Christmas Traditions? - Big Big Forums

car64683 · 11-16-2001, 11:38 PM

Every year I make my dh get up really really early on Christmas day so we can open presents. We don't have any kids so its just us. We don't usually have a lot of money to spend on each other so we have this contest going, who can buy the most presents for the other person. Usually we have about $50 dollars each to spend on the other one. Last year my dh won he bought me 35 gifts. It can be anything as long as you think the other one will actually like the gift. After we open the gifts we both go back to bed for a while then start preparing Christmas dinner. Usually dh's dad and step mom come over and spend the day eating and playing cards, but this year it will just be dh's Step mom, because Pop died this year. Will be hard this year.
So what about your traditions?

***Katt*** · 11-17-2001, 12:10 AM

We always go to Grandma's house for Christmas Eve. But, since hubby is not home a lot, now, we just do what we can.

jaybird · 11-17-2001, 12:11 AM

Well, when I was a kid, we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day at my grandmother's. After my hubby and I had kids, I knew that Christmas Day was spent HERE, at our house, with our family, opening gifts, hanging out, having dinner. NOT ripping presents open then dragging the kids away from all their presents to spend the day at someone else's house. Just always felt that Christmas DAY was for MY FAMILY.

Tree goes up mid-December, whatever weekend falls in the middle - as LONG as it's up before Sarah comes home from college on break. Comes down the weekend around my hubby's b/day, Jan. 8th.

So since 1973, we go to my mother-in-law's on Christmas Eve, noonish and spend the day with 5 or 6 of his siblings and their families. BIG, BUSY day. Then Christmas morning we do stockings, then go to Mass, come home and open gifts and have a great day together, my mom comes over (Dad died 28 years ago) and my single sister. Just the 6 of us.

As the kids have grown up, it's a little different. Brian's 28 & Sarah's 21 now. She doesn't wake us at 4 AM on Christmas morning any more, we have to WAKE her! And believe me, we've paid her back many times over, the first couple years she was in college, we set our alarm and went into her room at 4am going, "Sarah, Sarah...wake up, go peek and see if Santa's been here, we don't want to scare him away!" (which is what she did to her brother for countless years!)

We still leave cookies and milk and a carrot for Rudolph on the table. Sarah insists! Brian has his own house now, and he and his g/f spend most of Xmas Eve with us and half of Christmas Day. He comes about 15 minutes before it's time to leave for Mass!

Oooh. And I went to a real tree 2 Christmases ago. Much to Sarah's DISAPPOINTMENT. We had a 7 1/2 foot HUGE artificial tree that was laden with lights, ribbons and ornaments. First year I put the real tree up, it was a smaller tree, a little stragglier than a full fake tree, and it wouldn't support ALL the dozens of boxes of ornaments and beads etc etc that normally goes on. Sarah walked in the door about 8pm, after a 5 hour drive and a week of hellish finals. Looked at the tree, said, "What the hell is that?"

Oops.

So our traditions are pretty traditional actually. But they're ours!

lilmeanie43 · 11-17-2001, 03:48 AM

My husbands bonus checks from work always come a week or two after Christmas, it never fails... so this year we are starting a new tradition. We're going to celebrate it on our wedding anniversary, which is Jan. 20th. I have to wait a whole month longer for those gifts, but I think it will be far more special for us.

Now excuse me, I have to go shake a box and guess a gift!

11-17-2001, 06:38 AM

Things we did every year as the kids were growing have changed now that they are married and have families of their own but we have tried to keep some of the traditions going:
Christmas Eve - I prepare a tradional Polish dinner (hubbys Polish), we have dinner early so the grandkids have time to open one gift, then they go to their other grandparents for a while and hubby and I go to my Mom's
Christmas morn - Kids and grandkids come here - open gifts - then it's over to my Mom's for breakfast with my whole family (there's about 35 of us including all the nieces and nephews), then hubby and I come back here to clean up the disaster and then to my sisters for dinner and games.

It's just a great time to spend with family

erniemarie · 11-17-2001, 06:47 AM

when i was groeing up we would go and spend xmas eve with my fathers side of the family and when we came home we would always open presents then on xmas morning we would have a big breakmast then my mother and I would go to church (my father doesnt go to church)then we would go to my moms side of the family and spend the day there

now I decorate my house early and make a nice xmas dinner for the boyfriend and myself and we have our own xmas together around the 15 of Decenber then about a week before xmas (whenever finals are done) I make the 1500 mile trip to spend xmas with my family (used nto fly home but not this year its the train for me this year) then I spend xmas eve with my dads family, open presents when we get home and spend xmas day with my moms family just like when I was a little girl then I spend New Years with them and go back home around the 8 of January (about a week before new semester begins)

magnif · 11-17-2001, 08:21 AM

I know that it is 12 days after Christmas but what about ceebraing your famiy Christmas on Little Christmas which is Jan 6.
I put my tree up on Christas eve or maybe day before and take it down on Little Christmas Jan 6. This is the old German custom my Mother grew up with. Actuallu as a child tree usually came down New Year's day. When my Mother grew up the children did not see the tree until Christmas morning. I still have a live tree nothing smell or looks better. One advantage of putting it up so late I never pay more than $10 for the tree.
I start baking soon after Thanksgiving and do 12 kinds of cookies to make up cookie plates. I do up 24 plates every year and every year say I am going to cut back.

***CUPID*** · 11-17-2001, 10:20 AM

We usually spend Christmas eve going to mawmaw's house and that way Christmas day is not as stressful. The kids usually get up see what Santa brought and open the other stuff and just enjoy the day. Eat dinner and just play. youknow the stuff kids do

Well......... last year Christmas was a little different. DH's grandmother fell and broke her hip and after surgery on Christmas day, she didn't recover. He was at the hospital with his mom and me and the kids were here. I couldnt enjoy Christmas and dont think he did either. This year, I'm a little weary of how they will fill. (him and his mom) the kids are excited, but I'm stuck in between. I know the true meaning of Christmas, but really dont want to make them feel bad, and dont want the kids to not be excited.

So........... not sure about the holidays this year.

car64683 · 11-17-2001, 01:11 PM

Wow. These traditions sound great! We used to spend christmas with my family all 8 of us in a small house. but my dh and I moved away and can't get back home as often as before. We have always had a live tree but not this year

We just have no room for it.

I sorry Ravenlost, I hope you can figure out a day just for your family!!

magnif, I hadn't heard of Little Christmas before. Could be an interesting idea. Christmas shop the day after (Dec 26) And have our christmas in Jan. hmmmmm.

magnif · 11-17-2001, 01:52 PM

I don't know much about it but that is what my Mother called it. I bellieve that is where they get the song The Twelve Days of Christmas.
I have friends who do buy their presents the day after Christmas when everything is marked down.