Christmas Traditions

lol well when I was younger we would eat dinner on Christmas Eve and then go to the church, when we'd come back we'd go to bed for like half an hour and at midnight my parents woke us up to show us what Santa had left under the tree lol.

Then when we grew up we started opening presents at 7 on Christmas Eve XD lol and on Christmas day we spend lunch time and the whole afternoon at my dad's sister's place and in the evening we go to my mother's brother's place :D

And usually on the 26th or 27th my godmother comes over or we go to her place, we switch every year. This year she's the one coming.

you opened presents on christmas eve? lucky lol

We have a christmas eve dinner with my grandparents (usually steak!).
On christmas morning we get up between 6.30 and 7.00 and when I was younger I used to go and see if father christmas had left presents under the tree in the living room.
We open our tree presents and then have a fry u p breakfast before we have family come around who generally stay for dinner

My family tradition always started with Christmas Eve mass at my church after the Christmas concert. The next day we would have a HUGE family dinner at my grandma's with everyone in my family and I mean huge!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?&p=999&uid=2924419&gid=5906074&imgid=168118129
that's christmas LAST year LoL

Then we would have all the kids line up in front of the christmas tree and count the dots on the ceiling. LoL to give them something to do while the adults continued eatting. Then we would grab a guy and force him to dress up as Santa, either a bf or cousin, or uncle. Last year was my cousin. (pictures below) then we'd open the presents one person at a time so that we could take a picture of everyone with Santa. Then we'd rip into the presents. Afterwards we would all sit around and play games or gamble *cough cough* I always LOSE! *sigh* Great memory of Holidays for me!

http://pic14.picturetrail.com/VOL522/2924419/5906074/168118632.jpg

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?&p=999&uid=2924419&gid=5906074&imgid=168118644 :D

That's a BIG HUGE family!! After searching I finally found you in that photo! lol

LoL yeah and I think there are like 4 people missing? Plus two of my aunts gave birth afterwards so we're missing 2 more cousins lol :D is it a wonder I want 5 kids?

Well usually we all go to bed extra early. Then at about 3:30 am my brother sister and I all sneak down stairs to look at all teh presents and count them XD

Then we wake everyone in my house up at 6:00 am to open presents. Since my aunt sarah came into teh family we have to guess them before we open them XD If we get them right then we get candy XD

Then we all go our seperate ways and watch t.v. or get online untill about 3 pm when get go and sit down to eat dinner and drink sparkling grape juice XD

On Christmas Eve, before we go to bed, we'll put our Christmas Sacks out in the living room. And, even though we're all too old now to believe in Father Christmas, our Mum still makes us leave out a little glass of Brandy and a carrot for 'Rudolph'

We get up at around 8-9am, and go into the living room to open our presents. Once we've opened our presents, we have our breakfast and listen to any new CD's/look at our presents/tidy up the wrapping paper (when we were little it used to be play with our presents).

At around 1pm we start setting the table ready for Christmas lunch, which is usually turkey, mini sausages wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes, sprouts, cabbage, peas, broccoli, stuffing, carrots and gravy. For pudding there'll be chocolate gateaux or Christmas Pudding, and sometime during the course of the meal, we'll have pulled our Christmas crackers.

After lunch, we go to our Nan and Grandad's house, and open some more presents from more presents from everyone else, then have a buffet style tea, which usually consists of chicken drummers, dips, breadsticks, ham, chicken nuggets, sausages, bread, babybel, pineapple, boiled eggs, jacket potatoes, quiche, chiplets, and then for pudding, more chocolate gateuax, trifle, cakes etc. (OK, this sounds really greedy, but there's usually quite a few people at my nan's house!)

After that we stay at our nan's house for a while, and then go back home and watch whatever's on TV (this year Dr Who! Woo!), there's usually a Coronation Street special, etc, etc.

Elly, got anything more to add?

Yeah my mom still makes us leave out milk and cookies for Santa Claus and we make a speical mix for the raindeeer too XD

hmm...it seems like alot of food we have there, butit's all true...

*thinks*

hm...Well before xmas we usually put our decorations up quite late. This year we should put them up the first saturday of dfecember...I think thats the 2nd...

*squee* Now I really can't wait for Christmas! 1 month and 4 days left!!!

Well I make my mum put up the decorations really really early so that they are up for my birthday(11th dec) and then after my birthday i get really excited and start to jump about and stuff we do the same thing every year but I love it
On xmas morning i wake up at ermmm around 3:30am and then have to wait until about 6am because my says I can't open my prezzie without everyone and she wont wake everyone up and then about 6:30 i take all my prezzie into my mums room and open then with her and the i get dressed and do my hair and what not and then go to my dad's mum and open prezzie and then to my mums mum for xmas dinner because my mum can't cook xmas dinner lol and then we open even more prezzie's and all of the men all go down to the pub for a drink and i have to stay and look after all the little kids while my mums and aunts go and fight over who's prezzie is the best and then about 7pm we go back home get changed again and then go to my aunts for a big party wooooooooooooo but this year :( my mum has to work xmas morning *sobs* so i can't open my prezzie until like 11am!!!!

Well, we always go to Church on Christmas Eve... then we go home and go to sleep

At about 5:30, we wake up and go downstairs and take a loook at the presents. We grab our stockings and take them back up to our rooms and take out the goodies. After about an hour or so of that, we go back downstairs and wait for our parents to wake up because they take forever to get coffee and breakfast and such and we have to wait for them. After that, we take a few hours to open our presents, and then we usually go to my grandma's house for the rest of the day. We have dinner and watch television with my aunt and her family and my grandparents. After that, we go home and go to sleep. *nods* looks lik I got everything

The only time when this has not happened was last year... we went to Arizona instead

the day after thanksgiving we sut up the tree and the decorations.

lol well we bake TONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS of cookies!!!!

and we set up the tree and place our presents...

oh and on christmas eve we sit by the fireplace and dad reads the christmas story from the bible, and then we eat cookies round the fireplace...and christmas morning we wake our parents up really early and open presents as if we where two year olds :D

For christmas day We invite the whole family round and we have christmas at our house cause we have a pool. Christmas day is always boiling hot in Australia.

Every Christmas eve my family has a cookie swap. All the people in the family, (which is very large) each make a kind of cookie. We all go to My Aunt Jan's house in the evening. We set all the cookies that everyone baked in plates on the table. We bring tins with us and take one of each cookie and put it in our tins! So we go with one kind of cookie and leave with about 20 kinds. We also talk and play games while we are there. It is a lot of fun and it's great to have all those cookies!!!

We have advent calendars filled with chocolate as our countdowns to christmas

On christmas eve we still get sent up to bed relativly early so we dont see the presents being put under the tree. Generally at some point my mum brings our stockings filled with presents in the room

We wake up on christmas day about 6.30 and open our stockings then wake our parents up at about 7.30 with a cup of tea or something.

We then go downstairs and we cant open any presents until we have breakfast and then onto present opening!

Yes, I loove chocolate Advent calendars with a passion! I have two this year... I almost got one for Jynx, but decided not to. He can have catnip instead.

My family has never celebrated Christmas much, but this year I'm going to have a big Yule party on the 21st and invite all my friends. Normally we wouldn't do anything until Boxing Day at the latest, but I want to be different for once

::purr::

PS. Your siggy's real cool, Faerie Wings. Where'd you get it?

Well though my mom doesn't really get into the christmas spirit i do and i like to share it with everyone...usually the first week of december i traditionally get on people's nerves cuz i'm too cheery!! Hahaha but well i have no normal tradition other than decorating and getting presents :D

Well, i have to spend Christmas and New Year in NYC, with my family... they hate me btw :D Anyway, i think it starts with everyone rushing around to find their clothes and other stuff to wear for the evening. Then we go out and eat. Yeah, eat with the family... schweet... NOT!!! It's horrible lol Anyway, then we sort of spend the evening at my grandma's house/prison (as i like to call it) and just.... talk. I get tortured by my cousins. Mweeeeh... we usually sneak out at some point :D And to respect the Finnish traditions, we open the presents at the evening of 24th ^^ Just so you know :D After that, the other guests arrive. Then i have to behave.... somewhat good. Ugh. Dancing with some random guys that are like 20-23.... ughugh. I hate Americans ^^ Well, just my family lol...

The Finnish traditions, which i absolutely love, is a lot more casual and i looooove it... ^^ The morning is quite normal, we just sit with mom and bro and look at different movies, talk (yes, we TALK, no screaming) and eat good food. Then we go to my other grandma (the slightly nicer one) and she stuffs me with all the food she has, which is just frightening :D After that, we go with the family to the graves and put out some candles on the graves... and that's when i spend my usual 30 minutes and talk with Joel... (R.I.P Joel <3) I like to talk to him ^^ When we come home with mom, we open the presents. Dad usually joins us when we open the presents... it's usually the whole family at that moment. Like me, my bro, mom and dad together... it's kinda nice. ANYWAY!!!! Then we eat more Christmas food :D And mom gets drunk and dad has to carry her up.... happens every year. Hmm. My bro usually falls asleep under the tree and i'm.... giggly :D

I have never written this much about some stupid traditions :D

Christmas has never been the same since the christmas elf has lived with me lol
I do all I can to stop her trying to find the presents before Christmas - I even hid hers in the attic one year as I know she is too claustophobic (and spider scared) of going up there lol

We always pick out our ornaments the day we put up our tree I have 8counts on fingers* almost 20 so its a good start to my own tree like in 10 years from now...

WE always have a cup egg nog every night so 1 on the first day of December, 2 on the second ect ect. Until 24 on Christmas eve! Yay! If you saw me last year, I was almost drunk.. hehehe..