Christmas Traditions.

[Romona]

We've talked about Thanksgiving, what about Christmas?
My mothers side of the family does a Christmas Eve Dinner. When I was growing up it was a 12 course meal with foods that had a meaning and a story. Now that the family has grown so much, we do a buffet style meal of the same foods. We begin the meal when the first star appears in the sky. It keeps small kids busy to have them watch for the star. The table scraps were taken to the barn to be feed to the cows who were to bow their heads at midnight to honor the birth of the Christ child. My mother's family is Polish. My father's Irish. My Dad had no problem adapting to my mother's customs. He makes an awesome mushroom soup. I don't like mushrooms, but the clear both is delicious. A great deal of alcohol is added before serving instead of during the cooking. The alcohol isn't cooked off so you catch a warm fuzzy buzz. His recipe is a secret or I'd make it all the time. I love to attend midnight mass. My favorite part of Christmas is when my time being Santa's helper is over and I just sit looking at the tree by myself after everyone is in bed.
Christmas Day we spend at home all day. We have a big brunch and then a light supper. My husband's family gets together the Saturday betwen Christmas and New Years for a covered dish supper. I like it this way because Christmas lasts longer.

[kitkatz]

We attend my Mom's family get together.  Everyone has a gift to bring for someone. We all bring something to eat. There are all kinds of drinks to have.  Then Santa Claus comes and we all get a present.

[kellyt]

When I was much younger we had a talent show on Christmas Eve for the children.  No prizes or anything, just pure, raw "talent".

Being that there are only two young'ns, these days it would be a very quick talent show.  Plus, my 3-yo nephew's talent would entail just standing there and being mad.   He's very good...   

[okarol]

A couple of weeks before Christmas we make a gingerbread house. I usually hot glue the gingerbread pieces together to make the house because we never eat that part anyway. We use lots of icing for snow on the roof and cover everything with lots of candy, sometimes using small Snickers bars to make it a log cabin. We use the house as a centerpiece for Christmas Dinner. On New Years Day, when we get back from the Rose Parade, the kids make a huge mess dismantling the house and eating the candy.
 

[lola]

We are always with my moms side in Stillwater and every year my oldest Bryce pukes all night because it's the one time I don't say no to anything they eat

[vandie]

It's PJ's and hot cocoa.  Growing up we would get new PJ's on Christmas Eve and make hot cocoa from scratch.  My mom would make the chocolate and then we would use cream to make the cocoa. 
I still do the holiday PJ's for the girls and me (we all match every year, hokey but true).  The cocoa is still there, but we use low fat milk now, I prefer half and half, but my oldest is a nutrition major. . . . KIDS!!!!

[Mimi]

 
We all get together on Christmas Eve for oyster stew and ham sandwiches.  Then on Xmas morning we open gifts and have a big brunch.  We band together again around 5 on Xmas afternooon and have a a huge Xmas dinner.
Then we all collapse and go to bed early.
 

Happy Holidays,
Mimi

[goofynina]

My family all comes together and we do alot of laughing, eating, drinking, playing games and at midnight, we hug and kiss everyone and sit around the tree and appoint one person as Santa, (the name caller) and one by one, everyone gets their gifts.  After its all said and done, we help clean up, sit around and drink hot chocolate or coffee (or the guys and their beers) and we laugh some more 'til its time to call it a night (which is usually very early in the morning) lol,  but oh what memories i have, 

[rookiegirl]

Christmas Eve our girls open 1 gift.  Christmas morning we all make breakfast and open the remaining gifts.  Hubby distribute the gifts.  Afterwards, we visit my mother-in-law who lives 10 miles away.  Around 2pm we go home and I cook a bunch of Filipino food for my brothers/sisters and their family to come over.  We all drew names during Thanksgiving (1 adult/1 child).  We eat, eat, and eat some more.  After dinner, we exchange gifts.  The children's gifts go first and then the adults.  Then we play games (Catch Phrase, Taboo, Cranium, etc..)

Now that I am on PD, I'm not sure if I can cook that much food this year.  I'm going to try.  I have taught my husband who is American to cook Filipino food along with my two girls.  So far they follow good directions so I hope they can do most of the cooking this year.

[angela515]

In my family, we put all the presents under the tree that are from family to family. On Christmas Eve, we set out all the appetizers we will enjoy during the opening of presents and wait for my dad to finish watching his football game and say he is ready, and we then gather round and we open every single present under the tree. On Christmas morning, all the little one's wake up early and come wake everyone else up and we all go watch them see what Santa brought them. We then eat a Christmas dinner that evening. We also make a gingerbread house for the center piece at dinner time. 

[skyedogrocks]

Christmas Eve was always the big event in my family growing up.  We used to have the traditional Italian 7 fishes, gross for me as I only eat white fish like Cod or Haddock.  My parents hosted it and there was always loads of family & friends there. 

Now all my brothers & sisters (I have 5) and their families gather at my sister Barbara's house along with friends and we have some of those 7 fish along with Spaghetti w/Aglio Olio sauce, loads of sweets & appetizers.  All the kids get to open gifts from the family, music is pumping, kids are dancing trying to get the excess sugar out of their system.  It's just a lot of fun.  The kids always get new pj's and can't wait to put them on, even the 18 year old still looks forward to this.

On Christmas we head over to my in-laws, have a much quieter dinner since it's a smaller family and then head back over to my sister's for dessert.  I will usually do some more eating there since she always makes Italian food along with the turkey.

This is our first Christmas with our son and I am so excited for him to join the fesitivities, he loves having a big family now.  I want to start some traditions with him.  We got our tree last night and we'll decorate it on Saturday listenting to music.  I think we'll also start the tradition of making a gingerbread house, I think he'll like that.

I can't wait for Christmas, I love this time of year!   

[paddbear0000]

Growing up, on Christmas Eve, my mother made the Finnish coffe bread (my great grandparents were Finnish and the recipe has been passed down through each generation) and cookies. We'd also decorate the cookies that day. At night, we would put all the presents under the tree, then put out the cookies for Santa. Even as we got older, we still did the cookie thing. It was tradition! In the morning, We got up early and raced downstairs to see what Santa had brought us. Then we would go eat the Finnish coffee bread (Yummmmm!). Then we would go unwrap our presents. My mom would then spend the rest of the day cooking the big dinner, with our help, which consisted of your usual Thanksgiving fare of stuffing, etc. Only, we had ham instead.

Now that I'm married, we haven't really established any traditions yet. The last 2 years we've gone to my husband's parents house in the morning and we'd all go to Christmas Mass. His family's Catholic, but my family isn't and our church didn't have Christmas Mass. Then we went back to open presents and have a lamb dinner. This year my husband and I are going to my mom's house in Maryland, so we'll pretty much be doing our old traditions! I'm SOOO excited!

[Jannie]

Stockings and small gifts to family members are exchanged Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is always fish, we follow the Italian tradition. Church on Christmas day, then home to open gifts and prepare a turkey dinner.

[okarol]

Singing Christmas Carols:

Print out beautiful sheet music of your favorite Christmas carols. These sheets have been specially prepared for http://www.noelnoelnoel.com and feature the lyrics and vocal part as well as chord symbols! Each sheet has a beautiful accompanying graphic.

Click on the title of the tune that you want and then print them directly out from the browser window. Or you can download them to print later. If they print too large then adjust your printer for reduction. Color printing works best.

Be certain to check out the matching piano arrangement for each of these songs. Have fun! 

[MyssAnne]

It's odd. We won't have our mom this year, and that really makes the holidays so different. This is my dad's last year in his house which is another odd feeling. Normally we would go to Christmas Eve services then go home and finish up stockings, etc., get some things ready for the dinner for Christmas. We'd then have dinner with another family, of which there is only one now, so it's only a small handful of people now.

[Jannie]

I moved out of my parent's home at age 22, 1974. My folks (including two sisters and one brother all live in Western NY. I lived in Queens NYC 1974-1977, Long Islad ever since).I have visited  my parents (now just my Mom) every year since them,and  I stay anywhere from 3 to 7 days. This is the first year (2007) I can't go. There was a big snowstorm in Buffalo Sunday, they got a foot of snow, and my plane was cancelled.  I could have waited for a later flight but I'm just too old and sick and grumpy to put up with it. Jetblue waived any cacellation fees,I am happy to say. I'll try again sometime next year. This has been a bad year for me. Started dialysis in August.

[thegrammalady]

as a child we always opened 1 gift christmas eve. of course it was pajamas or slippers or a robe. christmas morning we would either go to my grandparents or they would come to my house. it was always so hard waiting till they arrived. as my sister and i got older my dad would make a big christmas breakfast, eggs, fruit compote, bangers and a christmas stolen. then came stockings, then the tree and presents. you must always have socks in your stocking and an orange. we pretty much followed the same traditions with my kids. now because i usually go visit my parents in oregon at christmas we have our tree the saturday before i leave. this year we did a big dinner and went to the zoo lights after we opened our gifts. this way the littles get christmas twice and there are no bad feelings because you went to moms instead of the inlaws.

[karen547]

Well this year Christmas will be on the 29th for my family- my sister and her Husband are coming home the 28th so we will wait until  the 29th to open presents wiith them, which is more fun anyhow.

[KR Cincy]

I've enjoyed reading about everyone's holiday traditions, but I haven't seen anyone mention the live chicken sacrifice.
What's up with that?

I'm not the only one.....am I??

 

[kitkatz]

Oh yeah the live chicken sacrifice...hmmm. what about the naked chicken dance around the tree?

[goofynina]

Oh yeah the live chicken sacrifice...hmmm. what about the naked chicken dance around the tree?

  I just got a visual 

[okarol]

 
Home and 2 pics of the gingerbread houses we made.

[Wattle]

    Yum they look great! We are doing ours tomorrow, I will take a picture.

[boxman55]

Fabulous houses what kind of ivy is that, it is beautiful and the gingerbread house looks yummy...Boxman

[angela515]

Home and 2 pics of the gingerbread houses we made.

I would love to know your recipe and or how you make them if you don't mind sharing.