Holiday Traditions

I am trying to get some ideas for holiday traditions. I want to start some with my kids, but I can't really think if anything. My sister in law gets all of the kids Christmas jammies, and the night before Christmas they all wear them and make cookies and hot cocoa. Anyone else have any good ideas?

Re: Holiday Traditions

we always make a family gingerbread house,
i buy them matching pjs and take a pic by the tree.
i buy them each an ornament for their stockings for them to hang on the tree every year
we get a family pic done every christmas.

Re: Holiday Traditions

hrmm

Make cookies
Make a new years wish under the Xmas tree (looking up into all the lights)
Watch Rudolph
Sit around and make a Xmas wish for someone else (or the world haha) - this always taught us to be grateful for what we had
Later on, we'd alway do a charity project, where we could get invovled, donate clothes, make dinner, invite a sailor to dinner and hear their stories.. etc.

My family treated Xmas like Thanksgiving more or less.

Re: Holiday Traditions

when I was young we were always bought matching xmas pjs...we made cookies xmas eve and read "twas the nightbefore xmas"...Ill probabky do these things with Aly along with making some new traditions of our own.

Re: Holiday Traditions

Christmas PJ's the night before- they were our first present. I plan on doing the same.
At Christmas Dinner, we go around the table and say what we are most Thankful for during the whole year. Some great family moments have come out of this.
Going to mass on Christmas Eve

Re: Holiday Traditions

Christmas PJ's
Monkey Bread
Elf on a Shelf
Family photo in our PJ's
I order a Wolfermans Basket and that is what we have for breakfast

Re: Holiday Traditions

We choose a needy family off the "Giving Tree" in my sons preschool. The school sets up a Christmas tree every year in the lobby, and there are cards on the tree with the family information and what they need. We then go shopping and my children each get to help picking out the gifts, wrapping them, and then delivering them back to school.

And the obvious cookies, Christmas coloring books, walking the neighborhood to look at lights, going to the EAB tree lighting (or whatever its called now, Citibank?) writing Santa lists.

Message edited 10/16/2008 7:14:56 PM.

Re: Holiday Traditions

My family always gets together (aunts, cousins, siblings, Grams, etc.) to bake holiday cookies. We make the same cookies every year and we get together and bake all different batches throughout the day. My favorite tradition as a child, which I plan on doing with Emerson now too, was staying home ALL day the day after Xmas. My mom, dad, siblings, and I would spend the whole day together putting together toys, playing with all of our new stuff as a family, having a big family breakfast, and just relaxing. The coolest part was on that day my mom let us eat whatever we wanted throughout the day while we play and have fun.........so we munched on homemade cookies for lunch, my mom's traditional homemade fudge, leftovers form Xmas. It was awesome.......I think the day after was sometimes way better than the actual holiday itself. I can't wait to do that with Emerson.

Re: Holiday Traditions

growing up we always got new pajamas the night before
and of course we left Santa some cookies and milk with carrots for the reindeers - he always left us a note in the morning thanking us

Re: Holiday Traditions

My sister and I make cookies and we will include the kids as they get older (Damien helped last Christmas) Which we use to give to Santa and our families.

We always read 'Twas Night before Christmas.

We watch The Grinch as a family.

We always got an ornament from my parents (we still do) I have started the same tradition with my kids. So by the time they have their own families their tree will have a great start.


I love the Gingerbread House idea. I think I may use that one too

Re: Holiday Traditions

Christmas cookies
Elf on a shelf (so cute!!) We put him out in November after Thanksgiving!
I'm going to do matching PJ's and take pic's by the tree.
We all watch rudolph the red nose reindeer and make hot chocolate.


ETA: We always put up out tree the day after Thanksgiving!

Message edited 10/16/2008 8:03:35 PM.

Re: Holiday Traditions

We open christmas pjs on christmas eve. Its the only present we are allowed to open and now I do the same with Megan.

We always order diner on Christmas! No big family meal on Christmas for us, its too crazy here. My mom makes a huge breakfast at like 1 in the afternoon and we order burgers for dinner.

We always go to see the tree in the city, the entire family. It has to be all of us at the same time.

We put baby Jesus in the manger and cookies and milk out for Santa right before going to bed.

All of these will be and are traditions I am starting for Megan. I cannot wait!!

Re: Holiday Traditions

Some traditions I am going to pass on to my kids:

a big pancake breakfast after gifts on Christmas morning

opening up new Christmas PJ's Christmas Eve night

Going to midnight mass

driving around the neighborhood in the weeks before Christmas to see all of the decorations

Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" while drinking Hot Chocolate and snuggling up together in our PJ's on the couch

going to see the Radio City Christmas show or the Nutcracker

Joey will be 7 months old this Christmas, and this next baby is due in June, so it will be another couple of Christmas's before I can start these, but I can't wait!!
ETA: one tradition we are starting this year- going to see the tree in Rockefeller Center- it's a tradition DH and I started the first Christmas we were dating

Message edited 10/16/2008 8:49:55 PM.

Re: Holiday Traditions

DH's and I X-mas tradition which we will pass on to our children is X-mas night after all the hoopla is done and we're stuffed with food and all the presents have been opened, we crawl in to bed and cuddle and watch some x-mas type movie in bed together.

Re: Holiday Traditions

What's elf on a shelf? Sorry to just jump in on this conversation! I never heard of it. TIA!

Re: Holiday Traditions

awwww, im so excited for xmas this year ;)

we do...

*our tree the weekend of thanksgiving

*a trip to rockerfeller center with dinner at MARS 2112 (i usually do this with DS alone, its been OUR thing for years)

*midnight Mass

*cookies for santa and oatmeal on the lawn for the reindeer

Re: Holiday Traditions

Christmas is a huge deal for us.

We decorate our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. And we talk about all of the ornaments - a good many of them are handmade by Robbie and Noah so they like to try to remember when they made them, etc.

We also have the 'annual' Christmas ornament - I but them each one ornament a year that kind of reflects what they are into currently. They LOVE unpacking and talking about those. When they leave our house, I will pack up all of their own ornaments so they have something to put on their own tree if they want.

We make paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling around the house.

We set up the nativity on December 1st.

On Christmas Eve one child gets to put Jesus in the manger in the nativity.

We keep and Advent calendar - but in addition to a small gift for them, each day contains a 'gift for Jesus' - in the form of a 'good deed' that they must do that day for a 'neighbor' or family member. Little stuff like "give a compliment to someone you don't usually talk to or someone you are angry with" - or - "offer to share something you really love with someone else"..

We go Christmas shopping for food and other items for a needy family together.

Each night we read different variations of the Christmas story - ending with the Gospel According to St. Luke on Christmas Eve Morning. We also read a little story about holiday traditions for other cultures - one per night.

My sister has a Christmas Eve party that includes all of our extended family (really lifelong friends more than actual relatives). We drink and make merry and exchange gifts with my family and friends.

We give them their new Christmas PJ's at my sister's party.

We spread reindeer food on the lawn and leave one healthy snack and one bad snack for Santa. Plus cocoa.

"Santa" leaves a letter for them on Christmas morning - praising their good behavior and letting them know that he has seen some of their less than stellar moments and how he would appreciate if they worked on those things.

Each child picks one of their Santa toys as a gift from Jesus to give to a child in need.

Each child picks one of their new toys and lets his brother play with it first.

We halt all toy playing to clean up all wrappings, ribbons and bows - and have a breakfast as a family.

THEN we go to Grandmas house for an early dinner/lunch and to exchange gifts.

Then we are off to my sister's house for a quick visit.

Message edited 10/17/2008 6:40:51 AM.

Re: Holiday Traditions

We do an advent calendar starting in the beginning of December.

When I was a kid and up to this day, we did sneaky stocking. We had a mini stocking (about 3 inches) that my mom/dad would put $ in and hide it somewhere on the tree and the first person to find it got the $. It started with a dollar when we were little---now we are big people and it's up to $50. The rules are that no-one can start looking at the tree on Christmas morning until all participating parties are present---for us that was easy---it's only my brother and I (we haven't let our spouses participate ).

Message edited 10/17/2008 6:50:25 AM.

Re: Holiday Traditions

Posted by 5ofClubs

Christmas PJ's
Monkey Bread
Elf on a Shelf
Family photo in our PJ's
I order a Wolfermans Basket and that is what we have for breakfast

Re: Holiday Traditions

Elf on a Shelf

Re: Holiday Traditions

Buying Noah new Christmas Pj's every year.
Also a small tree for his room with a new ornament every year.

I love the Elf of a shelf idea for when he gets older.

I would like to do a family sleep on the floor night the night we put up the Christmas tree.

I am really into making traditions and making the holiday season more about those family moments then just about gifts KWIM?

Re: Holiday Traditions

Re: Holiday Traditions

Posted by Dee

Posted by 5ofClubs

Christmas PJ's
Monkey Bread
Elf on a Shelf
Family photo in our PJ's
I order a Wolfermans Basket and that is what we have for breakfast

what is monkey bread and elf on a shelf?

Re: Holiday Traditions

Posted by 5ofClubs

Posted by Dee

Posted by 5ofClubs

Christmas PJ's
Monkey Bread
Elf on a Shelf
Family photo in our PJ's
I order a Wolfermans Basket and that is what we have for breakfast

what is monkey bread and elf on a shelf?

Monkey Bread

4 cans Pillsbury biscuits
cinnamon
sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Make a cinnamon and sugar mixture to taste. (I usually use approx. 1/2 cup cinnamon and 1 cup flour) Open and cut each biscuit into 4's.
Shake biscuit pieces in cinnamon/sugar mixture in a ziplock bag until evenly coated. Place evenly around greased bundt pan.

In a sauce pan, melt butter, brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon until smooth and creamy. Pour over biscuits.

Place in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until cake is slightly crunchy on top.

Remove from oven. Place a plate on top of bundt pan (upside down) and flip so that cake falls out onto plate.

Serve warm.

Re: Holiday Traditions

We do the new PJs for Christmas, but we do it for the whole family (so, DH, me and DD this year) and they coordinate.

Big dinner and then midnight mass on Christmas eve

Reading the night before Christmas on Christmas Eve

Reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Night

We used to visit Rockefeller Center during the season, however since we moved out of state, that will be harder. We may go over Thanksgiving when we are visiting, but I don't think it will be decked out then.