Do you have any xmas traditions?

[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

[Glamourcide]

Christmas at Casa Glamourcide (or the rellies') MUST involve a full roast lunch with all the trimmings, or it's not Christmas. My mother was getting far too slack (I've told her numerous times that if the whole hot-oven-in-December thing is too much, to install an air-conditioner) and serving awful oven-baked fish fillets and some chilled prawns (what, no salad? Gahhhh you lazy cow - it's CHRISTMAS!!), so I took up the reins last year and did stuffed chicken, vegies, even those cute little bread rolls you toast in the oven

I think I'm going to be an evil mother and start dressing the girls in ridiculous Christmas-themed outfits on Christmas Day. Tried it with Munchkin last year (green shirt with Santa on it and some red shorts) but she was stripped down to her nappy before I even got the camera out.

Oh, we do Santa photos every year, too.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

As my parents are seperated and live 1 & 2hrs from me we usually do x-mas as follows:

* Mums family party (her WHOLE family) the Sunday before x-mas
* We would then stay at my dads x-mas eve (he has the youngest siblings) and open pressies with them, have breakfast then head off to mums on our way home.
* after mums we would head straight to DP's mums house for a MASSIVE traditional feast
* 5am boxing day DP and i would head off to our caravan for a few days just us.

Now as we have DD last yr we just saw dad after mums family thing then stayed home x-mas morning to have it with our little girl then headed to DP's mums and didn't go anywhere on boxing day.

As #2 is due early Jan am not sure if we will do any travelling this yr and might just get mum and dad to come see us before x-mas and maybe do DP's family on x-mas day!

I love watching Carols on x-mas eve, we will do a drive around with DD to look at x-mas lights in the week before x-mas and we will have x-mas morning just to ourselves with our girls from now on!

[MrsFabuloso]

We have a few. Here are some, I'm sure I;ll forget some!

I am cheif tree decorator and do the tree and mums with my neice, nephew, DS and DD on the first weekend of Dec. Then come home and do our little unit and tree up here.
Get out the chrissy DVD's, CD's and books for the kids. Watch and re watch, and re read and re read the books and DVD's and sing the songs at the top of our lungs for a month or so!!
Have our close family dinner on chrissy eve with just my mum and brothers and our families on chrissy eve. Open our pressies to each other now. Sleep at mums.
Have extended family over for lunch on chrissy day.
Make chrissy paper with DD adn DS. Some painting and drawing for this purpose has already begun!! Using chrissy colours of course!
Have santa pics, though DD is petrified of santa, so I don't know how we'll go this year!

I'd like to start a few more like making hand made gifts (food hampers...) for people like my aunties and nan with my kids. And making my own chrissy cards with the kids pics on them, dressed up in chrissy attire of course! I love christmas!

[Salad]

wow you all have some great traditions, I have really enjoyed reading them all.

[Patooties]

grub - we do similar things to your family.

Each year I buy the girls a special decoration, and I write the year on it. They each have a bauble with their name on for their first christmas.

We also set the tree up on the 1st of December, and Dh picks all three girls up and they place the star on the tree. (we all wear our santa hats while we decorate.

We have an advent calendar - and the 'christmas fairy' leaves a small treat for them each day on the lead up to christmas.

There is a Carols in the Park nearby, so we usually try to go to that each year as well.

Instead of buying christmas cards, each year since dd1 was born, I have taken a photo of them, dressed in a red outfit and wearing a santa hat (most of the time anyway lol ) and send them out to everyone. Everybody always looks forward to receiving their card , and if i'm a little late, people start to get worried lol.

I love Christmas

[Butterfly Child]

Hey Sal,
A family tradition i have had in my family the last few years are:

-On xmas eve we go for a drive around our town and look at all the beautiful houses with christmas lights there are alot of streets that get quite competitive and are so beautiful
- we watch the carols by candle light
theres more coming but gtace has just woken up lol

[nellnell]

each child had a pillow case with our names etc on it that santa filled.

I've created a beautiful pillow case (or santa sack) for both of our children using felt, ribbons, bells, etc and adding something small to it each year. My daughter has santa carrying presents on one side, and 2 reindeer heads on the other. So far my son has snowflakes on one side. I also add their name and blanket stitch around the pictures in a contrasting colour.

[Winter]

Each year I get snapfish to create a couple of ornaments of photos of family to give out to Mum & sis & 1 set for me. I have done the last 2 Christmases.Lat year was our wedding, this year was all photos of DD with family and I ordered an extra set for DD for when she grows up. My mum does this as well (started 3 years ago)and hopefully my sister is going to start this year!! These are my favourite presents for the year, and I really look forward to making them & recieving them!! I can't wait to get the tree up and add the next family ornaments.

[Astrolady]

A few years ago I took over Christmas Day from my Grandmother as she was getting to old to do everything, and her place was getting to small for the growing family. Our first Christmas here we had 13 around the table consecutive years it has slowly dwindled down which has put a dampener on things a bit.

Last year (prior to xmas) we found out that My IL's wont come to chistmas at our place anymore cause they don't like my parents. Has to all be about them, never mind their son, or their grandchildren who they now miss out on seeing Christmas Day.

So I spend all Christmas eve (day) cleaning the house, christmas eve (night) after the kids are in bed I set the table for the 8 of us (Us, my parents, my grandmother) and I have the carols on as well.

Christmas morning kids have to be dressed and had breakfast. They then get their presents. After that I start preparing the vegetables for lunch. Mum brings the Turkey and my grandmother brings some sort of meat as well. I generally do the beef as well. So lunch is the traditional lunch with all the trimmings. After the main meal, it is pudding and custard and then when the dishes are done, we all sit down for the present opening. We also have a present hander outer which changes each year.

After that we just sit around the table and talk, kids go off and play. At tea time it is left overs with fresh salads.

Last couple of years my parents and grandmother have all gone home by 8pm. So once they are home Christmas is over. We now have had to go to the IL's on Boxing Day since they don't bother to join us anymore.

I usually put the tree up when our pageant happens which is generally early November. Last year however by the time Christmas Day arrived I was sick of looking at the tree, and it came down on Dec 27th. This year I am now going to wait till the first weekend of Dec to put the tree up. I might enjoy it more.

[NaeNae]

We are starting a few traditions, just not too sure how we will manage them this year with a newborn.

Usually, there is a mad rush to find the "perfect tree" and decorate it a week before Christmas

Christmas Eve DH and I go to his church's midnight mass (that starts at 9ish) he drags me kicking and screaming because the last few years the service person has been very "anti other religions and homosexuals" and some how manages to spend the entire service whinging about that - not very Christian in my opinion.

Christmas day we spend at home (and will always do so from here on in) I usually cook a large roast and we have PIL and SIL up to the house. Depending on what other family members do sometimes we get the other BIL and his family there as well. My Mum always goes out to her folks place on Christmas day so we never see my family on Christmas.

Boxing Day - we usually go out to my folks place and Mum puts on a bbq or something its usually a big day for us as its a 2 hour drive to their place one way (doubt very much we'll be doing that this year)

Then we eat left overs for a week

I do love Christmas. This year I have specifically told Dh that we will go to the proper Chrissy tree farm as I want to get a 10ft tree so it almost hits the roof. I love the smell of pine throughout the house.

Nae x

[smiles4u]

My family all laugh at me every 2nd Xmas i spend with them as they love watching me struggle to get the paper party hat out of the Xmas cracker to fit my big head

(( 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 ))

I pop a Xmas card in neighbours (that i'm not close to) letterboxes that i know have had a hard year so as to hopefully give them a smile for that moment

Each Xmas DP video's DD putting the star on the Xmas tree so in years to come we all will see the change in her growing up at Xmas doing the exact same thing (1st Xmas as a bub of course i helped her)