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.