Christmas Rituals....

Taadaa

Love this thread!! On Christmas Eve I bake loads of goodies, like mine pies and fudge, and make mulled wine, and we all watch a Chritmas film together and hang our stockings up. On Christmas morning we eat chocolate from our stockings for breakfast, and we always hae turkey and pigs in blankets. And fall asleep after lol!

But tradition does start a bit earlier, when I get very drunk on Bucks Fizz putting the Christmas tree up the week before! x

elysia2003

Here goes - warning it may be a long post............................................:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Christmas tree and decs go up 6th December, can't do it any earlier then that, we'd get funny looks having it up before Halloween - although DD2 wanted to put it up this morning. :eek:

My Mum and my two sisters and I used to go Christmas shopping in Birmingham City Centre and Stepdad always paid for lunch. Nowadays we go to the Festive Gift Fair at the NEC instead (usually mid November).

Christmas Eve we exchange gifts at mum's house (usually about £5 per person) and as there are four adults buying for each other and three grandkids, we usually get a load of little presents. This started because someone told on me, that I'd opened my presents and re-wrapped them before the day. Mum said we could have one present each from under the tree and over time it changed so we bought dedicated presents.

We all go off home, to bath the kids, and prepare mince pies and carrots etc. Last thing to do is hang the 'Magic key' outside on the front door so Santa can let himself in (no chimney).

The kids have stockings which they are allowed to open when they wake up, but generally they wait and open them on the end of our bed. DD1 (19) gets up about 4 and we wait until dd2 (7) gets up about 9.

No-one is allowed to open santa's presents until they've had breakfast. Stops them getting hyper (gives them a bit of time to calm down).

Presents off Santa are opened first, taking our time, and then gifts off the rellies.

Lunch is at 1.30. The works.

Then we clear up (DD1 always washes up and OH dries) then we go to Mum and stepdads for more pressies.

We used to put on a buffet and have them visit us, but the last couple of years we have gone there. I think we may stay at home this year though.

Boxing day is hit the sales with DD1 and sister, and home to Mums, where OH and DD2 are waiting for us. And we have, turkey curry and chips for lunch/tea.

Merry christmas everyone.

cdsmiler

Just bumping so everyone can see it! Love this thread!!

Fuzzy_Duck

Loving this thread! Our traditions haven't changed much since I was kid. I used to insist on watching Muppet Christmas Carol and Nightmare Before Christmas in the run up to Christmas, and I still watch them now, but with my boyfriend instead of my siblings. The videos are beginning to get dodgy but last year I received the DVD version of Nightmare Before Christmas I'm rather hoping I'll get Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD this year and then I can continue my silly but enjoyable tradition for many years yet

MrsBeany

Ah what a lovely thread! this is making me feel sooo christmassy! ok, so rituals when i was a kid: christmas eve was usually spent doing last minute preparations like wrapping presents, baking etc and then in late afternoon/evening me, my big sis and my mum would start prepping the meal for the next day, chopping veggies etc. Then it would be a reasonably early night for me and i'd wake up every hour to check my stocking lol

Christmas day we'd all get up have some brekkie and open presents - each person took it in turns, you'd open one then find a present under the tree for the next person to open. Then it was church and come home to open more presents. then it was always my job to set the table with christmas tablecloth, best cutlery, homemade name cards and little favours, crackers, etc, then help out with anything else that needed doing. My sis was always in charge of the starter and my mum the main meal. Then dad would do his once a year washing up duties! afternoon was spent dozing in front of tv or playing games with family members popping in or us popping in to see them. Boxing day was usually a long walk in the country and lots more eating!

now i'm married and am trying to start my own traditions! beginning of december we get an advent candle (as well as calendars) and decs go up 1st december usually! i always bake gingerbread biscuits one weekend in dec and wrap pressies while watching xmas films or listening to xmas songs. hubby and i have stockings filled with sweets, satsumas, nuts etc. this xmas eve i'm going to do us a hamper filled with a snuggly throw, pjs, slippers, dvds popcorn and snacks etc. Then it'll be up on xmas morn, open stockings, open a couple of presents, have brekkie. Then round to the in-laws as my parents are away for christmas. it'll be lunch with them and then stay late into the evening eating, drinking and playing games/watching films. Boxing day eve we'll prob b going to DHs aunty's as she usually has a bit of a family buffet and shindig going on so that's usually fun.

eek, sorry for such a long post - it's my first on here and i was soooo excited about xmas!!:D:rudolf:

Enchantica

What an awesome thread Me and OH don't have much traditions of our own yet because we take it in turns to go to each other's parents house each year. When we have kids I think we will have more

My old traditions were when I lived at my parent's house, so many fond memories. I would get up at 7am (usually wake around 5-6am and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep because I was too excited!) and wake up my parents and my older brother. I would then run through to the living room to see if Santa had been, of course he had. I would plunge into my full stocking and take out the presents. I have been told that often I would tip the stocking upside down whereas my brother would take out one item at a time and look at it and then take the next. I wonder who the boisterous child was haha. My dad would then, without fail every year, come along the hallway with his video camera on. I wouldn't notice until he was at the door and I would run away and hide lol. I really want to find those videos now!

Mum would start cooking dinner and myself and my brother would open presents from my mum and dad and a few others if we were allowed. We would then play with our opened toys and wait for gran and grandad to arrive and then we would all have lunch. I couldn't wait for lunch to be finished because then we would open the rest of the presents and ones from our grandparents. And they would open theirs from us. Christmas lunch was always massive with all the trimmings and I would have ice cream because I don't like Christmas pud. We would watch the Queen's speech and always hushed so my grandparents could hear it. I thought it was the most boring thing ever and the worst part about the day. Those 10 minutes seemed like the longest EVER. I don't watch it these days

Then when I moved away for uni when I was 18 and started having boyfriends etc I didn't spend every christmas at home. Me and OH spend every other Christmas with my family though and the traditions are almost the same... I get up late now though lol. There just isn't the same feeling of magic. My dad gets bad headaches and gets tired easily nowadays and my grandparents are gone. And me and brother don't get presents from santa anymore (I am 26 and he is 31 though LOL). I still like to spend it with my family though. Every other year we spend it with OH's Dad + step mum who have a 5 year old son so I get to play santa and help fill his stocking on Christmas eve. I love seeing him open his pressies. Can't wait to have kids so we can start our own traditions.

hogshead

Our ritual is that my OH ALWAYS dresses up as Father Christmas & visits each of our children in their rooms. He rings his reindeer bells to stir them from their sleep & let the people in the 'know' know he is about to make a show.

Our eldest 2 have since left home (one full time & one is a student) but they are home for Christmas eve & they too get a visit even if only to say 'OK dad you can move on to the little ones or your beard is a mess' or words to that effect.
Last year they all slept in 1 room on the floor which I advised against but they were all game which made it a lillte tricky for FC but he still did the rounds.

I made him a suit a few years back as we knew we were in for the long haul with this ritual.

Christmas night is movie night. We buy one of the children a movie that we plan to watch on Christams day night.
We all cosy up on the sofas & watch a movie on the projector screen scoffing sweets & popcorn if we have any room left after the meal.

If the phone rings YOU MUST answer with Merry Christmas before saying hello, asking who it is. DS hates this now as he is older so knows not to answer unless it's totally necessary.

jackomdj

I posted my traditions earlier on her but here are my childhood traditions:

We always used to go to my Grandparents on Christmas eve & swap presents, big family so lots of Aunts, Uncles & Cousins around.
We were always allowed to open one present on Xmas eve at home - Mum chose it & it was always a "funny" one.
Dad used to put the tree up first weekend in Dec.
I used to share my sisters room on Xmas eve & presents were left in my room. We always used to try to stay up to "catch him". We used to wake really early (2ish) & take turns sneaking into my room to open a few up. Parents used to know & call us into their room.
My Great Uncle used to buy us a chocolate orange every year (very grown up for a little girl!) & once presents were open my parents used to go back to sleep, I would always eat my choc orange before we got up! On the last christmas he was with us I was really upset as his Daughter did the Xmas shopping for him & I got an umbrella!

jellybaby21

what a lovely lovely post, it has made me feel so Christmassy. Although I am 26 this year Rudolph still buys me a new set of pyjamas on Christmas Eve. Ohhhh I have to share a magical story with you. Even though I was only 3 years old I can rememeber this vividly. That Christmas we had all finished opening our presents and there were four left under the tree with no labels on. We each opened a present and worked out whos was whos, the toy was mine, the hankercheifs my grandmas and to this day nobody knows who they were from, it still makes me tingle when I think about it.

This year will be the 2nd year with out my Grandparents, and as I lived with them all my life it is extra hard. However this will be my first Christmas in my first house with my boyfriend. I am hoping we will form some new traditions. My mum is coming over on Christmas day with the dogs and will stay Christmas night. Christmas Eve we will go out for a meal with my cousin and aunty and then go back to my Mum's for silly board games with anyone else who wants to come. OH will stay at home preparing dinner for the next day. Not sure if I will be working over Christmas, but I am due to have an operation in December so may be off for Christmas anyway.

I want to get both my chihuahuas Christmas outfits for this year (my smoothcoat has to wear t-shirts and jumpers in the winter anyway as he gets cold) OH is against it but I will have my way in the end!

I like putting up the tree at the end of Novemeber. OH said we can treat ourselves to new decorations this year, the tackier the better in my book!

I have already started making cards and buying presents. I really want to have a cosy and lovely Christmas this year!

jellybaby21

I truly believe this message deserves bumping as I found it by mistake and enjoyed reading it so much! x