Your Family's Christmas Traditions - Page 2

AOIIsilver · #16 12-07-2003, 11:34 PM

We have multiple "Christmas celebrations." On Christmas morning, we open presents at our own home, then to my parents' home where we have oysters, boiled custard, and ambrosia. After lunch, we go to my grandfather's home for fried country ham and red eye gravy. The Saturday before Christmas is at my other grandparents' home for banana pudding. The day after Christmas is my in-law's home.

Silver

Hootie · #17 12-08-2003, 01:41 PM

In the Hootie family we celebrate by opening presents on Christmas Eve. But before we do that we prepare lots of food - all the yummy cookies, lunch meat, crackers and cheese, carrots, dips, and my grandpa's famous little smokies...
We get everything out and ready to eat, but before we do all of us kids load up into the car with our favorite Christmas cd while mom and dad take forever.
As soon as they come out, we all go look at Christmas lights. We always hit the same neighborhoods (the ones that are on the paid light tour). After we're done with that we come back home to find that SANTA has been to our house (LOL). We get our Santa gifts first and then my youngest two siblings, Jessica and Andrew, pass out the rest of the gifts.
From there we take turns opening gifts (youngest to oldest) and then we watch tv or a movie as a family.
On Christmas morning we get ready for my relatives who all come over. That's another thread in itself

carnation · #18 12-22-2011, 03:29 PM

Thought I'd bump this, as it's been awhile!

aephi alum · #19 12-22-2011, 06:44 PM

Wow, this is a blast from the past - there are a lot of names here that I haven't seen in a long time.

WCsweet<3 · #20 12-22-2011, 08:12 PM

For Christmas Eve, my family would always go to my grandmother's house and have spaghetti and meatballs. It's at my house for the first time this year!

Christmas Day is breakfast and dinner at my parent's house with church, presents and stockings in between.

honeychile · #21 12-23-2011, 12:13 AM

This weekend, we start new ones, although this is the second year in a row that I drove in horrible weather, late at night. That's one tradition that has just got to stop! Hopefully, we'll be starting new ones now!

christiangirl · #22 12-23-2011, 12:51 AM

All of our Christmas traditions fell apart when my grandmother died. No one gets together at my uncle's anymore, we don't do Christmas dinner, etc. I guess the new tradition is for everyone to stay home and do their own thing. But we used to always decorate the tree with the ornaments I made in elementary school. We would back cookies from scratch on Christmas Even and set them out "for Santa" (which means we'd pig out on them in the morning

). Put lights up in the windows. Then all the relatives would get together at my uncle's for Christmas dinner. None of that happens anymore but it was good times when they did.

clarinette · #23 12-23-2011, 07:48 AM

My Christmas traditions seem intense by comparison to everyone else's.

Warning, this is going to be pretty long.

Christmas Eve: We have to have cheese soup for lunch (it's actually more of a vegetable and cheddar chowder, but we call it cheese soup), then we go to church. The church does an early (starts anywhere from 5:30-6:30) service and a late (10:30-11:30 start time) service on Christmas Eve; we go to the early one. After church, we have Christmas Eve Snack, which this year consists of the following:

Shrimp cocktail, chips and dip, cheese, sausage, crackers, cocktail weiners, chicken salad croissants, smoked salmon, peanut butter blossoms, scotcheroos, fudge, and other stuff I'm probably forgetting, but I can't think of anything right now. Drinks will be scotch, gin-and-tonics, and champange for the legal ones who want to drink, and wassail, water, or soft drinks for those who can't/don't want to drink.

We'll open the presents which are at my grandparents' house that night, because everything else will be at my parents' house, so it'd be too much of a trouble for my grandparents to bring those over.

Christmas Day: We normally have eggs Benedict, but since my family doesn't want to make that for 10 people (there's 4 more people than we normally have), we're doing a big buffet-style breakfast with waffles, bacon, sausage, fruit, preserves, and the cookies that didn't get eaten the night before. The drink choices will probably be orange juice and champange (we don't do mimosas, for some reason). Then, since Christmas Day is on a Sunday this year, my family is going to church. Then we'll open the Christmas presents at our house, and then we'll have the big Christmas dinner. It's different every year, but this year sounds especially good:

Beef tenderloin with royal butter, scrumptious potatoes (it's got cream cheese and sour cream in it), fresh green beans, carrots, with pecan pie and cookies for dessert. We'll have wine and water or soda/milk/water for drinks.

I think my mom's glad she has the next day off after all that craziness. If you got through this post, here you go:

AGDee · #24 12-23-2011, 09:50 AM

Being a "broken" family has its advantages for my kids at Christmas. Tonight, Festivus, is Christmas Eve at my house. When the kids wake up in the morning, they will open presents here. They have several hours to chill at home goofing around with their gifts and then we spend Christmas Eve with my mom's extended family: My aunt & uncle and their 3 kids. This year, we have an additional fiance (who is with child). We alternate who hosts and this year it is my turn. I always used to make lasagna at my house only because it is really easy to prepare in advance and just put in the oven while the guests are here so I don't spend the whole time in the kitchen. This year my aunt offered to bring ham so I also bought a nice roast and I'm making green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, cinnamon apples, rolls and a salad. They will leave around 9:30 or 10 pm usually, and then the kids will head to their dad's house for their second Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. At that point, I usually light a fire in the fireplace, pour myself a glass of wine, and veg on the couch watching movies with no lights on but the Christmas lights. Christmas day, I deal with the mess in the kitchen and go to my old neighbor's house to bring them cookies and hang out with them. They are very laid back and usually do something like a taco bar and then play group games like Trivial Pursuit, Apples to Apples, etc. My team always wins.

christiangirl · #25 12-23-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

This year, we have an additional fiance (who is with child).

Is this normal lingo for you or are you just really in the spirit?

SWTXBelle · #26 12-23-2011, 12:29 PM

A different kind of tradition - celebrating Epiphany. The pressure is off - you can take advantage of after Christmas sales and you don't have much competition with other family members. We have King cake, the kids get three presents (usually books or more educational toys) and we once again focus on the significance of the birth of Jesus.

AGDee · #27 12-23-2011, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christiangirl

Is this normal lingo for you or are you just really in the spirit?

LOL.. I believe I'm in the spirit. It is interesting to watch some ultra conservative parents dealing with this situation. Their son graduated from college and has a job but his fiance is still in school. (could be fiancee'? Never did get those differences down). The kids are waiting to get married because they want a traditional wedding. My aunt and uncle are uber Catholic so it is just.. interesting

lovespink88 · #28 12-23-2011, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

Tonight, Festivus, is Christmas Eve at my house.

Please tell me there will be an airing of grievances and feats of strength!

For the longest time my family hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my dad's side of the family and my mom's grandparents hosted Christmas Day with that side of the family. It worked out pretty darn perfect.

But time has passed and there are fewer family members with us so things have changed. Christmas is different every year now, but that's ok with me. On more than one occasion my family has hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, because my mom is basically the crazy Target lady and loves Christmas, even though she makes herself nuts with preparations! lol My brother, dad and I help out as much as possible, of course.

One tradition that has not faded, however, is the Polish oplatek!

Now that I have another family in the mix, it has definitely shaken up Christmas even more (but in a good way)! My fiance's family always goes to his mom's cousins house for Christmas Eve. This is always interesting because his mom's cousin is an older gentleman and a retired doctor who lives alone. Needless to say he has some money to spend and he does so in interesting ways. Every year he has a themed Christmas tree...and no it's not just a matter of buying new ornaments and decorations. One year was an upside down tree. Another year was a 3 piece string trio instead of a tree. One was a tree made completely of poinsettias. So that's always interesting. The only thing is I'm getting used to it being more of a formal Christmas (I'm used to wearing nice jeans and a cute sweater for our Christmases).

His parents usually host Christmas day and invite the rest of their family who did they not see on Christmas Eve. This year it's a tacky sweater party (which reminds me I need to find mine...)

aephi alum · #29 12-23-2011, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

Their son graduated from college and has a job but his fiance is still in school. (could be fiancee'? Never did get those differences down). The kids are waiting to get married because they want a traditional wedding. My aunt and uncle are uber Catholic so it is just.. interesting

Fiancé = male member of an engaged couple
Fiancée = female member of an engaged couple

When I was planning my wedding, I lurked on a couple of wedding-related Usenet boards (remember Usenet?

). I couldn't begin to count the number of times "fiancé" or "fiancée" got auto-corrected to "finance". LOL

</hijack>

Enjoy your Festivus and Christmas.

cheerfulgreek · #30 12-23-2011, 08:02 PM

My mom was born and raised in southern Greece, but she moved here with my grandparents when she was 16. My dad was born here, but my grandparents (from his side of the family) were born, raised, married, and lived in Italy until their late 20s, when they moved to the states. My dad, although born here, was always raised in a traditional Italian home. So, I grew up an only child in a very traditional Greek/Italian home. After my parents got married, each year, they would alternate, celebrating both Greek and Italian Christmas traditions, long before I was even born. So, as a result, I was born and raised (an only child) in a Greek/Italian home, also being raised on both Greek and Italian holiday traditions. Even after the passing of my dad in early 2006, my mom and I still practice and alternate both traditions every year.