Christmas Traditions

[Janet]

What do you all do at Christmas? Visit family..friends? Here is what we usually do.

On the 23rd of December we go to my mother's house. It's very small and crowded, but my husband, son, myself, older brother, wife 2 older daughters, younger brother, wife, son and daughter and of course my Mom is there. My younger brother and his family get there early and bring shaved ham, turkey and deerballs (meatballs). My older brother and his family gets there around 8:00 PM and since I don't find it fun or like my one sister-in-law...we get there about 9:00 PM. Makes my Mom a little mad, but it's either that or we won't go at all so she doesn't say much. Around 9:45 we open presents, wait about 30 minutes and then every one goes home.

On Christmas Eve we go to the nursing home to spend time with my Mother-in-law. We use to go to their house and most of the family would be there. So much fun and much more room. It makes me sad it still can't be that way.

After we go home, we wait until about 10:00 and call my mom at my brothers house. If we called earlier it would just give her more time to complain so after she gets here we talk for awhile and then go to bed.

We get up Christmas morning and open our gifts and then about 10:00 she heads back to town to my older brothers house for dinner and spends the rest of the day.

We have the rest of Christmas day to ourselves and enjoy a nice lazy, cozy day at home. We fix a light lunch usually around 3:00 and then just eat bits and pieces the rest of the day and evening.

Nothing too exciting, but that's what we do.

[DianaB]

On Christmas Eve we go to my husband's aunt's house. My MIL kept an unbelievably dirty house so when my husband grew up they always had Christmas at his Grandpa's house and this aunt lived with his Grandpa and has continued with the celebration at her house (we don't open presents there any more). We'll be told that we need to be there at 6:00 but they only say a time because, well, you're suppose to tell people a time to be there, but they really mean 8:00-9:00!! We have all kinds of goodies and just visit. It's really crowded with aunts, uncles, cousins, and etc. but it's just not Christmas for my husband unless we go.

For Christmas my daughters (14 and 24) come and get in bed with my husband and I and open their stockings. Then we all get up and get dressed, maybe eat a little something and then we open presents. We each take turns opening our gifts, one at a time. When we get done and have cleaned everything up then it's time to work on dinner. The rest of my family (married daughter and son and their kids) come over about noon and help finish up dinner. After we eat we open presents, again, one at a time. After we open gifts the kids all go downstairs and play and the adults play games or put a puzzle together. My son and his family will have to leave sometime mid afternoon and go to his wife's family's gathering. My daughter's in-laws live too far away so they'll stay all day with us.

This year before we open presents I'm going to have everyone open a little present at the same time. I bought little guns that shoot little foamy disks and we're going to have a shoot-out first!!! It should be fun with 13 guns going all at the same time!!!!

My favorite part is hearing the little chatter that fills the house as they arrive!!!

[Lissa]

We stay home, my grandparents used to come over, but they've passed on. We get up early to start cooking our Christmas dinner, which is a toned down version of Thanksgiving dinner, then open presents, finish cooking and eat and maybe go see a movie. This year my boyfriend's coming the day after Christmas, he and his parents both got me something so I get more presents the day after

We have a busy Christmas season at our house. We get up on Christmas morning and open gifts, then my mom comes and we open more gifts and then we get ready to go to my older kids homes and open gifts with the grandkids,then go to daughters house and open more with more grandkids and then go to sisters house for dinner and stay there to be lazy all day and then go to my aunts for the traditional Limburger cheese and be lazy again. The only thing that I dont like is we are away from home all day . When my kids were small they didnt get to enjoy there presents from Santa till the next day. Now my problem is we have a Yorkie in our family and I dont want to leave him here by hisself all day and I feel like maybe i cant take him with us to everyones house. What can I do.

[Lindsey]

My family always spends Christmas eve with our friends down the street. We switch off whose house we're at every year. This year it will be our house. We make a big meal and sit around and talk and have some drinks and their daughter and I used to be really close and we'd think of something to do every year, like hand out candy canes to everyone, make christmas ornaments, make gingerbread houses.... unfortunately she got a boyfriend and I haven't even seen her in a year and a half, since right after they started dating. We used to always go for a drive around town, just me and her, and look at all the Christmas lights. After her family left, or my family got home, my brother and I would open one gift and then go to bed.
Christmas day we get up and open our presents, and then my mom makes bacon and eggs for breakfast and then we spend the day relaxing and preparing Christmas dinner. Sometimes we take a drive out to the cabin at the lake (20 minutes from town).
I think Christmas day is the only day of the whole year that my family actually gets along for a whole day!

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by Salbug12

Now my problem is we have a Yorkie in our family and I dont want to leave him here by hisself all day and I feel like maybe i cant take him with us to everyones house. What can I do.

I took my yorkie, Reuger, to my Mom's last year and she's not used to having dogs in her house. I took a chain to tie him outside and I took some belly bands to make sure that he didn't pee in the house and Mom didn't have any problems having him around. You can buy belly bands from e-bay or some of the sellers on YT or you can make them yourself. They're very handy to have.

[Tink]

Since we celebrate christmas and thanksgiving at the same time with hubbies family on Thanksgiving, we're free to do christmas with mine. My brother, his wife and 2 boys, Mom and her freind Harold, my 3 kids, my son in law and 2 granddaughters and hubby and I will be there.

We switch off going to each others homes for supper on Christmas eve and open gifts after we eat. We go to church together at 10 pm.
On Christmas day we spend time at home just relaxing and enjoying our gifts.

This year it's my brothers turn to host our supper. (I've had it the past 2 years) so I'm just bringing a corn casserole and they have to do the lions share of the work. My casserole has gotten to be a staple at our suppers over the years, so I don't mind contributing that.

[Willow]

My parents come over on Christmas Eve (my mom's house is SUPER messy...I mean, literally, Paths that is it..to every room! and no where to sit for all the mess!) and we have a dinner and exchange gifts.

Kids go to bed around 8 pm. We wait until around 10 or 11 pm and put all the presents out and fill the stockings. Then we go to bed.

We are up around 6 am and I put the ham in the oven. Put on coffee, kids are begging to open gifts, we make em wait for Papa..lol...he comes down around 6:30am and then the kids get to rip open their gifts...this lasts what seems like 5 minutes but normally takes about 30 minutes LOLOL

Spend an hour maybe two trying to get the new damn toys out of the packages they came in (which is almost impossible nowadays!! damn they wanna make sure they are IN there!)....One hammer and two bottles of tylenol later kids are playing with new toys and mom is putting up new clothes while dad is picking up trash and cardboard and papa is sipping coffee watching the kids play with their toys LOL

We eat around noon and then we usually sit down to watch any new movies the kids got for Christmas...they usually each get one new movie and one movie that is for the whole family at Christmas.

[Emmsmom]

We really don't do much. Our family is about 3 hours away. We usually go down and them just not on many holidays. The roads are really packed up here this time of year and I just assume not be out on them. PLUS my MIL (who only thinks about her other kids.....)always holds a get together on Christmas Eve. It is usually around 6 PM or so at night. I am sorry but I can't do that.We wouldn't get back till 1 or 2 in the AM. My grandmother and her husband usually go out to eat with friends.

Now when I was a kid we use to always go over to Granny and Papa's on Christmas morning and stay till supper. We always spent the day together. Of course things change.

Here we open up gifts on Christmas morning and then later I fix a nice meal. We clean up later that day. lol

[2tiredmom]

Christmas this year is going to be different for us. Normally we spend Christmas Eve down home with families. This year my oldest daughter is due that day but we all know that the baby will get here whenever he is good and ready. This year we are staying home and all of our 3 children will be here plus Oldest daughters boyfriend. It should be a fun time. Would be even more joyous if we did have a little one here but that's ok. In Gods time. I will fix a big meal on Christmas day for lunch and for supper we will just snack.