I'm interested to know what traditions you and your family have around the Christmas holidays. We really don't celebrate Christmas with our extended family (many are Jehovah's Witness) so I was hoping to learn what other households (with larger families) do around this time of year. It doesn't have to be specifically about Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza, but about the entire holiday season My favorite traditions are actually polishing the silver (I love a well-set table) and going to the outlets in the weeks preceding Christmas battling the cold and crowds to find a few gifts.
were not that religious so the main tradition would be Christmas lunch as a whole family 9 of us altogether we all help out everyone has a job to do .
Before grandma died people were constantly coming in out during the holidays. After she died people started moving away. It was sad that we couldn't do that anymore. Grandma used to live with me and my mom when I was younger.
We decorate the tree as a family a few weeks before hand and then break down and start opening presents on Christmas eve. We also drink lots of eggnog.
This year I am breaking family tradition for the first time in my 25 years in existence. Every year I have spent Christmas day/dinner with either my mums side of the family or my dads (they've been separated since I was 8). However this year I am doing NO family dinner for Christmas. I am going to my best friends house to order in some chinese food, get drunk and watch movies together. We've been friends since we were 6 and he lost his dad when he was 8 years old. We've always watched out for each other and his mum died this year so he will be all alone. So I will most definitely be stepping in
My family normally gathers for a week under one roof and annoy the heck out of each other. Unfortunately, this year I'm now the eldest child of my family. Everyone's else is at least 2 years older than me or 2 years younger. As eldest child it is now my duty to police the little demons this Christmas, that includes sitting with them at the children's table and making sure that food actually makes it into their mouths. I also have to distract them while the adults sneak presents into the house, as most of them still believe in Santa. Until Christmas Eve, the adults do adult things and anyone under the age of 18 mostly hang out in the children area. Basically an entire floor of the house filled with games, toys, and entertainment. When not supervising I'll lock myself in a room and read or nap. My traditional Christmas schedule is as follows: wake up early for family breakfasts, entertain kids, family activity and lunch, kids go away and adults play, dinner, movie night with the adults (kids and adults have separate movies to watch), little kids go to bed and teens do teen things, teens go to bed and adults do more adult things, adults go to bed. Christmas Day consists of picture taking, itchy clothing, lots of food, and running to Target to buy batteries. Just one more year and it's good bye oldest child and hello youngest adult.
Well, my family usually hosts a feast around the holidays time (dates aren't really that important to us, as we're probably as far from a religious family as people are likely to see), My mum volunteers in a couple local concert bands (an Elementary, an inter-generational jazz band, and concert band mostly filled with retirees), and they all put on concerts during the holiday season. We also try to find ways to enjoy the winter weather, going skiing, snowshoeing, etc.
I think we usually have a traditional British Christmas, which consists of doing almost all the celebrating and eating on Christmas Day. My family is Catholic so we usually go to a church service either during the evening on Christmas Eve or possibly Christmas Day morning. Though I'm not particularly religious, I do like to partake in some of the Christian festivities as I do see the religion as being a great part of my heritage as third-generation Irish and as a Western European. The Christmas dinner we have is the typical British one, quite similar to the American Thanksgiving dinner and English roast dinner. I also like to visit the European-style Christmas markets we now have in the UK; in fact, I went to the Manchester Christmas market today. Other very family-specific Christmas traditions: -On Christmas Eve, we eat some sort of pasta dish (before you ask, no we're not Italian). -We play a Mario Lanza Christmas album when having canapés on Christmas Day. -We always put a small Rosie and Jim Christmas decoration on the tree every year (Rosie and Jim was a British children's TV programme from the 1990s). -My parents and their best friends alternate between hosting New Year. -I design the family Christmas cards. This year, there wasn't a specific theme, but last year, I themed them to famous Christmas carols: Silent Night, Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls.
Our traditions are pretty fun We celebrate Christmas Eve by inviting our aunts and uncles and cousins over for a big dinner and opening presents we give to each other. Christmas Day me, my sister, and my parents wake up at 7 and open the presents we've given to each other. I usually bring my parakeets over to see their new gifts ^_^ We pretty much celebrate Christmas until New Year's as well. We keep going shopping and buying each other little gifts. We bake a ton of cookies (200+) and take nighttime walks to see our neighbor's decorations.
My family have fun and interesting traditions. We start decorating a week or two before hand. We put up a real tree every year and everyone places the ornaments and my Dad places the Angel on top once we are done. Every year my siblings and I get oranges and occasionally tangerines in our stockings, as well as occasionally socks, yes we get socks in our stockings, it is quiet funny. We also get candy, chocolate and Slim Jims, and my Dad always gets a tin of cashews. For Christmas day we wake up open our presents, eat the candy that we got that day, as sometimes a tin of popcorn. We then cook a big dinner of turkey or ham. This year ham, which means that my dad will be cooking cracklings (fried pork skin and fat). We used to then go to my Mom's but since she just recently passed, this is unfortunately not going to happen. We then go to my grandma's, sometimes we go to her house before and after Christmas, if Christmas is going to be too busy. We then go home and watch football. My one brother comes up to visit, this year it is the weekend after Christmas, and my Aunt always sends a large fruit basket. We spend the next day celebrating my younger brother's birthday, and eating Christmas left overs with cake and ice cream.
We spend every Christmas Eve at my dad's parents, my grandparents, house, along with my aunt uncle, and cousins. It's a great family get together.
On Christmas Eve we grill out steaks. At 11pm we used to all sit around the tree, and read the story of Jesus (my parents are ministers). Now that we are older we don't do that anymore, but we still sit around the tree before leaving and open one present, usually pajamas. We would then come back on Christmas Day wearing those new pjs. Other than that, we always bake a week before Christmas. Sausage balls, cheese biscuits, gingerbread, cookies, fudge, etc. We go all out. On Christmas Day we have cinnamon rolls, bacon and juice and then ham for dinner.
My family celebrates Hanukkah, and on Christmas Eve we go for Chinese food. This year, I'm going to help wrap presents at the mall with some family friends. Hoping it will turn into a tradition.
Work out in the morning for their limited hours if they are indeed open, go to a brunch with whoever in the extended family happens to be getting along in a particular year, skip going to church any more, and might take a drive. Might also hit up a coffeehouse that's open later in the evening, but one would be hard pressed to find such a locale. Otherwise, not much. I don't like TV.
Usually, my family starts the celebration on Christmas Eve night. My aunt will come over, and my relatives from Virginia tend to arrive at that time. We'll have a traditional Christmas dinner, then open a few presents. The next morning we'll open the rest of the gifts, and have pastrami sandwiches for lunch. Afterwards, my dad's family will all meet up at someone's house. We eat a big Mexican dinner, and all the kids under 18 get presents from extended family. All the adults do a white elephant kind of game with $10 gifts. I love this day especially, cause I get to see all my tiny cousins and my aunts and uncles. I also have a tradition with my sister and my mom. My uncle has a habit of peeking under the tree to see which gifts belong to him. Each year we create a different code word, so if one of us spots him sneaking a peek, we can yell the code word and catch him in the act. We've caught him many times.
I've always wanted a tradition besides the who divorce thing of I see dad on christmas eve and see mom on christmas.
We have this tradition in our country where younger kids go to their respective god mothers/fathers to ask for "blessing(we call it mano)" . The adults/elders then give "aguinaldos(money)" or gifts to their godchildren. That's why Christmas is my favorite day when I was a kid. Moar money for me
