up for that. So on Christmas eve ........

 

 

Your first sentence totally contradicts the rest of your post, Julie!  :D

[redsquirrel]

The kids wake us up and bring their stocking into my room. We all pile in the bed and dh goes downstairs to make coffee (this is the actual reason for the stockings, to buy time for coffee!) Once stockings have been pillaged we go downstairs to open gifts. It isn't uncommon for the kids to only get one or two presents, so that is over quickly. DH and I do not exchange gifts, so it is just for the kids.

 

Really, the whole thing is over in about 45 mins at absolute most.

 

Then we have some breakfast and the kids bring their gifts upstairs to their rooms.

 

Then we get ready for a big party. We have a big potluck for anyone who is in town. We provide the basic meal and people can bring whatever they like or nothing at all. We listen to music, the kids play, we have a great time.

[MrsMommy]

On Christmas Eve, we eat an early dinner (around 3 or so). It's what my children used to call the "dinner where you pick what you eat" when they were small, because I just make a whole bunch of appetizers, and you get to eat what you want. Obvious, right? ;) After dinner, we get ready for church...the children's program is at 6, and we need to be there by 5:30. Hopefully, we have time to take pictures before church, but not always. After church, we go home and have Jesus' birthday cake. The children get one present before bed...a new pair of pajamas. After they're asleep, dh and I put the presents under the tree and in the stockings, and then we play Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries while watching the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker and eating some of the leftovers from dinner.

 

On Christmas Day, the children are allowed to open their stockings when they get up (but they have to wait for dh and me to get downstairs). We then have a leisurely breakfast before going to back to church for the Christmas Day Divine Service. We have lunch when we get home, and then we open presents. Whoever finds the pickle on the tree gets to be the person to hand out the gifts, in whatever order, but only one gift is opened at a time. With seven of us, that usually takes quite a while, so we really get to enjoy the process. After that, the children usually play with their gifts, and we watch Christmas movies or listen to Christmas music, and I bake stuff for our big Christmas dinner, which we always have the day after Christmas, when my in-laws can join us. Sometimes I make a pot of wassail to enjoy throughout the afternoon. Dinner is more of the leftovers from the day before, and more birthday cake for dessert. It's just a lovely way to spend two days!

 

I love our Christmas traditions, and I really love that we've chosen to do things the way they work best for us, instead of trying to hold on to the ways we did things growing up!

[chiguirre]

DH and I have been talking about how we want to change up the way we celebrate/"do" Christmas this year. Normally we always read the Christmas story from the Bible and then everyone just goes crazy opening gifts. They do play with their new stuff that day, but I feel like it's just so quick. I'm curious how you all do this? Do you take your time? Let everyone just dig in? What are your traditions for that day and even for Christmas Eve?

 

We extend the holiday season by doing gifts on St. Nicholas (Dec. 6), Solstice, Christmas, New Years and Epiphany. When the kids were younger, these were actual toys, now they're just little treats. In our family, adults don't do gifts, they're only for kids and mine are getting too old for that. I guess that sounds pretty grinchy, but it's not. We have a special dinner and celebrate with family, but it's not a gift-giving occasion.

[MinivanMom]

We do the more spiritual/meaning of Christmas-type traditions on Christmas Eve, so there is this clear sense of "here's the reason for the season" before we jump into gifts on Christmas day. We still have a strong focus on family and charity and gratitude on Christmas day, but we like having Christmas Eve with only that focus.

 

On Christmas Eve:

-We go out to breakfast.

-Dh helps the kids go through their bedrooms and clean out books and toys to give to charity & he drives them over to donate them.

-I do all my Christmas cooking and prepping while dh is helping the kids with the donations.

-After dinner, the kids dress up and we read the Nativity story aloud while they act it out. This involves much pausing to sing the appropriate Christmas songs as we go along.

-We sing Christmas carols. The kids take turns accompanying us on piano. At some point during this we serve cookies and hot chocolate. We usually end with oldest dd playing us carols on her harp.

-Once they're in bed, dh and I watch It's a Wonderful Life and we fill the kids stockings.

 

On Christmas Day:

-We all go downstairs together to look in stockings (Santa only brings a few small gifts; everything else we give to each other).

-Dh and I get breakfast ready (cinnamon rolls and bacon & sausage) & I put the roast in the crockpot while the kids enjoy the Santa gifts.

-After we eat breakfast, everyone gets dressed in their nice Christmas clothes and we open gifts. We start with the youngest and open one gift at a time. So the youngest opens one gift, then the second-youngest, etc. We keep cycling through until everything is opened. It takes a very long time, but we take our time with each gift so that everyone has time to be excited for each gift and to thank each other.

-I put out all the appetizers I prepped the day before. Basically, we hang out and snack all day.

-In the afternoon the kids play with their new things, we assemble toys, we make thank you phone calls to relatives, etc. We have a nice dinner, and then we watch one of the kids' new movies after dinner. Mostly, we just have a very low-key, let's-spend-time-together type of day.

[Jan in SC]

We change things every year. We've driven out of town to visit family. We've stayed home and enjoyed friends and family at our house. Some years we make it to church, some years we don't. I try to always have lots of goodies purchased and made and the gifts wrapped early. My brother just started his family, so we are happy to travel a few hours to them to try and help out while they have the little ones. I'm up for traveling or cruising over Christmas, too.

[milovany]

But it is all my parents doing. I would just be as happy if we did something totally different as long as it involed being with family and having fun....

 

Ahhh, now I understand a little bit better, although "as long as it involves being with family and having fun" would still be considered a tradition and holiday related.  Just trying to say, there's nothing wrong with regularly doing certain things at a certain time of year (i.e., tradition).

 

But now we're off topic ..... so back to your regularly scheduled thread. 

[Southern Ivy]

Tonight is Christmas Eve, tomorrow Christmas morning - for us anyway. 
Tonight, we're going out to a nice restaurant, then we'll come home. My daughter will open her new pajamas and movie. We'll probably watch the movie, then go look at our town's light display. 
Tomorrow morning, we'll eat breakfast, then sit down to open presents. Riverlyn will open her gifts and my husband and I will sneak our gifts in between her opening/playing with new presents.

Growing up, we opened gifts one person at a time, but that's a bit hard to do with a toddler. However, we'll still probably do the "one person/one gift at a time" when my family comes up. At my husband's family, it's the most chaotic scene you've ever scene. Honest to goodness, paper is flying and gifts have been lost due to the craziness. To each their own, but I much prefer it to be calmer and orderly. 

We do Christmas with my inlaws, open presents on Christmas Eve, and having Christmas dinner on Christmas afternoon. My family comes up the weekend after Christmas and we do the whole shebang again. 
 

[HS Mom in NC]

We've been reading religious based Christmas books and Bible selections and traditional Christmas stories every night of December as part of advent.

 

Christmas Eve Morning-(Spouse, kids, middle daughter's significant other, 6 people total)

 

Cinnamon rolls for a late breakfast.

Everyone dives into stockings at the same time.

We each open on gift at a time.

Watch a Christmas movie while the little one plays with toys.

Big late lunch.

 

Christmas Eve Night-

 

This year there's a church service option because my biobrother and his wife are out of town for Christmas, so we celebrated Christmas at our dad's a week ago. We usually celebrate at my brother's in Christmas Eve afternoon with dad when he's in town. We'll probably go to the church one of my step-brothers, SIL  and my parents attend regularly.

 

Christmas Morning (at in-law's house with husband's sister, spouse and kids, 11 people total) 10 minute drive away.

 

Huge breakfast at 9:00

We each open one present at a time

Watch some sort of Christmas movie in the background while the cousins play and adults chat.

Go home and decompress for The Big One that night.

 

Christmas Night (at Mom and Step-Dad's, only 3 adult siblings this year as bio-brother is out of town,  their spouses and kids, a set of family friends and their kids, two elderly adults, so 20 people total) 15 minute drive away.

 

Lots of talking and eating and eating and talking starting at 6:00.

Kids open presents at the same time. 

Adults/teens do the White Elephant Exchange (this year's theme is gift cards.)

More talking and eating and eating and talking. 

Then we play the game Left, Center Right with $3 a piece while we eat and talk and someone wins all the money. 

Then we sit around and talk and eat while the kids play together.

[Upward Journey]

We attend Christmas Eve service, the time varies.  Sometimes it involves two services (and not always together) because the kids are in the earlier one and oldest daughter & I are in the choir.

 

Some years, when not involved in the later service, we've invited another family(s) home afterwards for cookies, etc.

 

If we have received a family present from a relative we open it before going to bed.

 

I usually wake up earliest the next morning and start the coffee as well as some Christmas music ;) and plug in the tree lights  Growing up my dad was the earliest riser.  He started the coffee and usually woke us by playing his trumpet or the piano. Yeah  :tongue_smilie:

 

Stockings happen.  This is my kids favorite part of the morning.

 

We clean up and start opening presents.  I pass them out so they know who gave them what, starting with presents from family.  We live far away from everybody so anything they have to open has been mailed. 

 

The kids pass out their presents.

 

I pass out presents from us.  

 

Then we eat breakfast :)

 

 I clean up paper after each round of gifts so nothing gets lost.  Writing it out makes it sound so orderly.  It isn't :p

 

 

 

[albeto.]

I'm athesist...

 

Here too. When my kids were younger, Christmas was a church thing, but then one by one they lost their faith, then I lost mine. My husband's faith never followed him past childhood. So now the day is a family-hanging-out-together-no-expectations-of-work day. We play video games, we watch tv shows (generally in marathon style, as those damn dramas are so addictive!). We probably won't have presents beyond stockings this year for unrelated reasons, but I found some awesome stocking stuffers (altar candles with scientists and artists instead of saints on them, very pretty, very cool, kind of like this). The rest of the stocking stuffers will be things like ipod music gift cards and food. We don't have a tree (no place to put it this year, and no one wants to decorate it, and it's never in a room we gather anyway, so we all kind of decided, meh), but we do have a Festivus Pole in the corner next to the lava lamp.

[BrittanyM]

We typically do Christmas Eve with DH's family at his parents. This year BIL works on Christmas and Christmas Eve (he is a medic) so we're doing it Tuesday instead. We have a special big dinner with Swedish sausage (FIL is Swedish), then act out the Christmas story while quoting the Bible passages, sing carols and open gifts.

 

Christmas morning we come out to the living room and open stockings one at a time (youngest to oldest) and then gifts (the kids pass them out from under the tree so not necessarily in order) one at a time. We don't do a ton of gifts, about three per person, so it doesn't take too long. After we're finished the kids play and I start prepping breakfast and my family comes over with their gifts. We all eat breakfast together and open more gifts. Once were done it varies. Last year we had another Christmas at my Grandmas with my Uncle and Aunt and cousins. This year were doing breakfast and gifts with them on Friday. So Christmas afternoon we'll go see a movie and possibly eat at Panda afterwards, since my brother might have to work (he is a cook there). or well come home and do a low key dinner.

[Mom-ninja.]

How do I do Christmas? As sanely as I can. 

[katilac]

Go home and decompress for The Big One that night.

 

Christmas Night (at Mom and Step-Dad's, only 3 adult siblings this year as bio-brother is out of town,  their spouses and kids, a set of family friends and their kids, two elderly adults, so 20 people total) 15 minute drive away.

 

 

 

Heh, 20 people is Little Christmas for us and 60+ is Big Christmas. We are all going straight to Big Christmas this year, so I guess we have to add Tiny Christmas to signify just us in the morning before we leave! 

[AimeeM]

We spend Christmas (always) in Philadelphia with my FIL at my DH's childhood home. 

Christmas Eve is the traditional 7 fish Italian dinner, read a Christmas story, and the children are sometimes allowed to open one gift (often pajamas and slippers). 

The grown ups stay up to make sure everyone is sleeping and then we put out the gifts. 

On Christmas day the kids generally have a small breakfast, and then gifts are handed out one-by-one, to each person in turn (one for DD, one for DS5, one for DS2, but only one at a time; grown ups generally have fewer gifts, so theirs are handed out randomly). 

Christmas dinner is a big deal - often some extended family, sometimes the wayward BIL will show up for his Christmas envelope from FIL (cash), friends, and gifts for the extended family and friends. 

 

I've always wanted to attend the Midnight Mass, but I am hesitant to drag DS2 out of bed at that hour (because he WILL wake up and decide his cat-nap is sufficient for the night), and FIL isn't in the best of health to stay back with him. 

 

If we aren't able to make it to Philly for Christmas this year (FIL is still in the hospital, we're ill and aren't allowed to be around him; so if this yuck that we have doesn't clear up, we can't do it), it'll be an odd year for us and I'm not sure what we'll do. We already have the Christmas tree up and stuff... but as much as the hassle of getting three kids ready for an 18 hour car ride, 1 dog ready to take with us, and one dog ready to board here, can be overwhelming at the time, all of our TRADITION is in Philly. Here, in our hometown, there isn't extended family and friends to make the traditional fish dinner for, or to have over for cookies and Christmas dinner, and we'd all miss FIL terribly... and the things that come WITH my FIL... like going through his wife's old jewelry boxes oooh-ing and aaah-ing over the precious items brought with her from Italy, and finding the neat little things that time forgot about in that lovely 19th century row home... last year we found MIL's citizenship paperwork, and the old information for the citizenship test she took... and the old, lovely clothes that belonged to FIL's mother in the closet in the bedroom I share with the children. It would just be different.

[ScoutTN]

Christmas Eve day we relax and sometimes bake, do a puzzle or play board games, do last minute wrapping. I do any meal prep for that night or Christmas day.

 

We go to early church around 4:00, then to my SIL's for a celebration with DH's family. We come home, get into pjs, Dh builds a fire and we sing a few carols and DH reads the Christmas story from the Bible. Kids go to bed. We enjoy the fire until they are asleep then fill stockings and put out gifts.

 

Kids wake up at oh dark hundred, ds goes into dd's room and they snuggle under the covers and whisper until we are really awake. I turn up the heat and put the breakfast casserole in the oven. Kids get their stockings and santa gifts. Play with these for an hour or so, then we eat breakfast. We light the Christ candle in our Advent wreath before we eat.

 

Then we do gifts from the tree, one at a time. Since there are only four of us and not many gifts for me or DH, this is not really a long event. We keep it fairly simple. My ILs will come over about then to see what the kids got and usually bring them each one more gift.

We get dressed and I work on the meal. My mom comes over and we do gifts with her and we eat a nice dinner. But not one which requires lots of work! We relax and enjoy the afternoon. Play outside of it is at all possible so ds can work off some sugar!

Sometimes we have neighbors over in the evening or go to a friend's home. I like to stay home and watch movies!

 

We usually go to a movie in the theater, big splurge for us, sometime the week after Christmas.

 

When Christmas is on Sunday, we go to worship after breakfast and open our gifts from under the tree after we get back. A church near us has a Christmas day service around 11:00 which we might go to next year. I like church on Christmas day.