Santa /Holiday Traditions

[Disney4us2]

When Santa:santa2: came to our house, he left unwrapped gifts:gift: for DD so she would know what she got from him and what she got from me.:tree:

I got that idea from a friend one year a long time ago and liked it. My DD found out I was her Santa:santa2: when I was working late and she got into the Santa Stash:secret: That took the magic out of that Christmas. I grew up in a family that celebrated another winter:dreidel: holiday and have no family traditions passed down to me. Jessica and I are the only ones that celebrate Christmas in our family.

What are your traditions?:santa3:

[retiredfigment]

One year, when DS and DD were young and starting to question Santa Claus, they woke on Christmas morning to find a piece of red felt stuck to the fireplace. I told them Santa must have ripped his pants. Giggles abounded, best memory. Also, wrap Santa's presents with different paper. Traditions - we always open presents youngest to oldest, always eat breakfast together, always go to church, always buy one new ornament for the tree for each family member, (no all one ornament for my tree0, and always have the same Christmas cookies and heaven forbid I forget one:mickey:Have a very Merry Christmas!

[hokies4life]

Well we have never had many traditions in my house, but since I've been celebrating with my Fiance's family I've noticed they have some. Their youngest is 19 now and since everyone comes up on Christmas Eve (or 5am Christmas Morning like we did last year) they still open presents at 530-6am. They always open presents from youngest to oldest (at least in the immediate family). There are always at least 3 "christmases" on Christmas Day. 1. Immediate family in the morning, 2. Grandparents & Aunts & Uncles & cousins, 3. The oldest & his wife and kids come over. And there is always Christmas Cookies, and 2 Christmas Trees (A family/Misc. tree & a Disney Tree).

With my Fiance & Myself we've started traditions of Advent Calendar Collections (We have 4 atm), 2 Christmas Trees(Disney & Misc), and my special pumpkin pie.

Merry Christmas everyone!! :santa3:

[PirateLover]

We also had the tradition of the unwrapped presents being from Santa! I will definitely continue this when I have my own little ones. :santa:
Another tradition is that we always do Christmas Eve mass, and when we got back from mass one of us what get to put baby Jesus in the manger. We switched every year- one of us got to put Jesus in the manger and the other got to put the angel on top of the tree :D

[TigChatt]

Christmas traditions in our house....unwrapped presents from Santa, opening 1 present on Christmas eve(new pjs for everyone, picture purpose for morning of course), and two new traditions. A green/red paper chain to help our son countdown to Christmas eve, and making Jesus a birthday cake :) I love hearing about everyone's traditions. So many different ones!

[TikiGoddess]

I'll be interested to know everyone's traditions... I feel like shaking things up this year and doing something different.

Our traditions:
1. watch White Christmas while decorating the tree (this year the tree went up beginning of Dec)
2. open PJs on Xmas eve
3. set out stuffed animals on the backs of the couches to watch for Santa
4. open Santa presents (in different wrapping paper)

Kathy

[mouseketeer mom]

Leaving out cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for Reindeer, and each child writes a note to Santa, and they usually ask him questions, and Santa writes a short note back to each child. Christmas eve spent at DH's parents house, Christmas morning comes early and belongs to only us. The traditional picture of the kids coming down the stairs. Each child has their "spot" under the tree, and they each have their own wrapping paper from Santa for their gifts. Stockings are opened first, then they all open presents at once. Christmas cookies and pierogies for breakfast. Every Christmas about noon time we head to my Mom's house. My sisters and their families meet up with us there.
Also, on Christmas Eve day, we do the "pickle" present. I hide the pickle ornament on the tree somewhere, and whoever finds it gets to open the "pickle" present. The present belongs to everyone, but the pickle finder gets to open it. Its usually a game or movie, something all of us would like. This year, its the game "Bop it".

[Mousefever]

Jacob is 11 1/2 now and we had the Santa talk earlier this month, mostly because I could tell he pretty much knew. His response was, "Well, the North Pole IS inhospitable."

Unwrapped presents from Santa.
Stockings for everyone.
Opening presents one at a time, youngest to oldest.

Amy

[meldan98]

What???!!!??? There's no :santa2: What are you going to do next, tell me there is no :santa3:

[meldan98]

On the 23rd my dh and I go out for our anniversary (usually dinner and a move and last minute shopping). Then on the 24th we deliver our goodie boxes that we make for friends and family, then we head off to church. We then attend a family Xmas Eve get together and then head home. We read Twas the Night Before Christmas, leave out cookies and milk for Santa and then head off to bed. The next morning, we get up, open stockings, open presents and then for breakfast I make Blue Bayou Monte Cristos. My parents come over for breakfast and we open presents again.

[crazypoohbear]

We grew up with my dad putting Bing Crosby's White Christmas on the reel to reel downstairs and that album played non stop all christmas day. Nothing happened until we heard bing. And Mom and Dad had their cup of coffee.

My dad has been gone now 20 years, (he dies when my oldest son was 7 weeks old)

In my home, the first thing that happens is Bing goes on the CD and I get my diet coke and DH has his cup of coffee... Now that the kids are older they get up (Still at about 5:30 AM) put on the coffee for DH and put Bing on LOUD hoping to wake up mom and dad.
Until we get out of bed the boy's are only allowed to open their stockings.
We always had wrapped presents from Santa and still do that.

My kids always left santa a glass of Chardonnay and cheese and crackers :D
I told them that santa would stop at our house last and have a nice break before going back to the north pole and if there were any left over presents in the sleigh he would leave them for us as a thank you for leaving something other than milk and cookies. :secret:

[Melanie]

My kids always left santa a glass of Chardonnay and cheese and crackers :D
I told them that santa would stop at our house last and have a nice break before going back to the north pole and if there were any left over presents in the sleigh he would leave them for us as a thank you for leaving something other than milk and cookies. :secret:

LOVE IT! :thumbsup:

[faline]

I'm surprised at how often Santa leaves unwrapped gifts! Santa did that when I was growing up as well and I hated it! Santa always wrapped gifts for my little girl when she was growing up!

He would also leave a wrapped gift on the foot of my daughter's bed. If she woke up extra early or in the middle of the night (inevitable), she could open the gift that Santa had left in her room.

Once we were up in the morning, my daughter could open her stocking but no other gifts. While she explored her stocking we would make coffee, set out Danish and turn on the hoiday music. Once we were all settled into the living room, we would begin the gift opening process. No mass tearing in our house! Everyone stopped to see what the person who was opening gets and to appreciate that along with the person who received it before moving on to another gift for another family member! Since most of the gifts under the tree were for my daughter, there was never a long wait before another gift to open landed in her hands!

[PirateLover]

I loved Santa's gifts being unwrapped! I have vivid memories of my mother carrying my down the stairs as a kid and seeing stuffed animals, playsets and the like. Often, Santa bought us awkwardly shaped items... Like my brother's Bat Cave, a stuffed animal sitting on a huge tub of Duplos... my Big Bird Big Wheel... my best reaction was probably when I stopped halfway down the stairs as I spied my new dollhouse that was as big as me!!!

We didn't do the Christmas Eve gift until we were a little older... and now we added a new tradition a few years ago: another gift at midnight if everyone is still up!

[TigChatt]

I loved Santa's gifts being unwrapped! I have vivid memories of my mother carrying my down the stairs as a kid and seeing stuffed animals, playsets and the like. Often, Santa bought us awkwardly shaped items... Like my brother's Bat Cave, a stuffed animal sitting on a huge tub of Duplos... my Big Bird Big Wheel... my best reaction was probably when I stopped halfway down the stairs as I spied my new dollhouse that was as big as me!!!


Sounds like you got pretty much the same thing as me as a kid. I loved santa bringing stuff unwrapped cause you got to play with the stuff right away versusu opening boxes.

[Tinksalot]

My childrens fondest memories were the year I took my husbands snowmobile boots one Christmas eve and put them in the fireplace to get soot on the bottom and then put footprints from the fireplace to the tree. The girls woke up the next morning and couldn't believe it! I even acted as if I was alittle anoyed at the dirt on my carpet.
We also receive PJ's from the elves on Christmas eve. Now my grandchildren are enjoying some of those traditions. :santa2::tree:

[handmaidenofprincesses]

Ooh I love this thread!

On Christmas Eve, my dad's family comes over around 5 o'clock. We have shrimp cocktail, pierogies, stuffed clams and my mom's cod casserole (sounds gross but it's actually really good) since our tradition dictates no meat on Christmas Eve. We also exchange oplatek, which is a Polish tradtion. The oplatek is like a giant rectangular Eucharist, but with a picture of the nativity on it. We each get a piece and go around to each person and wish them a merry Christmas. I break a piece off of the other person's and they break a piece off of mine and we eat the pieces. This continues until everyone has exchanged with everyone else.

Then we go to midnight mass. My parents serve (they're Eucharistic ministers) and I sing in the choir. I even have 2 solos this year: Mary Did You Know and The Birthday of a King.

On Christmas morning, we get up at the crack of dawn to open gifts. My brother and I can't come down until my parents give the okay. We open stockings first, then gifts. My aunt comes over around 9 and we have breakfast. I go back to church and sing for 10:30 mass.

Then my mom's family (many many people) come over for a sort of buffet around 2 o'clock. We eat, the guys watch some football or something, and then we rip open presents!

Then my other aunt and cousins come over for dessert (it's hard to explain cuz we're not technically related lol)

See, now I'm excited- only 5 more days!

[faline]

We also exchange oplatek, which is a Polish tradtion. The oplatek is like a giant rectangular Eucharist, but with a picture of the nativity on it. We each get a piece and go around to each person and wish them a merry Christmas. I break a piece off of the other person's and they break a piece off of mine and we eat the pieces. This continues until everyone has exchanged with everyone else.


This is a tradition I greatly miss! My grandmother and father were Polish and we did this - though primarily on Easter rather than Christmas!

[Kenny1113]

We started a new tradition a couple of years ago (kids idea). The boys get to sleep by the Christmas tree! Which means Santa has to be really quiet so the boys can't sneek s peek. :secret:

I also grew up with Santa's gift unwrapped. But in my house now Santa wraps the gifts.

I like several others posted have MANY Christmases as well.

[RenDuran]

Are we the only people that open stockings last? The stockings have always been my husband's favorite part of Christmas morning and we wait to open those after everything else is done!

I love everyone's traditions and ideas. I especially love the red felt on the fireplace and the boot tracks to the tree. I may have to do those this year for my 5-year-old, who by-the-way told me I didn't have to buy him a DS anymore, because he asked Santa for it!

[Disney4us2]

Merry Christmas to all. I have really enjoyed reading your traditions and love them all. My DD wanted to do the pickle ornament present right after I read it to her. She has been chomping at the bit to open her gifts.:gift: Even our doxie Ginger :dog:has tried to open hers.:tree: I had to take them away. How does a dog know which ones are hers? They are squeeky toys with no scent. Do your dogs/cats try to open their packages:gift: early?

[BMan62]

Ooh I love this thread!

On Christmas Eve, my dad's family comes over around 5 o'clock. We have shrimp cocktail, pierogies, stuffed clams and my mom's cod casserole (sounds gross but it's actually really good) since our tradition dictates no meat on Christmas Eve. We also exchange oplatek, which is a Polish tradtion. The oplatek is like a giant rectangular Eucharist, but with a picture of the nativity on it. We each get a piece and go around to each person and wish them a merry Christmas. I break a piece off of the other person's and they break a piece off of mine and we eat the pieces. This continues until everyone has exchanged with everyone else.

Then we go to midnight mass. My parents serve (they're Eucharistic ministers) and I sing in the choir. I even have 2 solos this year: Mary Did You Know and The Birthday of a King.

On Christmas morning, we get up at the crack of dawn to open gifts. My brother and I can't come down until my parents give the okay. We open stockings first, then gifts. My aunt comes over around 9 and we have breakfast. I go back to church and sing for 10:30 mass.

Then my mom's family (many many people) come over for a sort of buffet around 2 o'clock. We eat, the guys watch some football or something, and then we rip open presents!

Then my other aunt and cousins come over for dessert (it's hard to explain cuz we're not technically related lol)

See, now I'm excited- only 5 more days!

Sounds quite a bit like our Lithuanian Kucios -- Christmas Eve Candlelight Dinner -- oplatek = plotkeles; no meat (lots of seafood!!!); at least 13 different food items on table (symbolizing Christ and 12 apostles) ; extra place setting for any late comers...

With the breaking of the wafer, we always said the bigger piece that is broken off, the more generous you would be to that person in the new year.

Midnight Mass and open one present before bed....

[pink]

Are we the only people that open stockings last? The stockings have always been my husband's favorite part of Christmas morning and we wait to open those after everything else is done!

We open ours last.

Usually what my family does is on Christmas Eve. we go to my aunts house and see all of our extended family from my dad's side. We open gifts from them, have a nice dinner and mingle. In the past few years, after this party I go to my DBF's house. Give his parents their present and then DBF and I open our gifts from each other and usually watch a Christmas movie afterwards.

Christmas morning my brother either wakes up way too early or some years he sleeps in too late and we actually have to force him awake. (He is 13 now) My grandma comes over and we all wait downstairs for everyone to get settled in the living room by the tree and the gifts. It is exciting to see such a large pile all together. We put on some Christmas music and we used to open gifts all at once but now we are doing it one by one so we can see what everyone else got and soak in the moment since it usually just goes too fast.

After presents my mom makes a big breakfast (she never does this unless it is on Christmas or Easter). We all have breakfast together and then we open our stocking and relax the rest of the day until our big Christmas dinner that night. :mickey: