Do you have a Christmas tradition?

Being as though I am Italian, we make a bigger deal out of Christmas Eve than Christmas Day. We have our family over, have a feast of the 7 fishes, and do all the presents that night.

Thats awesome(: what do you guys do during christmas day then?

When I lived in San Diego I used to go sailing every Christmas. Now I just work because I’m the token Jew.

@littlekori Oh yeah – our simple Christmas Day tradition is we eat cookies and leftover desserts for breakfast and really just hang around the house. We are almost like Jews on that day lol.

Lasagna the night before. The reading of “The Night Before Christmas” (a group effort) just before the kids go off to bed.

The wife and I watch Home Alone 1 and 2 on Christmas Eve. It’s mandatory.

Watch “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye; and make schpatzel from scratch.

Sometime during the month of December we have to watch Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation movie (the family at the dinner table is ridiculously similar to ours) and I have to watch Patrick Stewart in a Christmas Carol. Then there’s the trilogy of Xmas specials: Rudolph, The Grinch and Charlie Brown.

Then we have a big, casual family Christmas potluck at one of my cousin’s houses (it rotates each year) and we have a present drawing for the adults (so you only buy one gift) where you get to trade and argue and grab. The gift is one item for less than $25 and then you add a hint gift which gets opened first, which has to be less than $5 (the cheaper the better). For instance, last year my hint gift was a pair of reading glasses from the dollar store, then the actual gift was a certificate for See’s Candy. All of the little kids get presents from each family. This year, we’re all wearing ugly Xmas sweaters.

Then on Christmas day, we go to my aunt and uncle’s house (same side of the family, but these are my 1st cousins, and the potluck party was all my 2nd and beyond cousins). They have a sit down, but still nice and casual, typical Xmas dinner with all the trimmings. We usually give each person a gift from each family, but it’s usually a family photo or homemade goodies.

On Christmas eve we usually drive around the neighborhood where one of the streets has almost every single house lit up with decorations.

And on the day after Thanksgiving, I bust out the Charlie Brown Christmas CD (which I’m listening to right now) : )

I try to do as much grocery and other ‘required’ shopping as I need to early in the month, or the month before (I cook a lot of dried beans and soups at this time of year), not buy into the hype and commercialism of ‘the season’, throw away advertising circulars without even a glance, and retreat into the basement of the house when I’m at home.

It’s a holly, jolly time of the year, all right. Ho ho no.

Christmas Eve is the big day for us. It was my father’s birthday and we always had a dinner and opened “family” presents at their house. This year we’re trying it at my house. It’s the first year I’ve felt like I could host an event, in a very long time; and last year, without dad, it was very difficult at mom’s.

We read The Night Before Christmas, play the Charlie Brown Christmas CD (@Kardamom – it’s a great CD!) and then kids go to bed and my husband and I watch Christmas Vacation.

Christmas morning, before opening presents, we observe our beliefs and then open presents. Then we spend the day figuring out how to put things together and digging through the trash for directions. And there is always the emergency run to Walgreen’s for batteries because someone…read me…counted wrong!

We used to go to the lighted boat parade every year in San Diego, but it’s pretty cold here, and the kids are either too old or too young, so we don’t go to the one they have here.

My side of the family has Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after down to a science with only a few alterations over the years. Name a time of any of those three days, and I can tell you exactly what the family is doing, including the food being consumed.

This will be my third Christmas in England with my SO and his parents. His family gave up their traditions years ago after the children went their own ways. Andrew and I have created our own. We’ve melded the US and UK traditions and thrown in a few tweaks of our own. Just 13 more days…

No,not anymore ;)

@Pied_Pfeffer Christmas in England must be so wonderful. Can you tell us folks in the States what it’s like?

Yes. Eggs a la King for breakfast and champagne Mimosas. Stocking get opened first and then gift boxes. Scrabble and movies on video.

Yes. Massive debt.

I go for a hike at my favorite woods…that is going to my church for Christmas services. ;)

Hide and wait for carolers to come around and then proceed to peg them via slingshot.

@Winters Are there even carolers anymore? I’ve never seen a live one LOL! I feel like they are mythical creatures only seen in movies – like mermaids or unicorns.

@Winters, that is hilarious!

@Ponderer983 they are an elusive creature, but they’re there alright, >=D
@littlekori I do similar stuff to trick or treaters as well.

@Winters, that’s great!
I will usually scare trick or treaters, but thats about it. And we don’t even have carolers here

@Ponderer983 I’ve never in my life had a caroler come to my house, but I love Christmas carols and they always have them around the mall, at the zoo, at Disneyland and other outdoor festivals. I love it!

When I was a young, our church teen group used to go caroling as a fund raising event. We would get at least a $5 bill at each house. I think it would be a great idea for people who need extra cash, except most people wouldn’t realize that they are supposed to give tips, since it is no longer a common practice.

@Kardamom I can’t say I have seen one anywhere! Not even at tree lightings.

@Ponderer983 If you ever get the chance to go to Disneyland during December, you will be treated not only to carolers, but to bell ringers. I love both of those things and I actually got tears in my eyes when I heard and saw them. They were all dressed in Charles Dickens era costumes. Just imagine an acapella rendition of “Carol of the Bells”. Magic!

We have a very busy couple of days on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For my own family (husband and two kids) we have Christmas Eve Breakfast together. We go buy some of those fun, bright colored Christmas plates, napkins, flatware and cups and set the table all up nicely. We put on music, we give thanks, we have some hot, yummy food, some hot coffee and sparkling cider w/orange juice and a few satsumas. The first thing we do when we sit down is open up (pop) our poppers. Then we all wear the crowns through breakfast. We enjoy a leisurely meal and then we go and open our stockings and then our family gifts.