Christmas and Holiday Traditions

[bullmama]

Everyone has their own holiday traditions, and since we are from all over the world I would love to hear yours.

Every year I must make my Christmas cut out cookies for Santa. Our kids are convinced they are the reason for the great gifts they get! Now I think with the EBN gingerbread doghouse contest this will be a wonderful new added tradition.

We go to dinner on Christmas Eve, early. Then we come home to a no mess house just in time to open all of the wrapped family gifts, have a few drinks and enjoy the evening. Santa comes and he brings unwrapped gifts under the tree and stockings full of trinkets and candy, the kids are usually pretty tuckered out from the gift opening the night before sometimes we actually have to go wake THEM up to tell them Santa was here!

Christmas day we have the big dinner, usually a prime rib or ham, and we spend the day assembling anything or trying to figure out how everything we got works, just hanging out with family. We usually have either my parents or Chip's dad here during the holidays, this year it will be my parents. The fur kids get a Christmas dinner too, usually a bit of what we are having on top of their kibble.

For New Years Eve we stay home as well (hey we have 4 skin kids and 7 fur kids, who wants to leave this place?), and if we can afford it, we have crab legs for dinner and watch a movie, then watch the new years eve special on TV.

So what are your traditions?

 

[Lucy-licious]

On Christmas Eve the whole family meet at the cinema and we watch a christmas movie, then go for a late dinner. When we get home Chris and I will have an adult beverage or two and prep the Turkey whilst listening to Christmas songs. Connor always heads for a bath then has a drinking chocolate before bed....his motto on Christmas Eve is "the sooner I go to bed, the sooner it will be Christmas Day"

Chris and I will then lounge around and wait fir Connor to be asleep, before we find all the gifts out from their various hiding places and set them under the tree and fill his pillowcase with stocking fillers to leave at the foot if his bed. Chris and I exchange 1 gift at midnight before we head to bed.

Christmas morning we open our gifts.....Chris will get the a turkey in and then go for my mum and Andrew....when he gets back we'll gave a full breakfast and tidy around a little. Dinner is usually around 4, traditional Turkey dinner followed by Christmas pudding and brandy sauce....after which we all fall asleep watching christmas TV

 

[Bella'sMom]

Well, Christmas Eve we head to my parents house for a great steak dinner. We stuff each other's stockings, we have a rule of nothing over $1 and the cheaper the better. Once stockings are "opened" then we head to our gifts to each other. Not very exciting, the kids are older and there are fewer and fewer gifts. My parents are up in age and they just give checks now, so opening gifts will go fast. Usually it is very early night for us.

We have to get up very early and do the Christmas day brunch for friends and family. (we had Santa and his unwrapped gifts when the kids were younger) Our Brunch will be Ham, Turkey, Quiche, Salad, Stuffed French Toast, Hashbrown Casserole and loads of other items. We usually have between 15-30 people show up. Our families and a lot of our friends who do not have family in town. Once Brunch is done, the kids will then head over to their dad's for Christmas there (if he is in the mood to have them and in town)

 

[Dee J]

We always have a Christmas Eve party with friends and family. Anyone w/ kiddos we buy them a present for them to open that night. The party typically consists of LOTS of appetizers and drinks to go around.

Christmas Day we open presents in the morning, then onto starting Christmas dinner while watching the parades and football. With all of the dogs from both houses in one house, and all of us "people" it get's a little crazy.

New Year's Eve, we all go do our own thing, Jay & I will be going to a friends to ring in the New Year with champagne and pajamas where we are safe. New Year's Day is back to family with black eyed peas (which I don't partake in) and steak or whatever we decide for that year.

 

[kim n the guys]

Christmas Eve morning I meet up with a bunch of friends from high school at a coffee shop and catch up with each other over the past year (though a lot of us are friends on fb and/or see each other more often). Then it's back home where I get ready for my husband's side of the family to head over in the evening for gift exchange with each other. We usually just have sandwiches and appetizers to eat that night. Then everyone heads home for the night. Christmas morning we open gifts with the kids, sometimes my sister in law will come over because Santa usually leaves a gift at her house that must be opened by someone in my house that didn't get opened the night before (she's sneaky like that). Then the kids go to their dad's for the rest of the day if he wants them. Ron's sister (the same secret santa sneaker), his other sister, one of her daughters and her two kids will come over for dinner which is usually prime rib and ham or turkey and ham. This year it's prime rib. Then we eat, watch football and gab.

New Year's Eve we stay home and off the roads and usually have sparkling grape juice with the kids and watch the ball drop (if Ron and I can stay up that long ). New Year's day is usually spent at home in jammies and watching football or movies.

 

[bulldogs4me]

This year my son Alex and I will have a big Traditional Dinner on Christmas Day I'm going to make turkey, stuffing, and all the fixing,s I'm going to bake him a pumpkin pie and what ever other pie he wants, plus I promised to make him more frosted sugar cookies, he said the last ones I made were for his birthday since it was closer to his birthday then Christmas when I made them LOL we will open presents Christmas Morning and watch the doggies open their gifts, then have our big meal and the doggies will get their special dinner too! We are just going to spend the whole day together and just enjoy our time!!

Next year will be a whole different story, Alex will be in the Marines so not sure he would be able to make it home for the Holidays so it will be back to Christmas Eve with my Dad & Step-Mom (my step mom is really the MOM I wanted and needed so when I say my mom I mean her) then Christmas Day with my mother ... on Christmas Eve we always have a fast dinner like pizza and everyone opens their stacks of gifts and we listen to Christmas music after the presents are opened we sit around and talk, have what ever yummy dessert our mom has made and I try to get everyone to watch A Christmas Story with me (I just love that show lol) then Christmas Day my mother likes to make the big dinner and we open gifts ... my mother lives with my brother now so it's not my "happy place" to be my brother hates animals (and me most of the time) so I have to leave my babies outside or at home so I normally don't show up until its time for dinner & presents, since my brother and mother are both total bah-humbugs it doesn't matter to them, truthfully they would prefer to not do anything at all on Christmas.

 

[Vikinggirl]

We all start at our own houses on the 24th, and pretty much do our own thing with our families. We usually order in Chinese food, and have lots of extra goodies, like Christmas cookies, and chocolates, shrimp rings, veggies and dips, chips, cheese and cracker platters, and fresh fruit. We make hot chocolate, and popcorn and we watch Christmas movies or shows. My sister and I usually end up together with our families, and open a gift each. Then we all get together on the 25th. We are 5 siblings myself, my sister, and 3 younger brothers, so with all our spouses and children we have become quite large. We are 10 with our spouses, and my sister has 2 older kids 27 and 19 , and she has a 4 yr old Grandson from her daughter, as well as a 4 yr old. My 2 are 30 and 32, and I have a 5 yr old Grandson from my daughter. My 3 brothers all have young kids, 2 of them have 4 year old daughters, and my middle brother has a 1 yr old son. In case you lost track, that's 6 kids under the age of 5. So we have a lot of fun. We didn't have any young kids in our family in a while. Since we have become so large, we adopted a new tradition when all the kids started coming, we pick names for Kris Kringle gifts at Thanksgiving when we are all together, and every adult over the age of 18 gets a gift, we have a $100 limit, and everyone buys for all the kids. We also all pitch in for the dinner, since my Mom is now 72,she makes the turkey, and I make all the vegetables, mashed potatoes, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and carrots, green beans, and mashed turnip and carrots. My sister makes a tossed salad, and takes care of all the deserts, she's not much of a cook, lol, but she makes a mean salad. We usually have apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, and truffle. Mmmmm. My brothers will bring wine, rolls, shrimp rings and salsa, and other goodies, plus pop. It's nice like this , as dinner is shared and it's not all on one person to do all the work, and of course all the women, minus my Mom , meaning me and my sister and all my sister in laws do the dishes and clean up. The men don't get off Scott free though, they have to watch the kids. We all have a nice meal together , and then later in the evening, we appoint someone to be Santa, and we give out the gifts one at a time, so everyone can see what everyone got. When my kids were little, we used to have my Aunt dress up as Santa, for the kids, and we would usually go downtown early on the 24th, and see the Christmas windows at Eaton's and the Bay, but those stores don't do that anymore, and Eaton's is gone, then we went skating at City Hall, had hot chocolate, then went home. We had dinner with my family, since my family is European, and we celebrate on the 24th, then on the 25th we would go to my husbands' family since they were from England and Ireland and celebrated on the 25th, it was nice because we never had to choose. It's different now because his parents have both passed away, and all of his siblings live in Victoria B.C.