Christmas Rituals....

Winged_one

A lot of mine would be standard enough on the day, and also they depend on which house we are in (our own, my parents or the ILs).

But one that I have done myself since I was about 16, is to have an hour or so, some evening in the week or so beforehand. (From when I'd be babysitting my siblings - who all just wanted to watch tv). I would make myself a drink (alcoholic in those early years, now, just something nice so sometimes % and sometimes just a hot choc), and then sit on the floor in the room with the tree with no lights other than tree lights on. Enjoy the drink and spend the quiet peaceful time (maybe 20 mins or so before someone would come shouting for a referee - and that hasn't changed!!!) thinking about the year just gone, previous years and the year to come.

I just really enjoy that very quiet peaceful time to myself. \always utterly alone. And having some time to consider the season and the blessings I have in my life (if that's not too utterly twee!).

Tghe other thing is that we always read "Twas the night before Christmas" on Christmas Eve, for the first time every year (I keep it in the box with the Christmas decorations).

La-Cara

as of Dec 1st, I make batches of mince pies roughly every 2 days, or even daily depending on how fast we get through them all! Tree goes up as late as my dad can get away with as he's more "bah humbuggy" than I am!

Christmas Eve: we always have gammon, egg & chips for tea. I make mince pies & fairy cakes, and usually ice the christmas cake, having marzipanned it a few days prior.

Christmas Day: we stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve and open our presents then now that my brother and I are older (19 & 21), which means we can lie in in the morning Breakfast (if we're up early enough for it!) is scrambled egg & smoked salmon-omnomnom! Lunch is usually gammon sandwiches. We then pick my gran up from her house around 1.30-2pm, ready to have dinner at 3, which means that we conveniently miss the Queen's Speech We always have some of the leftover gammon because gran doesn't like poultry, and then either goose or turkey for everyone else. We've never bothered with the hassle of cooking 3 different types of potato, sausages wrapped in bacon etc and just have roast tatties, veg & stuffing with the meat, with bread or cranberry sauce for those who like it. Similarly, we don't usually have Christmas pudding afterwards, it's normally something like a roulade or cheesecake as they're both something that everyone likes. After dinner, we take gran home then watch the Dr Who special eating tins of chocs and mince pies.

Boxing day meals are always based on leftovers.

When we were younger, we always used to get to open one present on Christmas Eve, from gran, which was always new pyjamas for us to wear that night.

beverleyhdsn1983

I start my christmas shopping in the January sales lol, (gotta love boots 75% off) and then once they are finished it dies down until July time when I start in earnest, always finish by the end of November with everything wrapped lol.
December 1st our christmas Elf arrives with choccy, a dvd and his notebook to record the event.

Every day from then until christmas eve involves a christmas craft activity or a trip out (cinema, santa trail, visit a shopping centre santa and a trip to the panto in the grand opera house).

On December 23rd we visit our families to deliver their presents and collect our presents.

On christmas eve we go out in the morning to get the veg and any last minute things we have forgotten. The afternoon we usually take the kids to soft play or the cinema or something to burn off a little energy. When we get home thats it, the door is locked and we dont leave the house until boxing day, we dont see or speak to anyone its great. We usually have a buffet style tea and then the christmas elf (does this while the kids are eating so they dont see lol) leaves our christmas eve hamper with a note telling the kids how good they have been and that tonight he will return to the north pole with santa. We bath the kids in their new lush bathbombs and into new pjs before sitting down to watch a dvd, then its a christmas story and the kids head to bed (all those things we include in our hamper along with sweets, nibbles and some wine/whisky for dh and I). Once the kids are in bed dh and I prepare the veg (altho this year im expecting twins so we are beign lazy and buying alreay prepped stuff lol). Then we settle down to watch the soaps and a film with some wine (none for me this year) and then set out santa presents and go to bed, both of us are too excited to sleep much lol.

Christmas day, we get up around 7/8 depending on the kids. Straight into the living room to see if santa has been and its just a free for all with hubby helping the older two, me helping the baby and trying to get lots of photos. We lounge around in pjs all day letting the kids play with their new toys, dh and I share the cooking and we eat about 1pm. Dh and I have a starter but the kids jsut tuck into dinner. We then laze on the sofa watching films and eating sweets and all the yummy food. Supper is turkey sandwiches and a buffet style tea again. Kids get baths with more lush stuff and into more new pjs and off to bed. Dh and I again settle down with goodies and wine (again none for me) watching the soaps and a film before heading to bed shattered lol.

Boxing day we go to my mums house for dinner.

New years we dont really do anything as hubby usually works it (the single guys work christmas to let the family men off and vice versa) but he is off this year so we may have a few friends round.

little_lil

:snow_grinLove this thread. My Decs/tree always go up during the first weekend of December, although i often sneak the odd ornament or two down earlier. Am seriously contemplating getting xmas music out but will resist until after bonfire night.

I am so excited as this year we have moved to a new town and on the 23rd Dec they are having Carols round the :xmastree: in the market square. How fab does that sound? My family are already fed up of me going on about it lol!

On Christmas eve the PC is on all day tracking Santa on NORAD and it stays on after DS has gone to bed because i love that programme. Christmas starts for me when OH comes home from work. On Christmas Eve Santa always delivers new pjs to us all - always happens when ds is in the bath;) I have a copy of Polar Express on DVD to watch in the evening before DS goes to bed. I insist on reading the night before Christmas to him before he goes to sleep :snow_laug

Christmas morning is when DS opens santa pressies and then i get busy in kitchen. DS and OH then spend morning playing with his pressies. Normal fayre for lunch - might downsize to a chicken this year as there is always too much turkey.

After lunch, once everything is cleared away then it is the under the tree pressies. Phone calls to family to say thank you, then before you know it it is time for Pjs and Dr Who special. This is the earliest the TV is allowed on in our house - i hate having the TV on on Christmas Day, its Christmas music or nothing in this house!

Have got all excited just typing this up :rotfl:

cdsmiler

Just bumping as this thread is so fab!!

pinkmami

Well I must finish all the Christmas shopping by the last Sunday of November cos that's the date our tree goes up! I spend the Saturday cleaning all windows, hoovering under the sofa & removing old crisps, biscuits & whatever else I might find after the kids! But this yr it'll be a week later cos we're off to Whinfell Center Parcs for 4 nights to see Santa & have lots of fun!

So after I come home the decorations go up. I've already booked us all to go on a train to see Santa & we also have a Christmas show booked for the kids. School nativity will also be an exciting thing like every year! We like to take the kids for a drive round town once its dark & see all th decorations & pop into McDonalds for late tea. I frantically try to get rid off all the gifts for other people by the 15th of December so I can have the bathroom cupboard empty in anticipation of my husband taking the troops out on Christmas eve so I can bring the stuff down from the loft in preperation of the visit from the big fat bloke in red! And NORAD is on the computer ALL DAY tracking him. My 8 yr old is getting dubious now about how fast he goes how on earth he visits every child in the world!

I always cook what I can of the veg on Christmas eve & put it in the fridge. Turkey is in the oven at 10am on the Eve cos I love a sandwich with a beer/wine after the kids have finally gone to sleep!

We love making mince pies, eating lots of chocolate & I love drinking Baileys on a cold winter evening!:xmastree::xmassign::snow_grin:santa2::snow_laug:rudolf::xmassmile

cdsmiler

Now we're so close to Christmas, does anyone have any more rituals to add??