Holiday Traditions
 

What are your favorite family holiday traditions?

A tradition that I started last year with my little girl is to take her to a dollar store (or some other cheap store so I won't go broke doing this) and let her pick out gifts to give the grandparents and aunts & uncles. I love to watch her as she picks out what she feels is the perfect gift for everyone (and I love to hear her reasons why she picked each gift). It is also really sweet to watch everyone open her gifts and "pretend" that she has given them just what they wanted. It has become a highlight of our family holiday get-together and it helps everyone remember what it was like to be a child a Christmas.
Grandaddy is going to get a great gift this year! When she went to see Santa earlier in the month grandaddy told her to tell Santa that he wanted a convertible and so she picked out the cutest little toy car for him! And of course for the other grandfather (Papa) she picked out a box a chocolates because she said that she just knew he would share them with her.

Our biggest tradition is the Christmas cookie baking and decorating. I have great memories of that with my mom and wanted to keep it up with my kids. We also have some decorating traditions. My daughter has accumulated an angel collection, which are always displayed on a certain table and she knows exactly how she places each one every year. My son and daughter have also each accumulated several ornaments of their own, which I pack in separate bags of their own, so each year, as we decorate the tree, they go their own ornaments and remember who/where they were from and what the story is behind them. It's cute and they enjoy it.

Now that they are in school, they go to Secret Santa Shop at school and buy dollar store type items for their grandparents, myself and their dad. It is definitely cute to see what they pick out. The first year I was divorced, my son got me this set of little screwdrivers which have pink handles stored in a pink box and titled "Mom's Tool Kit". He said he thought I would need them since I had my own house now. It was so cute (and they're perfect size for those small screws on the battery pack holders of every kid's toy!). I use them ALL the time! He was in kindergarten that year too!

Re: Holiday Traditions
 

I think this is a really great thing for parents to have their kids do. So many family don't do gifts for the adults, etc. and a lot of times the kids are just getting all the gifts. It really helps teach them the joy of giving, and it's fun for the adults, too!

Though the first year my aunt and uncle did this with my little cousin, he picked out a pregnancy test for me (um, yeah, not to mention the WTF is a pregnancy test doing at the dollar store?). Thankfully they did have him pick out something else!

i buy a lot of chocolates and try to give them out to staff members in the school who have impacted me or the yearbook program and also give out a lot of cards just as a way to let peoplpe know i am thinking about them.

I got that same exact kit from DS#3 a year or two ago. I keep it in the kitchen and use it constantly. DS #3 did all his shopping at the Secret Santa Shop that year and everyone actually loved what he chose--goofy pens for his brothers and a little travel clock for dad. He was sad this year when he went to the Secret Santa Shop and there was nothing at all worth getting.

</hijack>

Re: Re: Holiday Traditions
 

I know!!! I saw those at Dollar Tree and I was like ok that's something I would want to pay more than $1 for.

i have two holiday traditions that i love.
the first: my aunt ( who i am very close to) and i exchange a tree decoration of some sort each year.
The second tradition: every christmas for as far back as i can remember, after everyone has eaten christmas dinner, we put on my grandmother's old john denver record and sing along with his version of the 12 days of christmas with the muppets. it still makes everyone smile and laugh.

There are so many holiday traditions - where to begin? :) I think my favorite tradition is that every Christmas Eve I get to open one present (my mother's choice) and it's ALWAYS a new set of pajamas or a nightgown. Which is quite nice, to go to sleep in something new and still soft, instead of my old ratty jammies.

Of course I always stay up watching midnight mass on TV from the Vatican, and then only sleep for a few hours before waking my mom up (I still did this last year) at a ridiculously early hour. ;)

Then of course there are the obligatory cookie and bread baking marathons that remind me of being 2 years old and watching my mom and grandmother bake bread in the kitchen.

This year will be very odd, as I'm staying in Scotland for the holidays, but fun nevertheless.

Happy holidays to all!

~ShyViolet

For the last few Christmas Eve's we've gone as a family to a local Moravian church for their candlelight lovefeast. In addition to beautiful music and singing there's a coffee and warm roll served. Sometimes we make it to our own church service but I really like the Moravian service! Since I went to Moravian College I know a fair amount of Moravian history and really enjoy the service. Before we go to bed that night my two younger sisters and I throw oatmeal and glitter on our front lawn. That's food for the reindeer and sparkles to help Santa see our house ;)

I listed all that stuff in holiday plans....but a few i started since my son was born was the buying a brand new ornament for the tree each yr and all the things we did when i was his age.....eve services , breakfast , eve dinner , 1 or 2 presents on chrismtas eve.....

When I was little (up until I was 12 or so), I would receive one present on Christmas Eve: my Christmas nightgown. It was always red and white or red and green, and usually flannel. We'd have a fire going in the fireplace, and I'd warm my new nightie by the fire before changing into it and going to sleep.

On Christmas morning, we had a large breakfast, then opened our gifts. I always had a stocking full of little things "from Santa". Dessert after Christmas dinner was fruitcake, which my mother always flamed. (Pretty to see, disgusting to taste!)

Until I was about 10 or so, we had a real Christmas tree every year. There's nothing like the smell of fresh pine, and our living room smelled of it all December. :) Then my parents decided they were sick of dealing with the needles, so it was artificial trees from then on.

Current family traditions... I'm Jewish now, so I celebrate Hanukkah, but we pretty much just light the menorah, nothing fancy. My husband and I visit my family every year for Christmas, and we still do the big breakfast, gift opening, and Christmas dinner with fruitcake :rolleyes: for dessert.

ZTAMich, my college campus always held a Moravian Love Feast every year the Sunday in the middle of exams. It was always a nice way to relax, and I love the traditions :)

My family always does a Christmas dinner with our next-door neighbors a few days before Christmas where we exchange our own gifts. They've been doing it since before I was born, so it's been going on for over 22 years :)

Christmas Eve, we always spend at our German neighbor's house with all our neighbors. In Germany, Kristkin (sp?) comes to visit the children and leaves gifts on Christmas Eve, so it was their real Christmas for themselves and their son. It started small, but has evolved into something we've done for the past 15 or so years. Our German neighbors are in Germany right now for a family emergency, though, so we're going to have to have it somewhere else.

We usually go to the Christ Cake celebration at my church, too. The Sunday before Christmas, they hold an evening service (something they usually don't do) and tell the story of the birth of Jesus. After the service, we all go to the Fellowship Hall and have a birthday cake and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. I loved it when I was little, and I still think it's cute.

Our family has gone to the same Christmas Eve party for like the last 20 years. It is mostly people I see once a year at that party so its like a reunion. That's my favorite tradition.