Holiday traditions

[jfinner1]

With Christmas around the corner, and this being the first real Christmas I've spent away from my family (they went to Florida to spend Christmas with my grandma), I'm really missing some of our silly Christmas traditions. Every Christmas Eve my siblings and I would get to open one present from our mom, a Christmas Ornament. She buys each of us an ornament to signify something significant we did that year, like learning to read, getting our first cat, becoming a big sister, our trip to Yellowstone, etc. Then we all curl up in the youngest's bed and mom reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to us, from the book that she's had since she was a little girl. When we wake up in the morning, the first kid up wakes up the rest of us, and we all pile onto our parents bed, because we have to wake them up before we can even open our stockings. At some point during the night, "Santa" came and put out all the presents, even the ones from mom, dad, and our grandparents, so it's pretty amazing to go to bed with nothing under the tree, and wake up to presents all over the floor. We always open out stockings first while mom makes hot coco and dad makes coffee. And then we dig into the presents, doing our best to take turns so mom and dad can see us open each one, and get tons of pictures. This is what we do every year. But this year, I won't be there for it. I mean, I'm pretty sure mom's going to Skype me for it, but it's not quite the same.

Does your family have any traditions like this? Things that you do every year with your kids, or things that you did every year when you were a kid?

 

[Bottesini]

When I was a kid, we always celebrated Hanukkah with my dad's best friend and his family, gathering to light the menorah, and have special foods, with chocolate halvah being my favorite.

Also receive Hanukkah gelt, which is gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, and little gifts.

For the most of my adult life I have been married into a big Catholic family, so we have Christmas day dinner and party at some relative's house, and exchange gifts. It started years ago being at my husband's aunt's house, but through the years has finally passed enough time that this year it will be at my younger daughter's house.

Time goes very fast.

 

[dogmom]

Bott and jfinner

Botti I remember how excited I was to get the sweet melty gelt and to see the first Chanukkah candle! My mom has a picture of my zayde and me ...I'm sitting on his lap and we're either watching the candle that were just lit, or I'm "helping" him light. He's wearing his yarmulke and tallit. I was about 7.
My dad LOVES halavah.
We mostly celebrated Chanukkah when I was in grade school...kinda got phased out as I got older and my mom worked in retail and was on the School Board, and I had more and more activities outside the family.

 

[LoveBlue]

Dad would put the tree (live) up Christmas Eve day & put the lights on. Santa would decorate when he came. I always loved seeing the tree as much as seeing all the presents under it (I'm the youngest if 6). Because I'm the youngest I would be the one sent in to wake our parents...but not before 5 am (gee, I wonder why not earlier...considering my parents didn't get to bed before 2 am).
We did basically the same for our kids when the were young and luckily for us they didn't wake up till 6 or 7. Heck, my husband & I were usually awake before them and sometimes even woke them up.
My 19 yr old lives with me & we still go into the living room together to open presents. Since she would have to pass through the living room to get to my room, last year she texted me "ready?" & I text back "??" Or something like that to tease her.

 

[LauraM]

I love reading these! We didn't really have any traditions to speak of growing up and I so look forward to starting some for my girls (currently 2.5 yrs and 8 months old). jfinner1 I love the ornament idea! I have also read where the kids get a new movie, PJs and hot cocoa the night before Christmas, that sounds like fun.

Unfortunately this year three of us just got over the flu and as we were getting ready to walk out the door this morning to celebrate with my in-laws my husband said, "Uh oh...I think I'm sick." So we unpacked our bags and he went to bed. I guess on the bright side we opened our gifts last night and the girls are too little to understand what we'll be missing this year, even though we will reschedule in a few days.

 

[needsleep]

I'm in the middle of a huge change in traditions. I do stuff with my boyfriend's family every year and this is my first "real" Christmas in a church and everything, having just converted. My parents divorced a few years ago so I'm still trying to get the hang of the Divorced Christmas on top of it.

I wish I had really long-standing traditions. I love that my boyfriend does so I can share his now. ♥


Ok, I do have one tradition of my own: I watch "A Christmas Story" for the whole 24 hours and so does my family. Doesn't matter which house you go to, we're all watching TBS. hahaha

 

[LoveBlue]

A tradition I started with our family is where Santa leaves one or two new ornaments on the tree for each of us. My daughter, who decorated our tree today, was saying we had too many ornaments (and we do). I told her when she has a place of her own she will not need to buy a lot of ornaments for her first tree. May not have to buy any.

 

[caz12]

When I was a kid, we always celebrated Hanukkah with my dad's best friend and his family, gathering to light the menorah, and have special foods, with chocolate halvah being my favorite.

Also receive Hanukkah gelt, which is gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, and little gifts.

For the most of my adult life I have been married into a big Catholic family, so we have Christmas day dinner and party at some relative's house, and exchange gifts. It started years ago being at my husband's aunt's house, but through the years has finally passed enough time that this year it will be at my younger daughter's house.

Time goes very fast.

i use to live in east london in a jewish area it was said to be most populated jewish area outside israel (in europe).every year they put huge hanukkah lights one turned off each day...it is put on a hugh roundabout which is main roads interjection so what ever road you on could see them,big christmas tree next to it....
my son got it into his head wanted celabrate hanukkah not christmas so he pop off to friends house for hanukka getting presents each day...then christmas day little sod expected christmas preasent aswel he did not get both,instead we had the jewish family my son had hanukkah with i bought present and parents came in had drinks with us.Then in later years they were joined by hindu family it was lovely

 

[AdamFencepost]

I had an idea to have NEW traditions this year! You see, it is the 1st Christmas in about 30 years that we haven't had a tree in the living room window. My daughter has drug me off to the tree lot every year since she moved out. This year, she decided that she really didn't have room in her home for a tree and that must have meant, that she didn't need ol' Dad & his pickup. No leaving the lot with 2 trees in the back of the truck this year.

So, I tried to come up with an idea for something to add to Christmas traditions. Had an idea!!! My father grew up in New Mexico and his family made enchiladas! Not for Christmas . . . and they were the simplest things . . . my wife wasn't impressed and we never have them . . . I thought about enchiladas for breakfast! Just hot tomato sauce, chopped sweet onions and grated cheese on tortillas, a fried egg over the top of all of them - I miss Dad.

It is just as well that I didn't pick up the corn tortillas . . . Instead, I spent most of yesterday making lemon meringue and pumpkin pies, as usual. Actually, as usual, those are buttercup squash pies .

Daughter stopped by on her way home last night. "I'm sick!" she says! She's got a cold. Son is already here. He sends me a text - a text! - from his bedroom this morning. "I've got the worst stomach ache! It must have been those nuts I had last night."

We have those nice salmon fillets and the lemon & pumpkin pies. I just hope that the "kids" are up to eating them by this afternoon. I see that dear wife has already brought a wrapped present out of the bedroom closet and set it under the window in the living room. I wonder who that's for . . . .