Christmas Traditions

'Tis the season after all...

So, what is the tradition in your house and what was it when you were a kid?

I am the youngest of eight so the house was always filled with people when I was a kid. My eldest brothers and sisters would stop by with their spouses and children and more often than not we had about 20 for dinner in a small "veteran's" house (built post WWII for the soldiers coming back home to Canada)

Christmas morning we lined up at the top of the stairs (me first!) until mom and dad gave us the green light as they were still putting together toys or wrapping something. Although we didn't have much money, the living room was half filled with gifts.

Christmas dinner was ALWAYS a turkey, home made bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, but I couldn't tell you the vegetable - likely peas(?). I think mom made the christmas pudding and sauce but... coulda been store bought.

Through the dating years, my wife's Christmas dinner was home made ravioli (Italian heritage) so I longed to have turkey again. With the passing of her parents the large family gatherings became a thing of the past and now we share Christmas with just the three of us, the third being our 18 year old son. We have had turkey on Christmas I believe since he was a baby.

We have also had a real Christmas tree every year since he was born and the past three years we have gone to a tree farm to cut it down. He is 18 but he still loves riding the slaigh out to the trees, cutting down the tree, and drinking the hot choclolate at the tree farm :o) The real tree is in our living room now although the puppies have taken to eating the fallen balsam needles this their first Christmas - nice minty breath but it doesn't agree with Guinness' tummy :(

On Christmas day we open our presents in the morning with a log on the fire and head out to a local trail for a hike, provided the weather is cooperating, and bring a bag of seed for the chicakdees and nuthatches.

We spend the rest of the day getting ready for dinner, decorating the table, digging the "good china" out of the basement, and of course cleaning up the living room, and playing with our presents!

We used to avoid the malls like the plague on Boxing Day but have been a few times. Last year I did my Boxing Day shopping online via futureshop.ca - TOO EASY! This year though, we are headed to the malls, thankfull that we have Saturday and Sunday to recoup!

giabash... by pies do you mean "tortieres"? Is your French background from Canada?

When my kids were young, we had two trees.  The regular tree with all the presents and a small table top "scrooge" tree.  The scrooge tree had little wrapped cheap "gifts".  Usually $1 things like a box of chocolate covered cherries, box of thin mints, etc.  I would try to have at least 12 things per child under this tree.  Each night before Christmas (for however many nights there were gifts) the kids would get to open a scrooge gift.  This helped eliminate the "Can we just open one present early" problem.  Sometimes I think they enjoyed the scrooge gifts more than the regular ones. 

Now my kids are grown and it is just hubby and I at home.  I no longer have the scrooge tree.  I really miss it.

Whoever woke up first (me or my brother) would wake everyone else up, then we'd open presents (mom would pick which), we'd also have to do the picture taking after each gift thing. Then breakfast and playing with the new gifts. Not much else happened except dinner later that day. I think my favourite times were when we had the extended family at grandma's and grandpa's place for actual Christmas, because we'd do the cookie thing and in the morning there'd be a note from Santa and some red food colouring in the empty glass of egg nog because Rudolph had some. Usually the extended family gets together on the 26th, at least since the grandparents moved further away, we started having it at my aunt's place because they're rich and had a big house I guess. This is the first year there is no family Christmas (my aunt and uncle are divorcing...we missed out on family Thanksgiving because of that too)and my grandma passed away this summer (grandpa already passed way in '99). I'm really bummed that it won't be the same this year :(

*buys sweetpea a bunch of scrooge gifts*

When we were little kids, my mom was single and raising 5 of us (4 boys and me)...what a household.

She was a nurse and would work nights so that she would be able to be home with us on Christmas morning.  My biggest gift was homemade socks, mitts, scarf and hat as they were made by my moms hands in her spare time and still to this day, not sure how she ever found it.  We did not want for anything, we always headed outside and played games with all the neighbour hood kids in our small little hamlet!!

But the biggest tradition that we had and I carry it on with my son today, was the reading of the special story!!  Today, friends with their children, all gather in our neighbour hood and I read the special story (Twas the Night before Christmas) to all the young children...to see their faces light up, tugs at my heart strings!! During the story, Santa does a "fly by" ringing his sleigh bells to tell the children that they must finish up what they are doing, sprinkle the magic dust that I also give them, and get to bed...all within 30 minutes of hearing the bells.  Even my 14 yr old son still wants to participate and will stay with me instead of going to his dads when it is his turn to go.  To see small, medium and big kids, scatter and want to go to bed makes the night early for the parents and gives them a huge chance to get organized and in bed at a decent time...

I also when I get home, sprinkle our magic dust and once my son is in bed, out come the Santa footprints and get the stockings all filled and hung in their rightful place!!

Christmas morning we alway have mimosas accompanied with the wifesaver breakfast and hash brown casserole (made by my son)..

I always manage to not work over the holidays and just love it!!!