Do you have any fun holiday traditions?

[HoneyBBQ]

Xmas traditions: When I was really young, we got to open a present on Xmas eve. And we always had advent calendars for the month of December with little pieces of chocolate in them from Germany.

Thanksgiving food: I always make the same cranberry sauce with orange zest and ginger and the same carmelized pearl onions. Everything else is variable.

Other than that.... not much.

But I'd like to start some more fun traditions with my daughter. I know elf on the shelf is popular but it just seems weird to me. Maybe DD would like it when she is older.

I think new PJs on Xmas eve is a fun tradition - you get to open your new PJs and wear them to bed on Xmas so you'll be in cute and new PJs for opening presents on Xmas.

Any other traditions that are fun for families that you'd like to share?

[Chocolate Lover]

We do the PJs on Xmas eve, I used to do mugs with hot chocolate fixings but you only need so many mugs  

My grandfather's birthday was on Christmas Eve and he always got a box of chocolate covered cherries. The cherries made an appearance for a few years after he died, but now the only cherries are the more fancy ones my uncle gives out, not the cheap $2 box you can get anywhere. I guess the idea is the same though.

[alabamagal]

I grew up in S. FL so there was no chimney for Santa to come down.  My parents had a fake cardboard fireplace to hang the stockings on.  My parents would tape (the old super 8 camera) the kids running to look at their stockings.  Most years the fake fireplace would fall down.

[HoneyBBQ]

Nov 26, 2013 16:33:59 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

  Most years the fake fireplace would fall down.

I just snorted. That is hilarious!

[sheilaincali]

Christmas-  On Christmas Eve we go to my BFFs house and do Christmas with them.  We have a big meal and her kids open the presents we got them and DS opens the presents they got him.
That night we always let DS open one present from us.  I don't put out the other presents until they are in bed for the night.  Yes my kid is 15 but I still tease him about Santa coming to see him. 

Christmas morning I have to bully them all into waking up and opening their presents (DH and DS like to sleep in) then we have breakfast and hang out for a while.
Typically my parents have a big Christmas thing after Christmas Day since all my siblings have little kids. 
In the Afternoon we go to a movie and that night we go to our favorite Sushi restaurant and munch of sushi while we watch Christmas Story on the big projector they bring in for the day. 

Thanksgiving - my family is all about the traditional Midwest meal (Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, gravy, cranberry from a can, etc). and Black Friday Shopping.  Anyone awake or out shopping meets up at 7:30am for breakfast at Baker's Square to refuel before the continue on with their shopping.  Friday night is always leftovers at my mom and dad's house too. 

It's not very exciting but it works for us.

[milee]

Long story about how it originated, but as a joke, we always give each other socks and underwear.  We have a lot of fun with giving really funny, wild (prints, not risqué) socks and underwear.  The boys love it and also like joking about how they get socks and underwear (neglecting to mention that they get other stuff as well, implying they're deprived.)  We all laugh about what everybody got and at least the socks get worn immediately.

Oh, and since we do have a fair bit of candy and treats in the stockings, everybody always gets a fun toothbrush in the stocking as well.

And yes, we include guests in this odd tradition, so we have a little explaining to do when they open some of their gifts.

[NancysSummerSip]

We go to a friend's house for Christmas Day dinner, and everyone brings different beers. Nothing normal or common; only strange and weird beers, and we do a beer tasting all afternoon. Small samples, so no one gets really toasted. Unless, of course, someone decides to drink wine on top of all that beer.

One year, some house guests of our hosts brought a bottle of Australian brandy. I had no idea brandy was made in Australia. This stuff was worse than rocket fuel. You could remove barnacles from boats, paint from the house and tar from the road with that stuff.

[kittensaver]

We do the new-jammies-thing for Christmas eve, too. Our family is now in its 4th generation of this tradition. . Great grandmas, grandmas, parents - everyone gets new ones, not just the kids

[milee]

Nov 26, 2013 16:52:05 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

One year, some house guests of our hosts brought a bottle of Australian brandy. I had no idea brandy was made in Australia. This stuff was worse than rocket fuel. You could remove barnacles from boats, paint from the house and tar from the road with that stuff.

We were at an Ethiopian restaurant one night and made friends with the owner. He was a very kind man, liked the fact that we were genuinely enjoying his family's special food and wanted to share more of his customs... so he brought out some of his personal supply of Ethiopian wine. It. Was. Awful.

Like "beyond description" awful. But he was so nice and we didn't want to hurt his feelings, so we smiled and drank it. 

[Deleted]

Our advent is to hang 24 socks on the mantle on December 1. 4 pair each kid, 2 pair husband and I at this point. Each sock gets a little present. Every night someone opens something. 

When the kids were small, we kept track of things that way... This is the sock where we see the nutcracker... That's Aunt S's sock, that's when she'll be here... 

We collect socks all year. Son has a pair of portal and a pair of mustache socks in waiting, daughter soft kitty and some pony... Plus we usually each get one pair of alpaca socks a year...

We also do new Jammie's Christmas Eve.

[Pants]

Nov 26, 2013 16:58:32 GMT -5 milee said:

Nov 26, 2013 16:52:05 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

One year, some house guests of our hosts brought a bottle of Australian brandy. I had no idea brandy was made in Australia. This stuff was worse than rocket fuel. You could remove barnacles from boats, paint from the house and tar from the road with that stuff.

We were at an Ethiopian restaurant one night and made friends with the owner. He was a very kind man, liked the fact that we were genuinely enjoying his family's special food and wanted to share more of his customs... so he brought out some of his personal supply of Ethiopian wine. It. Was. Awful.

Like "beyond description" awful. But he was so nice and we didn't want to hurt his feelings, so we smiled and drank it. 

Was it honey wine? I had one bottle once that was delicious, every other time I've had it it was terrible! Acquired taste!

[cronewitch]

My SIL is big on traditions so for her kids they got a gift Christmas eve that was always home sewn bathroom or PJs. Christmas morning they got to open one gift then had to stop and have homemade cinnamon rolls while mom had coffee. She didn't like gifts before coffee. Anyone who wanted to see the kids open gifts had to get there early so mom worked swing shift and needed to be there. Mom for a few years slept on the couch from midnight until the kids woke. Now the kids are grown but the grandkids are there for the cinnamon rolls. I think it is just DB, SIL, kids and grandkids not the entire family we all show up while the turkey is cooking.

[milee]

Nov 26, 2013 17:01:22 GMT -5 Pants said:

Nov 26, 2013 16:58:32 GMT -5 milee said:

We were at an Ethiopian restaurant one night and made friends with the owner. He was a very kind man, liked the fact that we were genuinely enjoying his family's special food and wanted to share more of his customs... so he brought out some of his personal supply of Ethiopian wine. It. Was. Awful.

Like "beyond description" awful. But he was so nice and we didn't want to hurt his feelings, so we smiled and drank it. 

Was it honey wine? I had one bottle once that was delicious, every other time I've had it it was terrible! Acquired taste!

I don't know. Couldn't read the label - it wasn't in English.  It was the color of a rose wine, though.  Light red.  And evil.  Just wrong. 

[Pants]

As for traditions, we don't have many.

The best tradition I can think of is that my mom and I spend all day (Christmas and Thanksgiving when it's my family's year) drinking champage, cooking and dancing to oldies in the kitchen and yelling at the boys for being lazy. Then the boys have to clean up.

[Deleted]

Mom and dad are both from Flint, Michigan, a stronghold for jello concoctions from what mom says.  Mom went nuts for all the fresh fruits and veggies California grows year round when they moved out to the coast several decades ago, but every Thanksgiving and Christmas mom makes the strangest jello stuff.

One in particular is bizarre, but grows on you.  I think it might be similar to Crone's family recipe.  Lime and lemon jello, with sour cream, cottage cheese, horseradish, pineapple, and walnuts stirred in.  Very strange looking, and has some crazy texture.  But surprisingly addictive after a while.


Little sis does fun stuff; she has a Waldo doll, and she stealthily moves it around my parents house during the holidays.  Sometimes he'll be reclining on a clock, other times he'll be climbing in the Christmas tree, then he'll be on a bookcase catching up on reading, or peeking from behind a couch... she gets creative, and poses him when no one is looking.

The rest of us are pretty vanilla.  I have my Charlie Brown tree with the one ornament I pose, and everyone else just decorates and cooks according the mood at the time.  Some holidays are ones where ALL the gear is put up, others are tamer.

[milee]

Nov 26, 2013 17:04:37 GMT -5 Pants said:

The best tradition I can think of is that my mom and I spend all day (Christmas and Thanksgiving when it's my family's year) drinking champage, cooking and dancing to oldies in the kitchen and yelling at the boys for being lazy. Then the boys have to clean up.

I'm totally adopting this one. 

[Pants]

Nov 26, 2013 17:18:48 GMT -5 milee said:

Nov 26, 2013 17:04:37 GMT -5 Pants said:

The best tradition I can think of is that my mom and I spend all day (Christmas and Thanksgiving when it's my family's year) drinking champage, cooking and dancing to oldies in the kitchen and yelling at the boys for being lazy. Then the boys have to clean up.

I'm totally adopting this one. 

Yeah, I like it.

[whoisjohngalt]

Great thread.  So far suggestions have been completely useless to me as we don't celebrate Christmas.

Common guys, doesn't anyone have any cool Thanksgiving traditions I could "borrow" ??

[HoneyBBQ]

Nov 26, 2013 17:03:56 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

My SIL is big on traditions so for her kids they got a gift Christmas eve that was always home sewn bathroom or PJs. Christmas morning they got to open one gift then had to stop and have homemade cinnamon rolls while mom had coffee. She didn't like gifts before coffee. Anyone who wanted to see the kids open gifts had to get there early so mom worked swing shift and needed to be there. Mom for a few years slept on the couch from midnight until the kids woke. Now the kids are grown but the grandkids are there for the cinnamon rolls. I think it is just DB, SIL, kids and grandkids not the entire family we all show up while the turkey is cooking.

Mmmm cinnamon rolls. That might be a nice tradition to start!

[kittensaver]

Nov 26, 2013 17:48:57 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Great thread.  So far suggestions have been completely useless to me as we don't celebrate Christmas.

Common guys, doesn't anyone have any cool Thanksgiving traditions I could "borrow" ??

You can borrow ours! We go to Disneyland on TG day, and have our turkey dinner on Friday.

[hoops902]

Nov 26, 2013 17:48:57 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Great thread.  So far suggestions have been completely useless to me as we don't celebrate Christmas.

Common guys, doesn't anyone have any cool Thanksgiving traditions I could "borrow" ??

I beat the living daylights out of the nephews, then eat until I can't move.  We turn on football and then I tell them how all their favorite players and teams suck.  Then they are forced to tell me what they want for Christmas while I tell them their selections are lame.  It's pretty special family time!  Feel free to borrow as much of that as you like.

[HoneyBBQ]

Nov 26, 2013 17:48:57 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Great thread.  So far suggestions have been completely useless to me as we don't celebrate Christmas.

Common guys, doesn't anyone have any cool Thanksgiving traditions I could "borrow" ??

My MIL from Detroit always watches the lions.... but I don't really want to wish that on anyone.

[Deleted]

Lena~ A few years ago we gave up the big feast with a zillion people and just the four of us started having chicken and our favorite 'Thanksgiving' sides for lunch and then go to the movies...

Does that help?

[kittensaver]

Nov 26, 2013 18:06:58 GMT -5 oped said:

Lena~ A few years ago we gave up the big feast with a zillion people and just the four of us started having chicken and our favorite 'Thanksgiving' sides for lunch and then go to the movies...

Does that help?

We do this on New Year's Day. We're not big parade and football people, so we usually just go to the movies. Works for us

[movingforward]

We also opened one present on Christmas Eve.  My parents always picked the one we could open.  When I was a little kid I always left Santa a piece of chocolate cake and milk instead of cookies because, per my father's suggestion, Santa is going to get lots of cookies so he would probably enjoy a piece of cake more - LOL! 

On Christmas Day my grandmother made chicken and dumplings for dinner.  Man, I miss those dumplings...

Oh, and on the day after Thanksgiving just my mom and I would go to the movies together.  It was fun - just the two of us...

[Timberwolf]

Well I don't know if this is so cool and I don't think it would work for you Lena with all your little boys (I know you guys, I read pretty much everything you write) but our Thanksgiving tradition is to go all out and use the china and crystal, put on the best tablecloth and wine glasses, candles, flowers or a fun centerpiece.  I use the jellied cranberries from a can then slice them, and use a cookie cutter to make them into fun shapes like hearts or stars (people really get a kick out of this).  I always make the traditional meal (for us the stuffing has to be wild rice stuffing with sausage) and after dinner, which isn't until about 4:00 or so, we drink more wine and play board games, just simple games so no one feels like a loser.   

We only have anywhere from 8 to 12 people though (and all adults), I don't think this would be possible to pull off with a large group.

[Cookies Galore]

We drink asti and play trivial pursuit. We somehow always keep the same teams, me and my mom, my brother and aunt, grandmom and everyone.

[chiver78]

Nov 26, 2013 17:18:48 GMT -5 milee said:

Nov 26, 2013 17:04:37 GMT -5 Pants said:

The best tradition I can think of is that my mom and I spend all day (Christmas and Thanksgiving when it's my family's year) drinking champage, cooking and dancing to oldies in the kitchen and yelling at the boys for being lazy. Then the boys have to clean up.

I'm totally adopting this one. 

although, my sis and I kind of already do that anyway...prosecco and the oldies station on Music Choice thru my tv. my dad and BIL melt into my LR furniture until the meal is done and served. my mom helps with plating/serving and cleanup, since she can't sit still.

growing up, we would do the new pj's on Christmas Eve plus one present opened that night. as my sis and I got older, we moved to small stockings that were hung on the tree instead of the hearth. we drew names for those little stockings instead of having Santa fill 'em all. that was fun, it lasted until Nana passed. I kept hanging the stockings on the tree as long as I put one up for the family, since I hosted, but we didn't pull names anymore.

now, both T-day and Christmas have become foodie days for me. I don't celebrate Christmas past what I do for the family that does, but I do enjoy spending the day with everyone. last year, my sis and BIL were so horrified that I hadn't had a tree in a few years, they bought me a Charlie Brown tree that we put on the tiles in front of my fireplace. I can get behind that one, I Peanuts.

[movingforward]

I don't celebrate Christmas past what I do for the family that does

Same here.  I haven't had a tree in years.  Even though I don't really celebrate Christmas I do love looking at the lights on a tree, but if I had one my cat would just destroy it so I don't bother to put one up. 

[chiver78]

Nov 26, 2013 18:36:23 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I don't celebrate Christmas past what I do for the family that does

Same here.  I haven't had a tree in years.  Even though I don't really celebrate Christmas I do love looking at the lights on a tree, but if I had one my cat would just destroy it so I don't bother to put one up. 

I like checking out lights too - on other people's houses.    I don't ascribe to any of the religious basis of the holiday anymore, so I don't feel the need to spend the time or money to deck out my own house.