Christmas Traditions
Last night my husband and I watched A Christmas Story. I have the movie a million times and I still laughed. There are just so many priceless moments in it: the tongue stuck to the pole, Ralphie’s day dream of his teacher grading his lovely theme in a bizarre red dress, the fight with the bully, the Santa affair… OMG, and the lamp!
One of my favorites is actually a less remembered moment where Ralphie’s mom pulls him off the bully, sends him upstairs and then find his brother hiding in the cupboard. He’s crying because he think dad is going to kill Ralphie. The mom reassures him that Ralphie will survive, gets him the milk, and closes the cupboard back up.
We have a few Christmas traditions. We always get the tree when it’s dark. Which makes no sense, but there it is. No presents go under the tree until Christmas night. We always open one present each Christmas Eve. All of us pretty much dislike Turkey, so we have a traditional non-traditional Christmas dinner of lamb and lobster. (Just about the only time a year we get lobster, too. I am a cheap cook.) The pets get presents of chewy bones, hamburger meat, tuna and catnip toys according to the species. We always have eggnog Christmas morning. This year, I want to have spiced cider, too.
What are some of your holiday traditions?
15 people have bellied up to “Christmas Traditions”
Christmas Eve – Watching muppets christmas carol while playing monopoly until someone wins, weve gone five hours playing it once lol
Going to my grandmothers on christmas evening for christmas dinner.
To my fathers on boxing day to celebrate christmas with him and my step family.
They are our main traditions.
We cant put presents under the tree because the cats rip any sort of paper even though we have tried to explain that they are not to tocu anything around the christmas tree lol
And we have to have mint match sticks and a bottle of bucks fizz in the house to nibble on christmas eve (I know cheap and tacky but thats the only wine i can stand to drink)
Thats a lovely tree ilona. The star is very pretty and I like the little welcoming bear.
Our family also traditionally opens one gift on Christmas Eve. =) On Christmas morning, the tradition/rule is that no one gets to open anything until we’re all awake, have eaten breakfast, and are gathered around the tree (sometimes it’s an actual tree, sometimes it’s a construction paper cut out pasted on the wall). And at some point during the Christmas season, we’ll watch Love Actually together.
Mmm…..eggnog and spiced cider…yum
One tradition is that my hubby tries to singlehandedly keep the eggnog industry in business and now he’s recruiting our boys in the endeavor.
Also we do the one present on Christmas Eve tradition as well.
We watch White Christmas and Christmas Vacation a lot.
We’re adding to our traditions as the boys are getting old enough to get involved and know what’s going on. It’s fun and special
When my daughter was little, every year I would take her to a little village about an hour away, just to visit “The Hand of Man”. They have collectible glass ornaments; just like the ones our grandparents used to decorate with. By the time she left home she had her own collection to take with her.
We would each buy an ornament in memory of that years events. It’s a wonderful way to cherish Christmas of years gone by.
Then on Christmas Eve we would watch a version of “A Christmas Carol”. My favorite is the George C. Scott movie. (Hugs)Indigo
well i spent my christmas eve at my grandmas, have dinner,spent time with my aunts,uncles,and cousins, then we open presents from them.(i only get 2 or 3 sense i’m 19) then we go home (mom,dad, and my three sisters). and after we finish wrapping our presents for each other.we also hang sockings, and then there the pickle thats hidden in the christmas tree and to how ever finds it first in the morning gets an extra gift. (no the pickle isn’t real.)and then christmas dinner at my grandmas. so heres a really rough exsample of how i spend my christmas.
We don’t get a real tree but we try and make it a fun event to put up our tree to either Christmas music or old Christmas movies that we own now. Usually my daughter puts on the lights then we share the rest of the decorations together; my husband looks on and gives instructions whether needed or not but Hey! he participates. We also open one gift Christmas Eve but that’s it. And on the big day, we have turkey and tourtiere, mashed potatoes and stuffing and apple pie.
Ok in Portugal we open the gifts on midnight, so no early christmas eve openings for us, we all stay up late and open then, as a kid i annoyed my parents to death, “is it time yet!”, so that got them teaching me how to tell time, i think my clock obsession comes from there…
Also as Christmas Eve supper the mandatory is codfish, with potatoes and boiled eggs, some people cheat and do more modern and hip versions of codfish (this is Portugal, we have like a thousand different ways to cook the damn fish, and yes they’re all good)
On christmas day, lunch is family mandatory as well and it’s usually lamb with potatoes in the oven.
By then i’m foaming at the mouth with all my family and i usually make a break for it and go to the only place opened on christmas day, the closest cinema, where i usually watch a flick or two, and then go to a chinese restaurant (again the only places open) for dinner.
that’s my christmas tradition, movies and chinese food!
That is awesome.
Every year everyone gets those Lifesavers “books” (they used to open like a book and have like 8 rolls of Lifesavers candy in them). My Grandmother used to give them to all the grand-kids and it’s just a fun memory I have. Therefore, Lifesavers for all! My kids don’t quite understand the attraction but they like the candy so they don’t complain.
P.S. A Christmas Story…one of the best movies ever!
Sometimes we have a tree, sometimes we don’t. Hopefully this year, it’ll be a tree year. Then the cats do their dance of I want to play in the christmas tree. One year they knocked it over. Last year, they took ornaments, hid them, tried to eat them, then they massacred them.
On Christmas Eve, we all go to an Uncles house.. his neighborhood in Torrance, it’s been written about in dozens of magazines. Every single house on the block(s) participates in lighting up their house. Its a pretty spectacular thing to see. We take a walk around the neighborhood. Whatever mystery meat thing they serve, it’s not my favorite, so I usually go to their house with a full stomach so I don’t eat much, if at all. We open the gifts from the extended family, but not our immediate family… that comes Christmas day.
On Christmas Eve my mom does a big hor’douve dinner and invites tons and tons of people. Throughout the day we make tons and tons of cookies and before the party starts, all us kids open one gift from our parents.
Christmas Morning my brothers and sisters get their santa gifts and stockings, then during the day we do the huge turkey ordeal, open all the rest of the gifts and usually sing a few carrols while my mom makes us break out all our old instruments we played. (Yes I can still play most Christmas songs on the flute, and my sister will dust off her chello too)
My Xmas eve is spent at mums house preparing all the food for Xmas lunch. As it is usually very hot we have cold meat and salads, the only hot food we have is the pudding.
Xmas morning we open pressies then head to my parents house, Xmas music is played while opening presents, my dad always is the one that hands them out while wearing a Santa hat and HO, HO Hoing LOL. WE then sit down to lunch, eat waaay too much, laze around, clean up and head home for a couple of hours then Xmas night its off to my in-laws for some crazy family time*g*
forcing the dogs to wear antlers and taking pictures of them. we’re pretty lean on tradition. oh… movie on christmas day. we always go to the movies on dec 25th. we’re doing holmes this year. and then… chinese food!
heee. all our christmas traditions would probably be too much to list here.
in Upper-Austria the traditional meal for Christmas Eve (and we open all our presents then
they are brought by the Christkind and not Santa Clause)) are Bratwürstel. Sausages and Sauerkraut.
The following day we have either duck or turkey at h2b’s parents place and the day after fondue with my parents and my brother in case he found home.
This is two conversations my mum and I had a couple of weeks ago:
Me,opening the cupboard: Uh? Mum? Where did you put the candles?
Mum: Where I always put them!
Me: Well, the cupboard is empty…
In the end, I had to go and buy candles, since it was Advent, and candles are important for advent
Later that night:
Mum: I am considering to skip the ham this year, and make tjälknöl* instead.
Me: What?! You can’t do that! A Christmas dinner without ham is like Advent without candles!
So. Ham and a lot of burning candles. Oh. And Donald Duck!
* A swedish delicatess. Normally I love it, but not at Christmas