Christmas traditions - what are yours?

con1888

As kids we used to go to either the cinema or outdoor ice rink on Christmas eve then have KFC or McDonalds for dinner on the way home ( a few occasions we went to a resturaunt beforehand). Then go to mass which is usually at 9pm then after that we would go to grandparents ( who are now no longer with us) for steak pie and peas then go home, get on new pyjamas and then bed.

Christmas morning I used to awake really early, then knock the wall through to my brothers room ( or when I was older text) and tell them to go wake our parents then eventually we would go downstairs and find that 'santa' had been, even when we were too old for 'santa' we still did this routine. Dinner was/is always ready between 3 and 4 and we would eat that then play games, chat have a drink afterwards... still do that

It's something I would like to do when I had kids ( one on the way!) .

This year I think OH and I will get a DVD for Christmas eve and either a takeaway or buffet type dinner so that there is minimal washing up.

I am so excited

laurel7172

I hide under the children's bedroom windows and ring sleighbells.

They're too old to believe now, but I do it anyway

flubberyzing

I adore Christmas, and everything about it! This is what I do with my class every year.

I teach Reception, and every year I make "reindeer food" with them. A scoop of porridge oats and a kiddy-sized handful of glitter. Every child gets a little baggie to take home on the last day of term.

On the past couple of days I arrange to "suddenly get an email from Father Christmas!" I can't remember the exact website address, but it's called Santa PNP. You can enter your name, photo and a few details, and "santa" sends you a personalised video message. I make sure all the kids are there, then we watch it together. I put on my "amazed" face and the children adore it.
I then send a little note home with the website address for parents to do it for their kids if they wish.

On the last day of term, one of the Elves comes while the children are at play-time and leaves them bags of gold coins! Their faces are a picture.

As an adult, I believe that it's down to us to make Christmas magical for the kiddies. We had our turn, and now it's theirs. It's a children's holiday and should be kept innocent and magical.

Cake4brains

flubberyzing wrote: »

As an adult, I believe that it's down to us to make Christmas magical for the kiddies. We had our turn, and now it's theirs. It's a children's holiday and should be kept innocent and magical.

I TOTALLY agree with this. My childhood Christmas was magical and I am hoping for the same for my 11month old twins. Reading this thread has made me so excited and I have some tips for future traditions we can start :j

daisiegg

flubberyzing wrote: »

I adore Christmas, and everything about it! This is what I do with my class every year.

I teach Reception, and every year I make "reindeer food" with them. A scoop of porridge oats and a kiddy-sized handful of glitter. Every child gets a little baggie to take home on the last day of term.

On the past couple of days I arrange to "suddenly get an email from Father Christmas!" I can't remember the exact website address, but it's called Santa PNP. You can enter your name, photo and a few details, and "santa" sends you a personalised video message. I make sure all the kids are there, then we watch it together. I put on my "amazed" face and the children adore it.
I then send a little note home with the website address for parents to do it for their kids if they wish.

On the last day of term, one of the Elves comes while the children are at play-time and leaves them bags of gold coins! Their faces are a picture.

As an adult, I believe that it's down to us to make Christmas magical for the kiddies. We had our turn, and now it's theirs. It's a children's holiday and should be kept innocent and magical.

This sounds SO lovely! almost makes me want to teach primary! Wonder how my form of 14 and 15 yr olds would react if we got an email from Santa...we do have a form advent calendar but that is all!

Just wondering, do you ever get any parents object? Maybe if they don't do Father Christmas at home?

Spendless

When DD was 4 (she's 10 now) she was given this book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=was+that+christmas+hilary+mckay&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Awas+that+christmas+hilary+mckay

It tells the story of a little girl and everything that her family do to prepare for Christmas. Eg sing carols with a band, put out nuts for birds, go shopping for crackers.

We try to do as much as we can to do the same or our own interpretation of it.

I usually attend a Xmas Carol Service during Advent at one of the local churches.

About 3 years ago I started doing the Christmas Eve hamper following posts on here about it (I'd read it previously and that it a daft idea). I put in it things that I want the kids to do on Christmas Eve from late afternoon, so in it went things like bubble bath new pjs, a xmas dvd and DD was quite excited to go along with it 'Ohhhh does FC want me to wash my hair' . I never put in the xmas mince pie plate or santa stop here signs as we already owned them before I started the XE hamper. DS was probably a bit old when I started doing it and though he was happy with it for first couple of years last year when he was 12 3/4 I'm not sure he used anything in it- this year I'll ask him if he still wants me to do it for him. He'll either tell me to get real or sulk at the idea of being excluded, I'm not sure which. :rotfl:


As a child I never had a stocking. I had plenty of stocking filler presents but they were all wrapped up and put under the tree. In recent years I asked my Mum why? She told me the stockings that you are able to buy nowadays weren't commercially available when I was a child (at least not where I lived) and though she'd had a stocking as a kid it was a woolly stocking she wore, whereas me and sis wore white school socks.

For the first few years of eldest 's life I didn't do a stocking either, then he saw one on a Xmas film and wanted one, but having no tradition to fall back on, I always felt I was doing them 'wrong'. I never wrapped them as I felt if they were wrapped why weren't they under the tree? I never hit on the right place to put them, upstairs they woke in the dead of the night, saw the full stocking and wanted to get up! In the morning.The kids seemed to overlook them in favour of going downstairs asap for the larger gifts downstairs, one year they opened their stockings in the afternoon! For several years, I asked them if they wanted to pack in having them? They always said "No". As DD grew older she told me that I should wrap the stocking gifts and described stockings as 'having a lucky dip where all the prizes inside are personalised for you'. That has made it easier for me to grasp what I'm doing.

We track Santa on Norad xmas eve, kids going to bed as he heads for Britain and 'The Night Before Christmas' is read.

SilS

As a tradition, we at our family cannot wait for Christmas and unwrap our presents on the previous night However on the holiday itself there a lot of cookies and many many vegeterian meals. Love this!

hgotsparkle

I remember one Christmas when I was probably about 4 or 5, we were at my grandparents house watching something with my grandad, when the doorbell rang. It was an elf who asked to see me, he gave me a book with my name on it. Basically it was a book that had been printed with a story about me going to see father christmas in my sleep and had all my cousins in it too, I loved it. It had my parents names and aunts and uncles as characters, and my nans dogs as reindeer. It amazed me. Then that same christmas, having stayed at my grandparents, I went downstairs to the back room and there was a mountain of presents! All my cousins were a lot older than me and the youngest cousin wasn't born then so I was well and truly spoilt that year.I remember my grandad got a final present out for me after dinner and it was a big barbie horse and carriage. He spent ages with me setting it all up, with my new barbie house. Thats my fondest memory of my grandad, no longer here. That particular christmas where all the focus had been put on me, and he set up all my new toys. I will never ever forget that christmas.

anniemf2508

I have lovely memories of Christmas when I was a child, so really wanted my two to have the same.
On Christmas eve I make them a scavenger hunt and the reward at the end is their Christmas eve hamper (usually contains new pjs, hot chocolate,reindeer food,a xmas dvd and bath smellies.

We leave out something cakey (santa is a coeliac in our house!), a carrot and milk.
Once the kids are bathed and settled in bed, i lay out all the presents around the tree and fill their stockings.

Christmas morning the kids will sit on our bed and open their stocking presents.
Then its time for breakfast....I know it seems harsh but they are not allowed to go in the living room with their big presents until after breakfast.
The rest of the morning will be spent opening and playing with said presents.

I'll start the dinner and potter around in the kitchen for some peace and quiet :P

I try to get hubby involved as much as I can as he has no good memories of Christmas growing up (he grew up in care), his idea of Christmas lunch before he met me was a Dairylea sandwich!

NewLifeAhead_2

So many lovely Christmas memories and traditions
The best thing is that most people I talk to about memories of Christmas, its never about the toys you had but the special times. That's the way it should be and I hope my children will say the same. They get more than enough gifts as did I, but I can only remember about 5 toys from my whole childhood specifically, but I can remember every Christmas, what we did, what films we watched etc!