Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Is there anything you did each year growing up, or do now with your hubbies/kiddies/families etc??

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

I've spent Christmas Eve in the same house for my whole life, this with be #40, with my father's family. When I was young, it was my Grandma's house and I spent alot of time there, not just at the holidays, it was always special to me. When she died, my Aunt bought the house and so she continued my Grandma's Christmas Eve tradition. We all have so much fun together, it's my favorite part of the holidays.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

as a German Tradition the Christmas tree is not decorated until Christmas eve..My grandmother used to decorate the tree and no one was allowed to see it until after Christmas eve dinner. My mom and I have revised the tradition but not by much..the tree is not decorated until the day of Christmas Eve and we do it togheter...the only thing we do ahead of time is the lights b/c we always fight while doing it so we try to get that out of the way. Its a nice tradition something I hold very close to my heart and look forward to the most out of everything!

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Christmas Eve with my biological fathers family (I am estranged from my bio father)... eating fried shrimp

I only missed it ONCE in my life when I went to Sicily for Christmas 2004

the other time I almost missed it...I was a little girl...my grandfather came to my house dressed as Santa so he could see us and bring us our gifts.

the year I went to Sicily for Christmas would have been the last Christmas I spent with him...b/c he died before the next one.

I kick myself often for that...but he DID let me take him out to dinner when I got back...which was the first and ONLY time he ever let me pay.

so, I hope to continue to see my grandma and family...and continue to eat fried shrimp.

Christmas is hands down the HARDEST holiday for my family b/c we miss my grandfather so much...this post is starting to make me cry actually

enough of that.

Merry Christmas...it's the traditions that keep our loved ones with us!

Message edited 12/18/2008 11:59:42 AM.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

On Christmas Eve my mother and father host an "Open House" party and everyone is invited to stop by. The musicians bring their instruments and there's a lot of drunk singing, bagpipes, fiddles, etc. It's more like a "Mad House." The neighbors must love us! Actually, they're all invited too!

I cannot imagine Christmas without that party.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

My family was never big on traditions. Lighting the menorah and latkes were the main ones.

DH's family has Christmas eve with everyone together, and it is an Italian tradition to serve 7 different kinds of fish. Yum! We get together and have dinner, and then relax, then eat more, then relax, then dessert, then presents. It's always so much fun.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Message edited 6/4/2012 5:15:11 PM.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

We go to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church right before midnight. It's the most moving and beautiful service and I look foward to going every year.....

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Christmas eve is all about the fish and shrimp and stuff at my mom's house--always has been. As any Hispanics at there know--we treat Christmas Eve very special---"Noche Buena"---and we have plenty of food to feed 20 people! My siblings who are in town come--their kids--DH and I...sometimes I bring my MIL over as well. Since usually my one sister spends Christmas day at her mom's house in NC -- we open her gifts that she gave us and are being given to her that nite.

Bake cookies with my niece for Santa!

On Christmas day--the usual big breakfast after we tear open the gifts...then we just kind of chill. My mom always makes a lasagna on Christmas day (funny that a Puerto Rican makes lasagna, but she makes it soooo good.) And on Christmas day its kind of a "whoever drops by--drops by--otherwise once the morning is over--we all do our own thing"

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Christmas Eve is with my Dad's family. He is one of 8 children and I have 30 first cousins - everyone goes to my Aunt's house. My Dad was born in Italy so we have huge Christmas Eve dinner - tons of fish - not one piece of meat to be found! There are 75 people and it is a sit down dinner!!! My Aunt actually bought Christmas china to serve 75. Everyone uses the bathroom before they sit, b/c once you find your seat, you are boxed in for the night! For that night, it is old school - during the changing of the courses all the men sit and talk and drink and all the women are clearing the table and serving, even though the women are doctors, lawyers, scientists, professors. We actually have a priest come and say mass - a full mass- in the living room before dinner starts so noone has to leave early to go to midnight mass. After dinner and before the dessert all of the kids sit around the Christmas tree and sing carols and then someone dresses up as Santa and distributes gifts to the kids. Yes - you buy gifts for all of the kids, so my mom used to buy 27 gifts. Now the cousins who have kids buy gifts for all the cousins kids, so I bought 18 gifts. While the kids go crazy with the gifts, the adults have dessert and after dinner drinks and usually all the men are drunk and start telling jokes. we don't leave until 1a.m. This has been going on for 34 years. My dad said he thought it would end when all of the cousins got older and married and would have to go to inlaws, but instead noone would dare miss it. We joke that once you get married, you force your SO to swear that every Christmas Eve will be spent at our aunts. It is great when you go home and get ready for bed and your ears still ring b/c it was so loud. We also have this tradition that when you are pregnant you bring the salad b/c it is the easiest thing to make and then you would announce you are pregnant when you walk into the room with the salad. That tradition is 30 years old. I have seen may aunts do it and last year I finally got to bring the salad! So did 3 of my cousins! But the big joke around this time of year is "who is bringing the salad" b/c it usually is the first time that the person announces they are pregnant. When they bring the salad into the room everyone starts cheering - it is really cut. I LOVE CHRISTMAS EVE - hopefully, we will keep the tradition and my DS can experience the many wonderful memories I had.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

I open presents with my parents every christmas eve... no matter where we are, we leave and all go to my parents' house and exchange. Brought hubby into that traditional when we were dating

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

When my extended family (aunts/uncles, etc) started having families and didn't travel or have big holidays my parents started a Thanksgiving tradition with my own family (bros and sis).

We'd go see whatever animated movie came out for the holiday season (101 Dalmations one year, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, etc) then go to the diner for Thanksgiving dinner (we'd get pancakes or ham or steak or waffles - anything we wanted). If there weren't any movies out we wanted to see, we'd go bowling instead.

We did it for about 7 years in a row... We always had the best time!!! Some of my most favorite memories.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Posted by mrsej

Christmas Eve is with my Dad's family. He is one of 8 children and I have 30 first cousins - everyone goes to my Aunt's house. My Dad was born in Italy so we have huge Christmas Eve dinner - tons of fish - not one piece of meat to be found! There are 75 people and it is a sit down dinner!!! My Aunt actually bought Christmas china to serve 75. Everyone uses the bathroom before they sit, b/c once you find your seat, you are boxed in for the night! For that night, it is old school - during the changing of the courses all the men sit and talk and drink and all the women are clearing the table and serving, even though the women are doctors, lawyers, scientists, professors. We actually have a priest come and say mass - a full mass- in the living room before dinner starts so noone has to leave early to go to midnight mass. After dinner and before the dessert all of the kids sit around the Christmas tree and sing carols and then someone dresses up as Santa and distributes gifts to the kids. Yes - you buy gifts for all of the kids, so my mom used to buy 27 gifts. Now the cousins who have kids buy gifts for all the cousins kids, so I bought 18 gifts. While the kids go crazy with the gifts, the adults have dessert and after dinner drinks and usually all the men are drunk and start telling jokes. we don't leave until 1a.m. This has been going on for 34 years. My dad said he thought it would end when all of the cousins got older and married and would have to go to inlaws, but instead noone would dare miss it. We joke that once you get married, you force your SO to swear that every Christmas Eve will be spent at our aunts. It is great when you go home and get ready for bed and your ears still ring b/c it was so loud. We also have this tradition that when you are pregnant you bring the salad b/c it is the easiest thing to make and then you would announce you are pregnant when you walk into the room with the salad. That tradition is 30 years old. I have seen may aunts do it and last year I finally got to bring the salad! So did 3 of my cousins! But the big joke around this time of year is "who is bringing the salad" b/c it usually is the first time that the person announces they are pregnant. When they bring the salad into the room everyone starts cheering - it is really cut. I LOVE CHRISTMAS EVE - hopefully, we will keep the tradition and my DS can experience the many wonderful memories I had.

Message edited 12/18/2008 1:17:06 PM.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

we're jewish. since we got married, we have a big dinner for hanukkah. i'm doing soup to nuts this yr

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

some things we plan to do with dd starting next year

- decorate the tree together
- elf on a shelf
- make sugar cookies and decorate them together (oh the mess this will make)

when she is older, go to Midnight mass together

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

to answer your q colette,
i am starting the trafition of making monkey bread every Christmas morning for breakfast! my husband bought me this set last year from william sonoma and i said that i would make it this year and if we like it, which i am sure we will, its sugared dough, i will make it every Christmas morning..

otherwise, I'd like to start the tradition of making assorted Christmas cookies with my future son or daughter. i cant wait!

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

we sort of run around like crazy people...

Christmas Eve dinner with my MIL and SIL and then I go to church with my mother (DH is a different religion and not religious at all!).

Christmas morning DH and I open presents, make mimosas (although mine will be just juice this year!) and pancakes and just hang out together. It's my favorite part of christmas.

The rest of the day we drive from family to family until we come home pooped.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

On Christmas Eve, many people in my family have to work so we don't eat until 10PM. We have every kind of fish imaginable but the MUST is baccala! We eat and then at midnight we say Happy Birthday to Jesus and put him in the Nativity. Then we change the lights near the nativity from green to red ( anyone else ever do this? )

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Growing up my mother always did Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for her side and my dads side.
Christmas Eve was all about the Italian Feast!! Fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, etc.
Then my aunt, uncle and cousins would come over and we would exchange gifts with them and go to midnight mass.
Christmas morning we would have a big breakfast and open presents. Hangout all day while mom would cook all over again!

Since I met DH his mom always does Christmas eve for her whole family, like 30 people!!! So we start off at my mom's then go to in laws house.
I do Christmas day now!
But I still cook the same meal. Mancotti, then Prime Rib!!!

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

it's all very german...

when I was a kid... the tree was bought and decorated on 12/24. we had a gingerbread house underneath. Also, germans string up chocolate ornaments on the tree... (wasn't allowed to eat the tree until the 26th )

after dinner, we have gluhwein (mulled wine), spekulatius (spice cookies), and stollen. then we'd open the gifts.

christmas day was always with my american side of the family...

Now that I'm married (to a Pole) and a mom, we maintain most of the german traditions (not the gingerbread house), and have begun celebrating St. Nicholas day with him... (both a tradition in germany and poland). I also now bake my own spekulatius.... We do our nuclear family biz on the 23rd.... the 24th, we go to the polish family, and the 25th, the american family......
still no eating the tree until the 26th!

Message edited 12/18/2008 8:55:52 PM.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

Christmas Pajamas!!!!

My parents every christmas eve have bought my sister, brother & I christmas PJs, so that christmas morning we are all festive lol.....

they now get for DH, BIL & nephew! (yes, we still get them)

(they get eachother them as well!)

I LOVE this tradition and will do this with our kids as well.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

When I was younger, we used to put up our tree on my birthday, but as I grew older that tradition changed. DH & I are starting our own traditions like having our picture taken with Santa Claus (yes, I am a Christmas nerd), decorating our tree Thanksgiving weekend while drinking hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie and after Christmas making a Christmas scrapbook with all of our Christmas memories.

Re: Tell me about your holiday traditions...

This is our first year as a mommy and daddy.

We are going to sprinkle Magic Reindeer Food on the lawn Christmas Eve night.

The night before Christmas Eve, we are going to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas.

I always bake various Christmas cookies the week leading into it.

And my parents always give us a Christmas Eve present - matching pajama's.