How do you spend your time at Christmas Xmas?

Pretty darned traditional for me.

Christmas is about family, and getting together with family always means food.

We generally have the traditional Christmas tree thing on Christmas morning, followed by a brunch. Then we generally have our big meal in the early afternoon followed by the “turkey coma” (where the entire family seems to disappear into various rooms to take a nap), and then leftovers and more family time in the evening.

@YoBob LOLL that sounds really good to me, thanks :))
@muppetish Then we leave the tree up until February, ornaments and all
February? Gosh. Any particular reason?
@Leanne1986 Yes me time is always good isn’t it?

On Christmas Eve, we have dinner at my grandmother’s house and swap gifts. It used to be that most of my dad’s family would be there, but two of his siblings are no longer on speaking terms and have not visited for the holidays in years. Sometimes, my cousin’s friends will drop by to grab some food and play games (we usually have guessing games to win prizes.) It’s a laid-back event.

On Christmas Day it is my parents, siblings and I. We have breakfast, swap gifts, and then go and catch an early showing of a film. My older brother works on the holidays, so he is off to work by the afternoon. We try and spend the rest of our time together.

Then we leave the tree up until February, ornaments and all.

I usually get about a weeks holiday from work and spend the time trying to visit various different family members. I also try and make sure I have some time to myself.

Sit around with my family….8 girls, 1 boy, and their respective spouses/partners from all over the country.
Lots of booze and dirty Santa and rowdy politics. Awww, now I can’t wait.

Wow, the order of posts got confused. Hmmm. So did I.
These days, my daughter and I just do the easy morning thing, opening gifts, maybe pie for breakfast (she loves pie) watching a DVD somebody got. Then a couple of friends come over for a light meal and some visiting, then we just hang out. Every year I do a big Thanksgiving thing, so Christmas (because neither Katawagrey nor I are Christian) is mostly about being together and having an excuse to buy each other gifts, wear silly red hats, and enjoy a pretty, decorated tree. Which also doesn’t come down til Feb cuz I’m a lazy slob, and I like the twinkly lights.

We used to go out for dinner on Christmas eve, but the restaurant we went to for years closed. Now, I cook dinner on Christmas eve, and friends drop by. We open gifts Christmas eve night. Christmas morning, a friend comes by from out-of-town, and I fix a big breakfast. I make a buffet supper around 4:00, and more friends come over. Generally, we go to a movie Christmas day night. We don’t have much in the way of extended family.

@partyparty Yes, there are two main reasons (at least from my perspective):

1. Trimming the tree with my siblings has always been, hands-down, my favourite part of the holidays. We discuss which ornaments are our favourites, laugh at the ones we made in primary school (some have our pictures on them – how embarrassing), make up stories about the ones that are broken or funny-looking, and then fight over who will place the topper. It’s a special occasion for me :) I so love goofing off with my siblings.

2. . . . we’re lazy :) Our tree is fake so there’s not much clean up, but we can’t be bothered to fetch the storage boxes from the garage and take everything down. So the tree stays up until our father gets fed up and tells us, “You three: Tree. Now.”

this year i will be flying home for three weeks. and my boyfriend is also flying to pittsburgh the day after christmas! i am really excited. my mom throws a huge christmas party every year, and on christmas since my parents on divorced i spend the night before and the morning of with my papa and brothers and then we galavant on over to my moms for the rest of the day and dinner. i love the holidays!!!!!!!!!! unfortunately it usually rains but at least this year i will be with everyone that i haven’t seen, and i wont have to work, and we also got a new fireplace last year so i cant wait to sit in front of that for hours.

It’s two weeks of party time for me & I’m really looking forward to it, I’ve been invited all over the place so will make the absolute most of this years holidays :-)

I throw a big X-mas eve party for all my Jewish in laws.

Always spend Christmastime with my family (sometimes it’s just been my immediate family, but not always). It’s always a time off from school and work and we’ve always been able to be together for Christmas and the few days surrounding it. We’ve had “Christmas dinner” on Christmas Eve sometimes instead of on Christmas Day, but in recent years, it’s been on Christmas Day. Our usual tradition for Christmas Eve was to drive around and look at Christmas light displays in the evening. On Christmas Day, we would open presents in the morning and then go to church at 11 (usually) and then we would have Christmas dinner. Hopefully everything will be the same this year!

Back when we lived closer to my grandparents, we’d visit them the next day.

As much as I love summer, it’s tempting for me to say Christmastime is my favorite time of year. I’m almost as obsessed with it as my mom is. I’ll probably end up collecting ornaments, candles, and advent calendars like she does…lol

@SundayKittens Yes it’s an exciting time of year… :)))
@JilltheTooth Sounds like an ideal way to spend Xmas to me!!
@BarnacleBill It’s nice to share Xmas with friends. I think all cinemas are closed here in the UK on Christmas day, but it sounds lovely.
@noelleptc :)))))))))))))))))))))))
@deni Don’t forget to hang your Xmas stocking up on the fireplace. I am sure someone will fill it with lots and lots of good things for you.
@Scooby So a very full diary for you? Enjoy
@Cruiser I am sure it will be a wonderful party. Any special food?
@DominicX Yes Xmas is such an exciting time I think. Oooh I’m really looking forward to it now!

@partyparty Actually a Christmas Ham and Rib Roast. They all come for the Ham!! lol!

In the Christmas Eve I take a long walk alone through snow(it usually snows at that time in my town).During the night I watch A Nighmare Before Christmas and another few good movies alone.In the Christmas morning get up before sunrise to take another long walk until the sunrise than I go home to sleep until noon when I go to take launch with my family at my Grandma’s home.

We usually bust out the decorations on the first weekend of December. We’ve got a LOT of decorations. And I start playing Xmas music on Thanksgiving day, not one day before (unless you count the fact that I usually download a new set of music in November, so I’m listening to it privately) Then we go to one of my cousin’s (second cousins) houses (on a rotating basis) about 2 weeks before Xmas and have a big informal pot luck party. This year there is a theme: ugly Xmas sweaters. Then my family and I have a low key Xmas eve dinner and then open gifts early Xmas morning. Then we drive to my Aunt and Uncle’s house where we meet up with a bunch of other cousins (first cousins) and have a sit down, but still informal, dinner with all the fixings. Usually at some point during December, we go out to one of the local farms where they have an Xmas bazaar with crafts, pony rides and hay rides. The farm store sells nuts and dried fruits and jelly and honey. Then we drive around town and look at all the Xmas lights.

I usually try and find work, simply because I can get away with charging 3 times as much and people think it’s reasonable because its x-mas.

Name a time of the day, and I can tell you what activity is occuring at Mom’s house on Christmas day…it’s that structured, with only an occasional tweak. For the past two years, I’ve spent the holiday in England with my SO. We’ve created our own traditions, which include having his parents stay with us. It’s really lovely…a mix some English and US traditions, as well as a few of our own personal tweaks.

I live in a different city from the rest of my family (including in-laws). They all live in pretty much the same area (within a 2 hour radius anyway) – I live about 6 hours away. Generally I spend one Christmas visiting all of them, and the next Christmas at home with my wife and rabbit. That’s what I’ll be doing this year (the latter). I like these Christmases much, much, much better.

Good question MsP…. as I’ve gotten older, family is not what it was years ago. My son’s children are at the teenage stage and we all know all the stuff they are involved in at that age. (also, they live 12 hours away) My mom is an assisted care home. My brother lives off…not far off, but enough. So, my Christmas is usually a very quiet time for me and my s/o.

Working and having people come to visit. Our family uses the holiday times to celebrate our friends and each other. These are the few times a year most people get paid time off so the odds of being able to have several of them as our company is best. We love to make feasts and then relax time to play games together, take scenic drives and catch up on our lives with each other. If I could afford it and had the accomodations then I would have more people, more often.

I will spend the eve with Mom and whatever family is here, usually eating, talking and reminising the year and its events. Xmas day is mine and I spend it relaxing with my husband. We are not into the fanfare as most folks are.

@Christian95 Ahh… snow at Christmas. It sounds perfect!!
@Kardamom Yes I love going to Christmas fayres. There is something so very special about them. Post a photo of your ‘ugly sweater’ if you get the chance LOLL
@poisonedantidote Hope you are sucessful :))
@Pied_Pfeffer Hope you enjoy your time in the UK. Try to get to one of the Christmas markets, they are superb :)
@nicobanks Yes it can be difficult when family live so far away. Enjoy your time with your wife and rabbit!
@BoBo1946 I don’t suppose we in the UK realise just how vast the USA is. We can travel the length of the UK to visit family within hours, which makes meeting up relatively easy for us.
I am sure whatever you do at Christmas, you will bring a smile to everyones faces. Enjoy :)))
@Neizvestnaya You sound like a very generous hearted person. I am sure you make everyone extremely welcome. Have a lovely time.
@AmWiser Sounds relaxing to me, Enjoy!

Oh, we will get together MsP…and love one another! Just want to be able to be physically there.

@partyparty What is a Christmas market? It sounds interesting. I’d also like to attend a Christmas Pantomime some day. We don’t have them in the US, as far as I know.

As for size/population differences between England and the US, the total area of England is almost equal to the US state of Alabama, which is #28 out of 50 in size ranking. Population-wise, Alabama’s population is 9% of England’s. For the number of people living in England, it equates to the combined number living in Texas, New York State, and Virginia..

@Pied_Pfeffer A Christmas market sells many hand crafted goods, Santas, Xmas novelties, home made food, cakes, biscuits, cheeses, wines (they let you sample!!). Some stalls have hot food for you to try. Most are held at night with all the Christmas lights and trimmings, There may be a brass band playing. Such a lovely atmosphere. Let me know if you go to one.
if you PM me, I will try to find one in the locality you will be staying
@BoBo1946 not long until the 7th now. PLEASE let us know how you are doing :))

will do my friend…. thank you for remembering!