Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

If so, share!

For us, we celebrate Christmas, so every year we head to Port Jeff to that Christmas store and each of us pick out an ornament that represents our year.

I also try to buy a new St. Nicholas Village thing each year (I let my oldest pick it out) and add it to the town I am slowly building. This year we got the Donut Shoppe.

What about you?

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

DH's siblings and cousins and I do a Secret Santa/Grab Bag type present game on X-mas eve so we don't have to but presents for everyone.

It's turned into a great and fun tradition

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We decorate Gingerbread cookies. DOZENS of them

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

DH and I used to have a couple when we first started dating. We would go to the Jones Beach drive thru light show and to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We would go to the Fortunoff's Christmas store every year. Since neither the lights show or Fortunoff's exist anymore, we need some newer traditions.

One that has been special to us the last couple of years has been cutting down our Christmas tree in Manorville with my parents and going out to breakfast afterwards.

Now that we have DS, hopefully we'll have more traditions to come!

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

DH and I don't really have any traditions except for putting up our tree. My mother and I however spend an entire weekend baking every year.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

it's hard without a house

my boyfriend and i started quite a few traditions last year that we hope to continue every year though

a day baking/decorating cookies with my fam
a day doing gingerbread houses with his fam
we literally spend the whole month watching xmas movies
we saved a piece of the bottom of our tree and made an ornament out of it
we spend a day in the city seeing the rockettes, the store windows, the tree, st. patricks, and then go to a nice dinner
i play the nutcracker each year in RVC

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We do a lot, now that I think about it.

-Old Bethpage Village Restoration Christmas
-My friends and I go to our high school's Christmas show, drive around and look at Christmas lights, and watch a Christmas movie together
-DH & I go to Lancaster for the Kitchen Kettle Village Christmas, one of the religious Christmas shows, Kozier's Christmas Village, and the Christmas Museum
-My parents have a Christmas tree decorating party, and DH and I will be having one this year too.
-Transiberian Orchestra concert
-I'd like to start some sort of Christmas cookie baking party.

On the actual holiday...
-Christmas Eve we go to Mass and then to my Uncle's in law's Christmas party and then my Mom's cousins huge Christmas party where they do a Nativity show, play music, and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus
-On Christmas morning, my immediate family does gifts and breakfast at my parents. We host Christmas day, where we read a poem about the true meaning of Christmas and the story of Jesus' birth in Luke's Gospel.
-This year, we're starting the "Christmas pickle" tradition. Depending on how many kids are coming, we might look into having a Santa Claus come.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

Last year we took DD to Macys 34th street and DH agreed we should do it this year again.

I think that may become a tradition.


Might need a few more

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We've done this since we started dating since i'm jewish and he's catholic, we exchange gifts on new year's eve.

It's fun to look forward to it after christmas and chanukah are over, plus we avoid holiday shopping madness.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

i have 3 sisters so every year my mother buys us all matching PJ's to wear xmas eve, including her, and pretty much spend xmas morning matching..

My hubby now gets PJ bottoms, which usually are the same type as my dad.... finally my dad has someone else!

oh yea, of course go into the city and see the tree and all that.. how can i forget that.. thats my fav! :)

Message edited 11/10/2011 7:50:26 AM.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We don't have any yearly traditions,
but I do love to do the cookie baking and we have both enjoyed going into NYC together to look at the lights and walk around and browse all of the department store windows.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

Last year we went way out on LI and picked out our Christmas tree. It was the first year we had a real tree. I'd like to do that every year.

We always have Christmas eve with my ILs and eat 7 types of fish (Italian thing)

Not too many traditions, hoping to start more over the years.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

Since my mom is from germany, we have continued St. Nick's Night. On december 5, the kids leave their holiday list out and santa comes to get it and leaves a small gift.

I also make potato pancakes. My mom always made them, but I use it now to connect my kids to their Jewish heritage, since their great-grandfather had to go into hiding during WWII and their grandfather fought with la Resistance.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We do the Elf on a Shelf
We always put out tree up the day after Thanksgiving.
We watch The Polar Express before the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve.
I always buy the kids a special pair of Christmas PJ's that we give them on Christmas Eve.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

No, but I'm hoping to start some.

DH is so lazy and ambivalent about everything so It'll probably just be me and the kids.

So far I bought Christopher Pop-In-Kins and a huge advent calendar to do with DD1.

I usually decorate the tree by myself every year, but this year DD1 should be able to help a little bit (She'll be 20 months)

I want to drive around and look at lights and/or go to the newsday light show with her.

I have a whole list of holiday specials that I want to DVR and watch with her.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We have a few that the kids love...

1) Day after Thanksgiving, "Mr. Elf" (Elf on the Shelf) comes out to watch and make sure the boys are behaving since he reports back to Santa every night through Christmas Eve.

2) On Christmas Eve we go out for dinner.

3) Also on Christmas Eve the kids open 2 gifts each. They each get a new ornament that represents what they like each year and a new pair of Christmas PJ's.

4) And before bed on Christmas Eve we also play Christmas Bingo. When the boys win they get a prize. (I buy several $1 toys)

5) Bake cookies for Santa

6) Watch Christmas movies/shows

7) Look at lights

8) And one last tradition I do by myself. When the kids go to bed on Xmas Eve is when I wrap the gifts. I wrap gifts to Christmas music while drinking a couple of beers!

Message edited 11/10/2011 10:46:31 AM.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

My moms side of the family celebrates on Christmas Eve. We have since before I was born. We used to have it out our house every year. But now we rotate with my moms siblings... She has 11 so its a nice break between lol.

We do a Chinese Grab Bag every year. Its so much fun. Some of the gifts have been passed back and forth to each other for about 15 years now.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

Every year for Christmas, my parents would buy my sister and I new Christmas pajamas and we would open them on Christmas Eve and wear them that night.

And...

I'm 30.

Married.

My sister is 24.

Pregnant.

And we still get Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve to open!!!!!!!!

And we love it!!!!!

And DH gets them too!!!!

And since he never celebrated Christmas til we got together, he loves it even more than my sister and I do!!!!

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

DH and I always go into the city, eat cupcakes from Crumbs, walk around looking at the windows and the tree in Rockefeller Center. For 7 yrs we have eaten at the same restaurant with the same waiter. But last year was the last b/c the restaurant closed after the new year. I actually cried and hugged our waiter when he told us.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

My husband and I decorate our xmas tree on Black Friday, we go and pick out a family ornament, and then the boys pick one each. We decorate the tree while listening to christmas music and talking about his mother who passed a few years back. We have the elf on the shelf so his book in addition to the Night Before Christmas and The Grinch who stole christmas get read every night! My husband and I spend Christmas Eve wrapping gifts and putting them under the tree while laughing and listening to music. This year I will be taking the boys into the city with DH to see the tree, and the windows, we'll get hot chocolate and go to macys to see santa, and end with a slice of pizza and a cupcake from crumbs. I am so looking forward to xmas now that I own a home and can do what I like when I want!

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We put up the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Get a new family ornament each year.

Get a new ornament for DS each year, representing something he did or liked that year.

Bought Christopher Popinkins to start this year - from Black Friday.

Advent Calendar starting December 1st.

We have our families over for Christmas Eve for the big dinner, open presents, and have birthday cake for me

Christmas day we spend at home opening DS' presents, listening to Christmas music and watching christmas movies, just chill out.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

C&P from last year.. or whenever:

But I can tell you that we LOOOOVE Christmas and have many traditions.

The boys have been handmaking ornaments forever. I keep them all. I hang them all. They get such a kick out of seeing what they've done in the past and how far they have come in their artistic endeavors. We also buy each boy one ornament per year. We talk about them as we unpack.. like I have a Christmas puppy and kitty ornament and I tell Noah that we bought it because he used to call the cat "Doggie" over and over. And I'd say "No.. kitty!" and then when I got tired I'd say "Okay - fine.. doggie" and he'd immediately say "KITTY!" and laugh and laugh. Every ornament for each year holds a memory. When they grow up and move out.. they can take the ornaments with them to their new tree.

We have an Advent Calendar that helps count down. But in order to get the treat for the day - they must also give a 'gift' to Jesus. Usually that means a little good deed - like complimenting someone or offering to help when you aren't asked. Also the advent calendar not only has a treat.. it contains a verse related to the miracle of Christ's birth.

We set up the Nativity early in the month - and on Christmas Eve we read the Gospel according to St. Luke and one of the boys gets to put Baby Jesus in the manger.

We do our annual Angel Tree shopping. We pick a needy family and buy food and gifts together for them. On Christmas Morning they pick one of their new gifts to give to a child in need. This year we are out of work.. so I think we may just do 2 kids instead of a family. I don't know.. They also have to choose one of their gifts and let their brother play with it FIRST.

They make Reindeer food (Oatmeal and glitter) and leave it outside for the reindeer with a couple of carrots. They also leave a healthy snack and a bad snack for santa with his cocoa. (We make sure that the WHOLE healthy snack is gone.. and only a nibble of the 'bad' snack).

We have a Christmas Eve Party at my house (used to be at my sisters' and before that at my mom's) every year. They get their gift from us there (the ornament and their Christmas PJ's). They also get gifts from family friends and my sisters. They wear new Christmas PJ's to bed.

I remembered something else we do. Santa writes a letter to the boys - like.. a year in review thing. We tell them what they did that was fabulous and give them some tips as to what they may want to work on in the coming year.

When they stop believing in Santa (Robbie just stopped) - we will start writing letters to them from us instead. Or .. maybe we will keep it "Santa" just for shits and giggles.

I'm sure now that the 'cat is out of the bag' with Robbie, we will change a few things. But most things will stay!

OH.. also we do the Miracle On Main Street downtown (Sayville) every year. The kids love it and so do I. We wander through and say hi to neighbors and friends. We buy some snacks and watch the dancers and singers and stop for snippets of the holiday movies they have playing in the street. We also pet the reindeer and if the line isn't too long they go and talk to Santa (who seriously looks like the real deal).

Message edited 11/10/2011 2:28:10 PM.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

We decorate the day after Thanksgiving.

Instead of a Christmas village I add to my nativity every year and then we talk about the Christmas Story. Baby Jesus doesn't go into the nativity until Christmas Eve night, and the kids check for him in the morning.

We get an ornament for the family from our vacation that year and I get the kids each one related to something they did that year too.

We don't have a fireplace so we hang a Santa's key ornament off our back doorknob.

We make reindeer food from oatmeal and sparkling sugar - glitter can make wildlife that eat it sick. We give it out to kids in our family to sprinkle at their house too.

Lots of baking, and most years my mom or I make summer sausage. So good!

My mom gets the kids a traditional German advent calendar each year to share. One gets the odd days, one gets the evens. I hang the ones from previous years on the kitchen cabinets, they love looking at all of them.


This year I'm starting this
book advent countdown I saw on Pinterest. Who ever didn't get to open a door on the advent calendar will pick a wrapped book out of a basket and we'll read that one, then leave them all under the tree for them to re-read as they like.

I host Christmas Eve every year for my mom's side of the family. Instead of a big sit down meal we have tons of everyone's favorite appetizers and desserts. It started when we were at a wedding and talking about how cocktail hour is the best food at a wedding and I decided to surprise them that year at Christmas Eve, and it stuck.

We donate to charity, we've already bought our gifts for Winter Wishes and I'm waiting for info on our family from Soldier's Angels. We've picked up for Toys for Tots and John Theissen's toy drive. At other times during the year we donate stuff to troops through Any Soldier. This year my kids both won TD Bank gift cards and asked if they could buy treats to send to soldier dogs for Christmas.

Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

Posted by CouponKT

We decorate Gingerbread cookies. DOZENS of them

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Re: Do you have any cute holiday traditions?

-Bake cookies
-We have breakfast for dinner the night we put up our tree