Christmas traditions

[Aelia Jusa]

I'm feeling very christmassy, what with the christmas motif for GD, carols in the shops, our tree and decorations sitting out waiting to be assembled! I'm interested in how everyone celebrates christmas - what makes it christmas at YOUR house? Food, presents, decorations, activities, company. Or perhaps you don't celebrate christmas at all, but something else? Share! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Poison Dart Frog]

Pretty traditional here actually. I have yet to string the lights outside. I swear some people put those lights up on Nov. 1st. Also, my wife has decided that we should wait till X-mas Eve to put out all the presents but I like to see stuff under the tree... I'm 34 years old and I still get excited about presents. Guess I'll never grow out of it, nor do I want to.

[Stormymystic]

sad to say, but we have a hard time with christmas, I try and decorate, but we can not afford the stuff, so we do the best we can each year, and this year, i can not use the glass bulbs like last year, when kids were bearly walking

[Megabot]

Well it is pretty "normale" here i shall put down a tree tomorrow i find it in the woods behind my house and all food is purchased so all things are on route now. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
We Celebrate it normally we make all the good food Dec 24 eat it at 6 in the eavning then we open the presents then we dancing around the tree then we take some Gløgg it is a Norwegian thingy hot drink with tons of sugar and other stuff in it lol pretty great so that is how we have it here. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Nerull]

I live by myself, so I don't really decorate or do any of that stuff. However, I do dust off the Christmas CDs and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version). I'll also be tuning in to ABC Family channel for some of the old claymation stories (the Rudolph and Santa movies). They're on tonight, but SEC and Big 12 Championships are on now.

In other words, I don't put much effort in to it (I usually go out to eat, for example).

[Sir Goulum]

Gingerbread cookies *drools from the thought*, is about the only thing that makes it christmas, other than the tree. Mind you, it can hardly stand now, due to the blasted stand [img]tongue.gif[/img] My lights outside are usually pretty grim, but at least my parents try [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Jorath Calar]

Well, since I still live at home my parents do most of the stuff, my mom bakes some of the best cookies in the galaxy... and is on the decorate commitee [img]smile.gif[/img]
On the 24th is like in Norway the official start of Xmas, eat Ham and drink a softer (non alcoholic)version of the Glögg ... [img]smile.gif[/img] ,we also open the presents on the night of 24th. then on 25th we just rest, enjoy the presents if you got any and eat a lohot. and maybe go for a visit in the afternoon.

[Albromor]

Well, let's see. The tree is already up, but tomorrow we'll decorate it as a family. Oversall we are fairly traditional: songs, decorations, presents, and Christmas Eve Service at our church.

[Bungleau]

Let's see... Christmas lights outside, and although they were put up in mid-November (while it was still warm), they were not allowed on until after Thanksgiving. Tree's already up (and Stormy, one year we decorated the tree with just ribbon tied into bows, knowing that the kids couldn't break those accidentally).

Come Christmas eve, we'll have a fondue (steak, shrimp, scallops, perhaps something else) and open our Christmas pajamas. Spend the night in those, and open things up Christmas morning. We'll also have monkey bread, a recipe my wife found a few years ago for a mix of biscuits, brown sugar, honey, butter, and a couple of other things that are also pretty high-calorie... fattening, but yummy!

This year, we're staying here for Christmas. Any grandparents are welcome to head on over. So far, two have declined, one has said yes, and the last is probably going to say yes as well.

Oh, and during December, the kids go through Advent calendars... little bits of chocolate for every day between the first and the 24th. A major part of their day... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Aelia Jusa]

Originally posted by Stormymystic: sad to say, but we have a hard time with christmas, I try and decorate, but we can not afford the stuff, so we do the best we can each year, and this year, i can not use the glass bulbs like last year, when kids were bearly walking

I remember when I was little, we'd make these great paper chains with coloured paper and put them on the tree. Looking back I think the tree must have looked awful, but we didn't care when we were kids. LOL my aunt's two children (4 and 6) have such a great time decorating their tree at christmas - it's so gaudy and tacky it really offends my sense of style! Kids don't care if their tree is the most attractive in the neighbourhood, or uses the most expensive or classy ornaments, just that it's colourful and they got to help [img]smile.gif[/img]

We used to have advent calendars, Bungleau! Actually I think we used to make them ourselves, which was half the fun - I remember one that was Santa's face, and each day we would glue a cotton-wool ball to his beard and by the 25th, his beard was complete! [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well my mum and I are putting our tree up sometime this week, today maybe if we have time. I know some families leave theirs up till January but as festive as it looks before Christmas, it's so tacky and garish on Boxing Day, so we take it down straight after Christmas. We always have Christmas dinner with relatives, this year at an aunt's house. It used to be traditional turkey but now we have a barbecue with turkey breast marinated and barbecued, and salads and ham and so on. Mum and I always wrap the presents together a week or so before Christmas and put them under the tree, except the ones my dad and brother are giving us . One thing we don't do on Christmas is have carols! They really can get annoying