what are your favorite christmas/holiday traditions?

[boogiemomz]

i am due with my first in 2 weeks and feeling sentimental (and sleepless!). since we will have her right before the holidays, i am excited to start our own family traditions with her, and to incorporate some of mine and DH's from growing up. some of my favorites:

the littlest angel book--my mom used to read this to me every year and she always cried... it's a children's book but has pretty hefty language, and for a long time i didn't really understand why she was crying, but i always cried because she cried. now i cry on my own and love reading it and thinking of my mom. can't wait to read it with my little one!

bavarian sugar cake for breakfast

things i want to establish as traditions with my new family:

make a christmas photo book for my child(ren) every year and give it to her /them the following year as a gift

have new christmas pajamas for each child to wear christmas eve


please share what are your favorite christmas or holiday traditions with your family... let the warm fuzzies flow!! :22:

[klwa]

Ours are simple.
Christmas Eve we go to communion service. My only wish is that they'd start up a midnight service at some point because those mean so much to me, but for right now, the 5:30 service works well.
Christmas morning, we have a "big" breakfast. In my family, breakfast was always the important meal Christmas Day, so I've continued it. All family is welcome to come by & eat with us, and usually my MIL & FIL come.
No travel! My mom used to hate that we felt rushed out the door to visit her parents, so I made the rule that we stay HOME on Christmas Day. Anyone wanting to see us, comes to see us. (Of course, then Momma fussed at me for making the rule because she always still went to see Grandma and even now my dad & siblings travel to see Grandma. But I'm sticking by the rule Momma told me to make, even if she didn't remember it!)

[billysmommy]

I love threads like these and always get some new ideas

From my childhood:
-Making gingerbread houses with my dad.
-Baking dozens and dozens of cookies with our whole family.
-Just driving around with my dad watching the snow fall, looking at Christmas lights, going for walks with him. He is a Dr and worked A LOT when we were little but he loves Christmas and always took the week before Christmas off of work. We would each get to take a day off of school and spend it with just him.
-Every Christmas Eve we all would get dressed in our new pajamas (even my mom and dad) and we would pick cookies to leave for Santa. The last thing we did before bed is my dad would read Twas the Night Before Christmas. I always get chills whenever I hear the story :)
-My parents best friend (E) is Jewish and she has always spent Christmas with us since I was born. Christmas Eve we would celebrate Hannukah ~ she would cook for us and would tell us stories about how her family celebrated Hanukah and she always had dreidels and chocolate money for us to play with.
-Christmas morning my parents and E would always have mimosas while we opened presents. I never fully appreciated that until we had children and were up late Christmas Eve getting things together.
-Santa always wraps his presents in the same Santa wrapping paper. I was able to find the same paper my mom used when I was little at a store a couple years ago and bought 12 rolls :)


DH's family usually went to friends houses for Christmas Eve and after opening presents on Christmas morning so he didn't have many family traditions for those days. He now loves staying home and making our own. The one thing they always did though was to go pick and cut down a Christmas tree. We have a tree farm up in Maine so we usually pick our tree in the spring and visit it every time we go up to IL's and the boys tell it how it's going to be our Christmas tree :)

[boogiemomz]

i love the idea of making gingerbread houses together as a family... DH and i are going to a gingerbread house workshop at a local culinary store this weekend! also a big fan of the mimosas on christmas morning... i might have to initiate that one this year, as a newly non-pregnant person! though i hear i might not have a free hand to enjoy it, it will be just DH and me and baby.

i was hoping to get some new ideas from the thread too. i'm excited to establish new traditions with my new family! thanks for sharing!

[MamaMolly]

My mom always bought us one special new ornament each year. Usually around what ever animal was our favorite at the time. I'd planned to do the same for DD with the Swarovsky crystal ones, but I had to be realistic. We move a LOT for DH's work and there is every chance in the world they'd get crushed eventually. It would be too demoralizing. So I've bought a sweet (metal or plastic!) Hallmark one for each year, something that reminds me of something special about DD from the previous year.

We also ate monkey bread and OJ while opening presents. That is one of my favorite memories, because my mom *rarely* allowed sweets.

[kochh2]

we keep it relatively simple, and have been lowly adding traditions as we go.... We make gingerbread houses, Put up our extensive Dept. 56 village (will skip it this year with a 2.5 year old)... let see, we do an advent calendar with the treasure boxes in it, we made a chain last year with scrapbook paper, kept it up LOOONG after christmas, and may add to it this year, not sure...
we also do the christmas eve service and the big breakfast in the AM, and also listen to the Night before christmas each night before bed-- My Dear grandmother , who passwed away this past year, gave me a very beautiful animated santa that reads the whole story, so each night after advent calendar, we sit by him and listen!!

We also keep a set of christmas books aside each year ond try to read a new one each night... . they are exciting, because they only come out at this time of year!!

other than that, we keep christmas photos from friends all around and try to encorporate the spirit of giving in all we do. as children get older, we will do more int he way of donations and volunteering that they participate in. for now, well, with my health issues, we can only do what we can handle...

:)

[boolady]

Well, we don't currently do this in its exact form, but for the first 20? 25? years of my life, my parents, 2 sisters and I would have an early Christmas Eve dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and ham and bean soup. My parents owned their own business and my dad always had to work on CE, so my mom kept it simple while we helped her clean, finish baking, do other guest prep. We would then get cleaned up, nice clothes on, go to my grandparents' house for gifts and cookies/desserts, then go to the candlelight church service at midnight. It doesn't work for us right now...DD is so young, my one sister and I are about 45 mins. to 1 hour away from my parents, etc.

After church, we were always allowed to open 1 gift each before going to bed...traditionally, it was the one from my aunt and cousins on the West Coast, and then we would call them (since it wasn't midnight there:)) and say Merry Christmas.

ETA: I guess if we have a current tradition that I really love, it's a new one. For the last two years, we've met up with my best friend, her DH and her two boys, gone to dinner, and gone to a huge outdoor drive-through Christmas lights set-up. We usually do this the weekend after Thanksgiving. The kids love it, we get a chance to see each other in the midst of the holiday rush, and it just gives me the warm fuzzies. Kind of kicks off the holiday season.

[lil_acorn]

we always do:
-a gingerbread house
-new matching pjs for my two kids
-baking christmas cookies
-a photo ornament for the year of each kid (or both now that they are getting older)

[sunshine873]

Oh we've got tons of them & I can't wait to do it all with DD! (I'm already tearing up just thinking about sharing the magic with her over the years!)

The whole family always goes to pick out our tree. We used to cut them, but now it depends on where we live. We insist on taking the dogs along - because they're part of the family too! When we decorated the tree we always got an ornament as a gift. I will continue this with DD. That way, when they grow up, they have a good start on decor for their own tree!

Christmas Eve - Growing up we always had lasagna. But I think I'm going to switch over to DH's tradition of German or Irish Featsgrod & Grophins (Sauerkraut rolls & sweet raisin/cinnamon bread.) Church on Christmas Eve. Then when we got home from church there was always one package for each of us. That's the new pjs.

Christmas morning - Santa left one of his packages at the foot of our bed. It was something to entertain us until the pre-agreed time when we were allowed to go downstairs. (a toy, book, etc.) We'd drink cider and nibble on cookies while opening gifts. Then the whole family would help make our traditional Christmas breakfast of quiche, bacon, & muffins. I'm totally adding mimosas this year! The rest of the day was spent playing with our new stuff. Then we'd get dressed up and go out for dinner (because this day is all about relaxing - who wants to cook?) At my house though, I think we'll move the lasagna tradition to Christmas night. After dinner, everyone piles in the car with blankets & cocoa while we drive around to see all of the lights.

[brittone2]

We have a ton, but I looooove Christmas. Well, I love the buildup to Christmas most of all :)

Here are some of ours:
Advent calendar (with activities listed on slips of paper)
unwrap a different holiday/winter/Christmas themed book each night of Advent
Gingerbread house
2 Christmas parades (I usually put Christmas themed tattoos in their Advent calendar and we put the tats on their cheeks or hands or whatever the day of the parade)
Fondue/appetizers Christmas eve
Shop for Toys for Tots, shop for food pantry
crafty stuff-paper chains, making gifts for family together
Drive around and look at lights
At least one night we drive to a subdivision about 5 mins away and walk around and look at lights. Beautiful homes, and nice sidewalks for walking. We usually bring along hot chocolate (lightly spiked for DH and for me when I'm not pg ;) )
Nice make ahead breakfast Christmas morning. Mimosas for the adults.
Every Christmas Eve since DS was born my dad reads the kids The Night Before Christmas book...his grandfather did the same when he was a kid.

I honestly think my kids like the build up to Christmas more than the gifts.

[geochick]

The Elf on The Shelf arrives each year the day after Thanksgiving.

[billysmommy]

I honestly think my kids like the build up to Christmas more than the gifts.

Billy told us last year that Christmas was his favorite holiday because it lasts so long and there is fun stuff to do every day until it comes

[Jen841]

Kids get a new part of their nativity set from Grandma
Kids get an ornament of what they were for Halloween from Grandma
Day in NYC in early December (Wintuck, Radio City, Macy's,... any combo of those.)
New PJ's for the FAMILY for Chistmas Eve
Christmas Eve mass at our church
Christmas am at OUR house (leave to visit family mid-afternoon)
Make 'something' for our neighbors (ornaments or baked goods)
Make 'something' for the extended family (usually something like an ornament)
Take each child shopping individually to buy something for a specified list of people - including who they have for the cousin gift exchange (they come up with some whacky stuff - did the Dollar Store last year)
Put up Grandpa's train around the tree

Anyone is welcome to be at our house for Christmas morning (they don't come) but we won't go anywhere. Santa and family gifts are openned on Christmas morning.

Santa gifts and stockings are unwrapped, all other gifts are wrapped.

Gosh, we had more than I thought

[annasmom]

A few years ago we started an Advent calendar - the house kind sold at Target. My kids are are already talking about it - so it seems to have stuck as a tradition!

I look at my calendar beforehand and then plot out a new fun thing to do every day. I put a little note in each cubby of the advent calendar, and the kids take turns opening the door and finding out what that day's activity will be. Some daily activities include:

see the Nutcracker
donate food to a food pantry
make salt dough ornaments
visit Santa (usually coincides with a visit from the grandparents)
brunch, visit town Christmas tree, & horse & carriage ride
sing Christmas carols
read the Christmas story from the bible
donate toy/clothes to church
go to the tree farm & get a christmas tree
decorate the tree
read t'was the night before Christmas (definitely the night before)
make a fire, drink hot cocoa and snuggle with mommy & daddy
drive around and look at the Christmas lights
etc., etc.

you get the drift. Lots of stuff, some more low key events for school days, and then bigger outings planned strategically. The kids LOVE it!

A few years ago I started a nativity set by giving the kids each a piece a year, but we have almost completed the set so I don't know if we are going to continue that.

We also get a new ornament for each child.

Oh, and the christmas pajamas, but my kids are already sleeping in them!