traditions

posiepurrs

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This may have already been posted, but for those of you who celebrate Christmas how many have family traditions? It was traditional when my kids were growing up that starting on December 1st we read a Christmas book each night at bed time, ending with the story of Christs birth on Christmas Eve. Another tradition were the stockings (we still do this!). No gifts were opened until the stockings were explored. Another that was my tradition was when everyone was in bad on Christmas Eve. I would sit with only the lights of the tree on and a fire in the fireplace (if cold enough) and count my blessings.
 

susanm9006

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Chaotic childhood so no real tradition. For this reason my sister and I developed them as adults with our own children. Until my son was in his late teens we went to my sisters house and stayed overnight on Christmas Eve. Her children and my son got to wait for Santa together and after they finally went to sleep we assembled and set out Santa gifts and readied for the morning. In the morning after the children discovered their Santa presents there was a big breakfast spread, gift opening and then we started getting ready for extended family dinner in the early afternoon.

Now that our children are fully grown, the holiday has changed. I have Christmas Eve dinner and gift opening at my house for my son and his girlfriend and then on Christmas Day we go to my sisters for dinner.
 

Maria Bayote

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When I was a child i remember we had this religious tradition that we had to go to church every day in the very early mornings beginning 15th of December until Christmas eve. Then afterwards outside the church we would buy these delicious rice cakes as early breakfast with coffee or hot choco. The old folks said that if we managed to attend mass without fail our wishes would come true, so off we went every morning, dressed in our nice clothes.

Then on Christmas Eve we’d gather together and wait for midnight to open the gifts, mostly coming from “Santa”. It was quite memorable childhood Christmases for me. At least it was. Until on my 8th year when I found out the bitter truth that santa was actually my mom. 😂 From then on I looked at Christmas at a different perspective.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I have 2 books for daily stories till Christmas. One we just got this year is all Disney stories. The other was a gift to me as a kid. For some reason that one was harder to stick with reading; but I like the stories better than our new one. Next year we will probably go back to that one. Or maybe I'll read both.

Shrimp and eggnog are my personal Christmas Eve traditions. We go to the candlelight service on Christmas Eve at church. Often someone will host a get-together afterwards. My kids are finally big enough to go. Last year we had it right at the church and that was nice.

As a kid we always spent Christmas Eve at my Grandparents house. I miss the Baccala. My Dad brought me some a few years ago and I didn't want to share. :lol: We also had shrimp every year. Gram would give my cousin and I a little dish of melted butter to dip our shrimp in with those cocktail swords. :lol: Christmas day was at my other Grandparents.

So now I don't live near my family; but after everyone is settled at night I wrap presents with eggnog and shrimp and it makes me feel closer to my family again.

When I was a kid we could open stockings first thing in the morning; but I had to wait for my mom to get up to open presents. She would put the tree on a timer and then I'd know it was ok to wake her up. I basically do the same with my kids. They tend to sleep later than I did as a kid. Even on Christmas. :lol: I always make cinnamon rolls for breakfast (the pop can kind; nothing fancy) and we open stockings. Even DH and I. And I stuff my own... :rolleyes2:
 

jcat

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My siblings and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve after our guests had left. We'd find our stockings at the foot of our beds Christmas morning and go through them before going downstairs to see what Santa had brought. My parents had a Christmas village with trains under and around the tree, so Santa's presents were in piles on chairs and the sofa.

Ever since I started living in Germany we've followed the traditional exchange of gifts on Christmas Eve after a family dinner at our house. For the past several years my husband and I have skipped the family dinner on Christmas Day. His brother's wife is always so hyper when hosting it that hubby prefers not to participate. I work at the animal shelter Christmas Day to enable those with kids to stay home, so we have a good excuse to skip that get-together.
 

Mia6

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My parents always made a scavenger hunt for me to find my best gift. Lots of fun. Go to the 4th book on the 2nd shelf,
page 42, blah, blah.One year it was a Stones album and I can remember jumping up and down with excitement.
 

Winchester

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When we were kids, my sister and I used to do the Annual Present Hunt. Check under the beds, check Mom and Dad's closet, go up into the cubby hole that passed for an attic in my parents' house, check under the basement steps. We always found them. Then Mom and Dad bought a travel trailer. All the presents went into the trailer and they took the keys with them to work. And they kept all the curtains in the trailer shut tightly. That ended the Annual Present Hunt.

Rick, our son, and I used to open something small on Christmas Eve. Usually a stocking-type gift. Rick and I still do that.

Our son used to awaken us around 4:00 in the morning; he was excited. And we'd say, "Go back to bed until 6:00!" When he got older, we were the ones awakening him at 8:00!

When the kids come home on Christmas Day, Rick and I will just have some hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows and sticky buns (I make them a couple days ahead of time, then we can throw them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to re-goo them). But if the kids are coming another day, we've gotten into the habit of a Christmas brunch. We started this several years ago when my GF was still alive. They'd join us around 10:30 or so, we'd have brunch, and spend some quiet time together. Pat died a few months ago and her husband is in a nursing home with dementia; it seems strange knowing they won't be with us. It became our "thing" and we all enjoyed a bit of quiet in all the holiday madness. Depending on when the kids come home this year (they haven't told me about their plans yet), we'll still do our brunch. Rick and I like it. And I don't have to cook a big meal on Christmas and then turn around the day after and do another big meal.
 
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posiepurrs

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When I was growing up we never had traditions so when I had a family of my own I wanted to establish some. Christmas Eve was spent with my husbands family, usually at the house of who ever had the youngest child. Christmas morning belonged to us and Christmas afternoon was my family, although while my mother was healthy she would come to our house Christmas morning.
 

Lari

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My mom would make palačinka for Christmas breakfast - I made them last year in our apartment as it was the first time I wasn't at my parents' home, but I guess I'll have to skip this year when we're on our honeymoon. We eat them with powdered sugar or jelly.

We always did family stuff on Christmas Eve, and we would go to "midnight" mass. We never did stockings - ours were merely for decoration.
 
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