Do you have any xmas traditions?

[Salad]

So its under 100 days until xmas and it got me thinking, this will be our first xmas with Georgia, I havent been into xmas much in the past due to family stuff but I am really excited about this year.
I am going to take Georgia to target or whoever has a wishing tree and we are going to buy a child a present who otherwise may miss out. I know Georgia will not understand but I would like this to be a tradition. I want my children to understand that xmas is not all about receiving but giving as well and that sometimes people miss out. I dont want them to think it is all about the presents.

So what other traditions do you and your family have or what traditions are you hoping to start this year?

[Erin_25]

My family is not very family orientated or big on traditions, so I am trying to make sure I make my own for us.
Things like really getting into the spirit of things like christmas pj's & always have carols play leading up to Christmas.
I too am going to do the "shoebox" gift thing with DS this year & each year to come to show him it's about giving also.
We have a Christmas book with the traditional story also that gets read every year so he know's what it means to us (we have one for Easter also).

[fionas]

That's such a good idea Salad - I think I will copy!

The only tradition we have so far is DP saying we are going to such and such a family member's for Xmas Day and me saying "noooooooooooo, don't do that to me!" so I think we need a more positive one

[Mother Goose]

I read Jingle Bells (A golden book) to DD every Christmas Eve. This year I plan to introduce singing carols at home because she LOVES to sing... other than that, none really. Need to come up with some good ones for us. Maybe visiting the lights... I've always done the wishing tree gifts but considered it good karma instead of tradition... but it is a tradition really isn't it?

[Daydream Believer]

DF & I to open a present from each other on xmas eve and since DD was born we do the same for her.
I try to watch the carols on TV on xmas eve as well

We used to go to SIL's for breakfast on Xmas day, but we are going to "re-do" our Xmas day and work out some traditions that suit us

[grub17]

my family have a few 'traditions':

every year my mother buys are really good quality and beautiful xmas tree decoration for her 3 kids - we are aged 30, 28 and 26 - and she's done this since we were very small.. so i have a whole box full of gorgeous decorations for my own tree.

when we were little, we'd set up and decorate the tree together on the first weekend in december. we would then take it turns putting the angel on top of the tree. dad would pick us up or put us on his shoulders and the designated person would do the honours. it was a very big thing - we'd even fight over who would do it lol and had to record whose turn it was on the angel's storage box.

each child had a pillow case with our names etc on it that santa filled. we were allowed to open these if we woke up before mum and dad - they were full of lots of goodies like hair ties and jocks.

We have a designated "present hander-outerer'' each year and everyone has an OJ and champers during the opening ceremony. We have one person open a present at a time while everyone watches. it takes a long time to get through the pressies but is lots of fun and gives full weight and ceremony to every gift

after presents we all help get ready for the biggest lunch ever. even as kids - I always do the ****tail sauce (have done since i was abo 8), My sister does the devilled eggs and my brother and dad 'cook' the prawns - note this takes them about 2 hrs and several beers and is done in the shed lol.

and after we've gorged ourselves on yummy food, the whole family settles down in the lounge room (doesn't matter how many of us are there or that all the kids are grown up now. there's no floor space thesedays heeehee) and we'll watch a DVD - usually someone got one for chrissy. usually half of us are asleep by the end of the film lol.

Dinner is then a self-serve ( you can even have cake if you wish) of all the left overs (which usually feed us for the next few days).

sorry if that's really long. once i thought about it, i realised we are pretty set in your chrissy ways... and love it!

now i'm expecting my first, DH and I have to also work out our own path

[sirenz]

every year we buy 2 presents for the wishing tree, one for a girl and one for a boy (its always so hard to choose just one, they all deserve something ).

We don't buy presents for the adults in the family, only the kids get something from each adult (nothing too expensive, and no one is expected to buy anything for the kids if they can't afford it).

Another tradition every year is, we go to the cheap shops and buy heaps of little funny novelty items (nothing over $5), then we wrap them up and place in boxes appropriate for men or ladies. Then we play bingo after our christmas lunch and everyone wins a prize. There is always LOTS of laughter and that is so much better than spending hundreds of $$ every year on gifts we don't even know will be used or wanted.

xmas to us is more about family and cooking delicious food and having fun, and making it fun for the kids too I think we enjoy it more because we don't have to worry about buying gifts ect..

p.s. I forgot to add that food is a HUGE xmas tradition for our family. We always have a whole leg ham, the biggest turkey we can find and roast pork on the day. We usually have roast vegies on xmas day and then salad and left over meat on boxing day. We also have lots of snacks before the big feast. And my nan makes a traditional trifle every year. It is also tradition for me to make the shortbread and a cheesecake too. We all take part in cooking something (except my sister who can't even boil an egg), and everyone always looks forward to eating the yummy things we each make. Mum cooks the turkey and the pork.

On xmas eve or xmas night, we drive around and look at all the xmas lights.

[AnyDream]

(( From the very 1st year that Kmart introduced the Xmas Wishing Tree (about early 1990's) i was young living out of home & working full-time & studying with no dependents at the time & i would purchase a toy for a boy & girl age 10 at $20 each ... then after doing this for about 5years a friend of mine at the time & a few of her neighbours in a block of commission flats whom were all couples with one or two children living on pensions but earning cash in hand for their undeclared full-time jobs laughed at how they could go & ' collect ' these toys for their kids which they DID even though they were NOT financially struggle (they were earning$ more than i) ... I was so upset by this that i never donated a toy ever again as it so put me off donating in this way again !!! ... Sadly in a way they muck it up for other children that desperately need a toy for Xmas ))

Ah so sad someone had to corrupt it like that!! I still go out every year for gifts (try to get something really special to put under the wishing tree) because I'll never forget the year my sister, single mum struggling to get through uni to make a better life for her boys - didn't have enough $$ for fortnightly groceries let alone *any* pretense of Christmas and I thought to myself how it really could be any of us, given the right chain of events.

Grub...that's how I remember Christmas in my childhood - except once the parents divorced and the driving back and forth began!

Christmas tree goes up first weekend of December. We put on the musack, and have christmas cookies and spiced drinks and really enjoy our selves. Dh videos it every year (*rolleyes*) and some how every year there is always a full screen bum shot of my rear. LOL

Christmas eve is with my parents (dad & stepmum), used to be a big affair with members of SM's family but we've scaled it back since SM has been unwell. Stop and look at the Brewery lights on the way home, put out some German gingerbread and a milo for Father Christmas , kids into bed. Then usually some frantic late-night wrapping/toy assembly goes on. Fall into bed.

Kids are allowed to open *one* present before breakfast (usually Father Christmas's because that's the biggest one). Ham on toast for breaky. Then we go to my sisters to open rest of pressies. Lots of snacky things on plates and champagne followed by a cold spread. Chill out in the afternoon - let's be honest, this usually means playing with some of the kids new toys LOL.

We *love* christmas tv, so if we can fit some of this in, we do.

Really looking forward to Christmas this year, last year I had gallstones which meant I did a lot of gazing longingly at everyone else's plates. Plus this year DD2 knows about christmas (thanks to the Mickey Mouse's Christmas DVD at the FDC lady's LOL) so it's gonna be fever pitch excitement!

[danita]

As the title says whats your christmas traditions??


DS is nearly 2 and i think hes beginning to understand what christmas is and i want to start some traditions with him so when he is older he can continue these and say "for as long as i can remember we have always done......."

we never really had traditions growing up so would like to start some..

what do u do in your family as a tradition????