Holiday Traditions / Forget cancer for awhile

khl8

Hello all, I wanted to start a new thread to share how we each have certain traditions wether they are regional or family related.
My son and I started a tradition years ago when he was younger. We pick an evening, grab mugs of hot cocoa, dress warm and talk a walk through our neighborhood to look and appreciate all the holiday lights onthe streets. It gives us time to enjoy the season and spend some quality time together to just talk. This has meant more to me than gift I could ever receive. He is now 17 and I know that soon this will come to an end, but I want to enjoy this for as long as I can.
What is your favorite tradition??
Kathy

VickiCO

Christmas Eve
My daughter and I always share Christmas Eve as our special time. Christmas Day was for other family, grandparents, etc. Even though she is grown, married and has 3 kids, we still spend Christmas Eve together. We have a nice meal, open all our presents and talk about everything. Her family gets into it now also. The oldest (he's 10) is now the official tree decorator (on Thanksgiving weekend) and is shaping up to love this as much as Emily & I do.

Vicki

nudgie

Our tradition
is just like yours, khl8. When my son was younger we would dress warm, stop and get some coco and drive around the surrounding neighbors to see all the different types of Christmas decorations.

He is now grown and lives in Chicago, so those great days are over, sigh

khl8

nudgie said:

Our tradition
is just like yours, khl8. When my son was younger we would dress warm, stop and get some coco and drive around the surrounding neighbors to see all the different types of Christmas decorations.

He is now grown and lives in Chicago, so those great days are over, sigh

Tradition
I think this may be the last year for this, as he is 17 and graduating from high school this coming June, Heck, he may not want to do it this year!
Kathy

lmliess

khl8 said:

Tradition
I think this may be the last year for this, as he is 17 and graduating from high school this coming June, Heck, he may not want to do it this year!
Kathy

Polar Express
When my daughter was 1 1/2, she got a little flu virus. My husband and I, with her laying on me, all laid on the couch and watched "Polar Express'. My daughter watched the whole thing which was unusual for her at that age. It was great even though she was sick, to lay in front of the fire watching a great movie. So since then, we have started a tradition, I quess you could say, where we pick a night and all watch that movie together before Christmas.

thready

Traditions
My family does not really have any tradtions except for Christmas eve chruch service. One of my kids does not go to church, but he knows not to miss this service!

A friend of mine has her family draw names and each person has to make a gift for the person who's name they drew. It can be a simple letter, or a more elaborate gift. It is just emphasized that the gift be from the heart of the other person. My friend has hand hooked rugs, made quilts and done other equally exciting thing. They actually draw names I think in July. (I tried this with my family, but all I go was looks that said "you've got to be kidding"!) Oh well we will stick to Chrismas Eve chruch.
Jan

Julie 44

thready said:

Traditions
My family does not really have any tradtions except for Christmas eve chruch service. One of my kids does not go to church, but he knows not to miss this service!

A friend of mine has her family draw names and each person has to make a gift for the person who's name they drew. It can be a simple letter, or a more elaborate gift. It is just emphasized that the gift be from the heart of the other person. My friend has hand hooked rugs, made quilts and done other equally exciting thing. They actually draw names I think in July. (I tried this with my family, but all I go was looks that said "you've got to be kidding"!) Oh well we will stick to Chrismas Eve chruch.
Jan

Monday nights
Every Monday night my daughter and I watch One Tree Hill together...This is our special time alone and we chat up a storm durning commercials...She is 18 so I am praying this will still happen for awhile but at that age everything is more important than Mom. But I love our time together.....Julie

Kathryn_in_MN

Christmas Eve
Our only constant the last few years has been our Christmas Eve traditions. We had lots of other ones the kids outgrew, or things that become harder to do with them going between two houses.

On Christmas Eve it is just us (although we now include my father-in-law too). We have snacks like crackers, cheese, veggies and dip, fruit, nuts, smoked salmon, cocktail shrimp - stuff ourselves silly. We have hot cider and wine and open our gifts to each other. Then dinner is clam chowder. We tried starting a tradition with oyster stew many years ago, but it really isn't a favorite of anyone. But we all love the chowder. So EVERY Christmas Eve we have clam chowder for dinner. Since the kids go to the other side of the family on Christmas Day and there is more food than you can imagine, it is good we don't go too crazy the night before.

We go to the midnight service. I play in the handbell choir and sing in the chancel choir. Some years my boys have subbed in the handbell choir, and one of my boys has sung with the chancel choir a few years too. This year I have not been able to continue. We missed church on Christmas Eve a couple years ago when I was fighting RSD. I really hope I do not miss this year.

I do miss some of the old traditions - like the paperchain that each child made and tore off a link to countdown to Christmas at bedtime each night. Maybe someday with grandkids?

tootsie1

Special ornament
When my daughter was 2 years old (she's now 32), we spent a day making homemade ornaments. While we worked, we ate fast food from Hardee's. My little precious girl took the french fry wrapper and put a string through it to make an ornament. She was so cute and so proud, that I hung it right on the tree. Every year since then, that has had a special place on the tree, and I always get teary remembering what a wonderful time we had together that day. I finally laminated the wrapper one year, so now I don't have to worry about it getting torn up. I couldn't buy an ornament that would ever mean more to me.

*hugs*
Gail

Nana b

tootsie1 said:

Special ornament
When my daughter was 2 years old (she's now 32), we spent a day making homemade ornaments. While we worked, we ate fast food from Hardee's. My little precious girl took the french fry wrapper and put a string through it to make an ornament. She was so cute and so proud, that I hung it right on the tree. Every year since then, that has had a special place on the tree, and I always get teary remembering what a wonderful time we had together that day. I finally laminated the wrapper one year, so now I don't have to worry about it getting torn up. I couldn't buy an ornament that would ever mean more to me.

*hugs*
Gail

Memories
As far back as I can remember, my husband would take all the kids, above the age of 3, to the movies on Christmas Eve, and I would stay behind and fix Christmas Eve dinner, so when they came in, dinner was ready, a fire was going and I had my glass of wine. Everyone would open one gift on Christmas Eve. Christmas Morning I would, that is do get up and cook a full spread and line up my crock pots. Eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, gravy, biscuits, and oatmeal. (I know, I know) As the kids woke up, we gathered in the LR, open gifts, then we would go in to eat breakfast. When done, everyone washes their plate setting (as they do since they were kids and every time they are here) and we relax. In the afternoon, we cut up fresh fruit, eat some shrimp cocktail, very light. Play with the kids. Come evening, we have tamales and a hot drink made out of oatmeal.

Now that the kids are older, and the grandkids are here, they go to the movies on Christmas Eve, everyone gathers here afterwards in their PJs, we cook up some king crab, salad, clam chowder, sour dough bread (chicken nuggets for the kids) and just relax. (everyone that comes over arrives in PJs, all in good taste of course). Our kids and grandkids usually spend the night and Christmas morning follows as usual.

I'm glad I am here to enjoy this Christmas!


Funny, I just had a thought....... I never had dessert for my family.....but now, they bring it over! :-)

khl8

Traditions
I am loving hearing all the different traditions! It is helping me get into the holiday spirit!
Kathy

Shayenne

khl8 said:

Traditions
I am loving hearing all the different traditions! It is helping me get into the holiday spirit!
Kathy

We Watch.....
Lots of Christmas movies, I have to have my old Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer fix, it was my fave as a child, and I bought the DVD's of that and Frosty and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town a few years back, my kids love it, so we watch them on the week of Christmas, also The Polar Express as well, I loved it! We also open 2 gifts each on Christmas Eve night, with cookies and hot chocolate, Hot Herbal tea for me usually! we get the kids to bed off around 11:00 so they can wake up early and open their other gifts on Christmas Day, while I make a breakfast casserole, then we eat, and usually go over to their Aunt's house for more pressies for the kids, and his aunt makes an awesome Tiramisu, which is a delicious Italian dessert, it's sooooo good, and have dinner there, usually a turkey a ham, of course because I get so Turkey'd out during Thanksgiving, I may make a lasagna or something to bring over, because I don't like ham much, so I'll eat the pasta! lol...

Then it's back home, so I can play with the kids and their games and toys!

Hugsss!
~Donna