Christmas traditions

[KJB]

I always enjoy reading about different family Christmas traditions. In fact, I've picked up some great ideas over the years from this thread around this time of year in past years.

 

So, please share your special family Christmas traditions!

 

I'll start with a few of ours:

 

I always order a photo frame ornament for my kids every year. I usually have their name and date engraved or printed on the ornament. Now that we have 5 kids, our tree is filling up quickly. My dd is 12 and has at least 14 cute photo ornaments with pics of her from every year. It's especially meaningful to me since we don't have official school pics from every year. Each of my kids has at least as many pics on the tree as their age!

 

Also, my kids always get a grapefruit in their stocking. They eat oranges all the time but we don't buy grapefruit often so it is a treat. I always slice them in half, cut around the sections, and put bright red cherry in the center. It makes for a pretty Christmas breakfast table.

 

And, thanks to the board, I give my kids Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve when we get home from church. They really look forward to their new pjs. This year I bought some on sale at Hannah Andersson. I'm waiting for them to arrive!

 

I have also begun to buy something for our house every year at Christmas. This year I bought stocking holders for our mantle. Last year I bought personalized stockings for everyone. Next year I plan to buy a new tree skirt. I like to take advantage of after Christmas sales for this if possible.

 

OK! Your turn!

[JFSinIL]

One of the desserts has to be a birthday cake for Baby Jesus. And Baby Jesus loves him some chocolate!!!!

[East Coast Sue]

Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus at our house. We do streamers, birthday cake, etc... We try to make it even more special than any other birthday party within our family.

 

Everyone gets to pick their favorite foods for our meal. Sometimes that means Christmas dinner is hamburgers, chips, milkshakes! It just depends on what everyone picks!!!

 

Sue

 

:lurk5:

[lionfamily1999]

My whole family (cousins and everything) gets together for a Christmas Tea, in honor of our great-grandmother. We spend Christmas Eve at my mom's (just sibs, in-laws, niece and nephews) and have a themed Christmas Dinner, Mexican this year if anyone has tips or advice. The kids get to open their presents from extended family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day we get up before the sun to destroy anything wrapped. We have pinch bread for breakfast and whichever of our neighbors that can't get home for Christmas, along with my parents, come and have dinner with us. It can get crowded (our house is tiny), but that just makes the whole thing seem warmer ;)

[Riverfront Headmistress]

Every year we make a family trip to the store to pick out new ornaments for the tree. When the kids move out, they'll have a nice collection of ornaments to begin their own tree. Bringing out the Christmas decorations is always fun because everyone looks at the previous years ornaments and giggles, "What was I thinking?". We have everything from barbie, to powerpuff girls, through feathered creatures, and snowmen.

 

Another thing our family does is make eggrolls Christmas day. Its such a tedious, time-consuming process that we save eggrolls for special occassions. We all sit at the table and roll; laughing at whose skills are good, and who are the "burrito rollers". We've been able to pass done this tradition to all the exchange students as well. Hopefully, they'll pass it on.

[AnnetteB]

Birthday cake for Baby Jesus is Angel food here :tongue_smilie: with optional whipped cream. Our stockings are handmade felt applique. A tradition that started with dh's grandparents. The children all open one gift Christmas Eve.

[OnTheBrink]

Every year, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving, DD and I go to the Festival of Trees at the fairgrounds. On Christmas eve, we go to Starbucks for a hot treat, then drive around looking at lights. Kids get to open a gift on Christmas eve. Stockings always have a Lifesavers book and a Tootsie Roll bank. In January, we attend a ballet (tickets are a Christmas gift).

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I've posted a lot about our traditions on my blog, but I'll give a few quick ideas:

 

My sister and her husband host an awesome themed Christmas party every year. This year she had an Irish theme. The food and company is always first class. :)

 

We read about many traditions and celebrations from around the world and have done simple to elaborate celebrations ourselves. St. Nicholas Feast Day, St. Lucia Day, Las Posadas, etc... This year we read Tree of Cranes and folded paper cranes to decorate our Christmas tree.

 

We enjoy our Advent book and treasure cabinet.

[joannqn]

Every year we buy a new special ornament for the family and each child. I try to find something that represents something from the year.

 

We do "advent boxes" each year. We have 25 boxes. Glued to the bottom of each box is an Old Testament prophecy. Glued to the inside of each lid is a New Testament fulfillment of the prophecy in the box. There is a small surprise in the box (Hershey's kiss, quarters, note describing a special event for the evening). The kids really look forward to these.

 

The kids and I go to see The Coats' Christmas concert with a friend.

 

We try to go on a special outing or two every Christmas season as a family. This year was saw A Christmas Carol (play), Dear Santa (play), and went to a Dickens festival.

 

The kids always get new pjs on Christmas Eve.

[Rich with Kids]

We go to our Christmas Eve service at church and then go home for Christmas Dinner. We wake up Christmas morning and open presents. I put food out to nosh on. We go to an afternoon movie and then go to a 24 hour diner for dinner.

[LauraL]

We get a permit and go cut down our own Christmas tree on the weekend following Thanksgiving.

 

Some years we've pulled our mattresses off of our beds and slept under the Christmas tree.

 

When I was young, we made gingerbread boys and girls, wrapped them in plastic wrap, tied a ribbon around them, and hung them on a small tree outside our front door. Whenever somebody came to the door, they could take a cookie from the tree. I've yet to follow this tradition as a grown up, but plan to someday.

 

The kids save a lot of their Halloween candy, and use it to decorate the gingerbread house we make every year.

 

We get a new Christmas storybook each year to add to our collection.

 

Advent wreath with 4 white candles: we light one the first Sunday in December, 2 the second, 3 the third, and 4 on Christmas Eve (and the 4th Sunday if it comes before Christmas) and spend time reading Christmas stories before blowing out candles.

 

Christmas Eve we have various kinds of soup in bread bowls and then a musical program with relatives.

 

We read the nativity story from the Bible Christmas morning before going to look under the tree for what Santa brought. Crepes with whip cream and strawberries for brunch.

[Donna]

Every year, the nativity is the first decoration to be put out. The kids help set it up and dd puts in the Baby Jesus. We decorate the tree while listening to good Christmas music, singing, and drinking hot cocoa.

 

The kids get a new ornament each year, usually something to do with something they have done that year like sports or interests. (We have a lot of drums, guitars, and violins on the tree.LOL) I love decorating the tree. Seeing the ornaments is like visiting with old friends every year.

 

The kids (some of them at least) are always involved with the church Christmas musical. They practice the month of December then put on the play the Sunday night before Christmas. The play is followed by a Birthday Party for Christ where Christmas carols are sung and as your month of the year is called, you put in a coin for each year you've been alive. After the coin thing, the entire church sings Happy Birthday and eats cake.

 

The weekend before Christmas, my mom, the kids, and I always bake Christmas cookies together. It is wonderful bonding time and we have many fond memories of doing since I was a child. We have a cookie blowout baking 20-25 different kinds and giving trays as gifts to neighbors and close friends.

 

We also always attend the Christmas Eve service at church which is a candlelight service. I have been going since I was young and I still get choked up when I see the entire church lit by candles and everyone singing Silent Night together.

 

Christmas breakfast is at our home and whichever extended family are near come over. We open gifts then go to grandparents and visit, open gifts, have Christmas dinner.

[Diana in OR]

We barbecue shish-kabobs. I've mentioned on this board before that one year we had reindeer burgers (we have a friend who is quite the hunter).

 

We open one family present on Christmas Eve that is usually a game or some other family activity that we can spend the whole day doing.

[laughing lioness]

We blow up white balloons on Christmas Eve- at least a pack of 25-and leave them all over the floor in the living room so that they are there when people come down in the morning. We also have stockings stuffed and those are opened first. Little stuff, candy, rubber balls, etc.

[swellmomma]

I buy a new ornament each year for each child that shows a little of what they were into that year. THis year they are getting wenkinz ornaments.

 

We get together for xmas eve with my family after going to church, for years we had chinese food for dinner(ever since I was a kid), but apparently my folks and my sister decided to stop that tradition and now it is potluck appetizers no more dinner there. My brother and I(both with personalities that need traditions) are not impressed.

 

The kids and I sleep over at my folks, we have done this since I left my husband and it is all the kids really know, it also helps me because then each child has an adult monitoring/helping them.

 

We do a huge christmas supper with all the family. SOme years it is just the immediate family, some years we have 30 people, it all depends on who is around, and how many extra people we find that don't have anywhere else to go.

 

For 35 years or so now my parents have hosted a christmas open house, with upwards of 100 guests. This year because we did a huge party for my mom's 50th in Nov they decided not to host the open house. Again my brother and I are disappointed(as are more of the precious years guests who have been calling asking when the open house is, it has been a tradition for so long, nobody knows what to do with it cancelled)