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Holiday Traditions from THPers

JB

JB

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What are some of yours and your families holiday traditions? GG and I do the same thing most years and we want to hear about yours.
 
Christmas Eve is usually hosted at my house
 
We do Christmas Eve with my parents and longtime family friends - order a bunch of take out Italian, and just catch up since we don't all get together as often as we probably should. We've been doing this for years.

The last few years since we lost my brother in law (Christmas was always one of the times we'd get to see him for an extended period of time), we've been doing a low-key get together with my wife's family and a few friends of ours. We order a ton of Chinese food, drink wine, and play card and board games. It's a fun day, especially watching the kids open their presents.
 
Wife and I celebrate Xmas and chanukah for the kids. So we usually host one night of chanukah and go to my wife's brothers house for Xmas either the night before or Xmas day.... usually just enjoy time with the kids..

This year my sister in law is hosting chanukah and we are doing Xmas for the kids at my place... either way we just try to spend with family

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Christmas Eve is our Misfit Toys / A Christmas Story tradition. We invite almost anyone we know who doesn't have family or a place to go to come to service and carols at church with us then to be our guest for Chinese food. We come home and listen to a recorded version of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas from my step mom then put the kids to sleep. (This started when we didn't have any family to be with and decided we could sit around feeling sorry for ourselves or start a new tradition ourselves)
 
We get the heck outta town usually. Either to Armstrong to stay with the in-laws or to Mexico.

Wheels up in 16 hours!
 
When we were kids, our family would go to Christmas Eve Mass and our parents would let us open one present when we got home. That progressed to opening one before Mass and one when we got home (and the rest on Christmas). A couple years of that, and we would still open one before Mass and them all after Mass! But we always had to wait for stockings until Christmas morning.
 
Christmas Eve with our extended family, usually just drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Christmas morning with the kids tearing into the gifts.
 
Standing rib roast for dinner and all the fixings.
 
Can't think of much.

There's a Santa Claus ornament in our tree that was originally in my very first tree in 1967 ( was only 2 months old). Next year will be his 50th Christmas spent at the top of the tree right under the star.

We eat ham instead of turkey.

Wife cooks up a few dozen cookies on Christmas Eve eve and hides them until Christmas Eve after dinner. Every year. I've never been able to find them early.

All our families are in Indiana so we get to just enjoy the time really quietly. We used to go home but it was a nightmare seeing 4 to 6 different houses that wanted you to come over. :beat-up:
 
My mother has hosted our family Christmas Eve party for as long as I can remember, complete with an appearance by Santa. I have no idea how it started but my uncle arranges for him to arrive on a fire truck with full lights and sirens and then leaves in a police cruiser.


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We don't do too much. We go to 4:30 mass on Christmas Eve then eat dinner and play board games until my youngest goes to bed and we all read The Night Before Christmas together.

Christmas morning we open our gifts then head to my brother's house for 9:30 brunch, then we go to my in-laws for lunch and more gifts there. The past 18 years we always went to my wife's aunt's house for dinner but she passed earlier this year, so no idea what we're doing this year.
 
Weekend at the mother in law's and time with my mother.
 
Bowl of popcorn, little girl cuddling with her mom, and us all watching Home Alone
 
We always have stroganoff for dinner on Christmas eve. When the kids where little they always got to open 1 present on Christmas eve, just so happened it was always pajamas.
 
We used to do a bunch of things year to year, nothing that really stuck.

However as our first Christmas as a married couple, we wanted to start some traditions that we'll do going forward.

1) Christmas lights, we fill a thermos with hot chocolate and drive around a different town/neighborhood and check out all of the Christmas lights and decorations

2) Watch 4 Christmas movies, one each weekend leading up to Christmas with the 4 movie on Christmas eve

3) Decorate the tree together

4) Build a gingerbread house.
 
When I was younger we celebrated my dads side of the family on xmas eve. Then drove the next morning to my moms side of the family. Now I work xmas eve and day. Thank you double time.
 
We always take an evening and start out by going to the little old timey diner downtown and have dinner and milkshakes. Then we load up and cruise around looking at Christmas lights.

Ready the only other one we do is take a day during the weekend to sit around and watch Christmas movies. It's usually How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf and Charlie Brown Christmas.
 
Prior to my parents both passing in the past few years, Christmas was always at their house in Niceville, FL. Since that is no longer an option, unfortunately, we statred a new tradition last year where my wife, daughter and I go out and have a nice Christmas Eve dinner then come home and remember and pay our respects to our loved ones that are no longer with us. Then we will all open one present then make some popcorn and watch a Christmas movie together. Nothing elaborate, but we just enjoy out tight knit little family and share some laughs, stories and sorrow.
 
We watch Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve.
 
Christmas shopping on Christmas eve....LOL
 
We do a family gathering at one of my sisters on Christmas day. Follow that up with everyone gathering at my farm on New Years eve to celebrate the New Year coming in. Funny thing is most of us fall asleep about 10:00 waiting for the ball to drop in NYC. Ha ha, d___n old age!
 
All years in the past the Mrs. and I have had to manage making it to 6 Christmas's between grandparents,parents, and other family parties so it used to get pretty crazy. This year is our first year with the little one, so we were able to spread the parties out a lot more.

So Christmas Eve it is Grandma 1 at 11am and Grandma 2 at 5pm. Christmas Day we are spending at home together with the baby and opening gifts here. While enjoying both sides of our direct family coming over for a dinner that I am throwing together. I'm pretty excited this year, and truthfully for many years I have not really been a big holiday person.


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Elf on the shelf for the kids. Egg nog for me the week leading up to Christmas. (Cut back to a pint for the season)
 
No traditions to speak of just lots of time with friends and family.
 
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