In my childhood, we all went to my Aunt Linda's. Once I had a pack of kids though, I stopped going because Aunt Linda's was not kid-friendly (nothing against Aunt Linda, she LOVED the kids, but they were the ONLY kids among 20-30 adults who rarely spent any time with kids). Then we just went to Mass at 7 and went home to bed.
Now my kids are older, we really ENJOY Aunt Linda's and have been back to going there every Christmas Eve for the past 5.
Provided you celebrate it of course, what do you and your family do on Christmas Eve? Do you do it the same every year, or are you in a ,um, transitional phase?
:)
On Christmas Eve growing up my mom would make chili and we would play monopoly.
Now, we usually have an 'easy' dinner - I'm trying to get into the chili routine again, open ONE present and play games.....
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
We hang out at home. Hubby and I used to run to his family's homes for Christmas but due to family drama we now stay home. I wish we had stopped the running round years ago.
We take a drive out after dark to look at neighborhood holiday lights/decorations, then come home and have a hot chocolate (or warm cider) and watch a holiday movie before turning in (by about 9pm).
Oh, and we track Santa's progress online (I just love those NORAD reports!).
I put our son to bed while Dad sneaks packages out from their hiding places to go under the tree and stuffs the stockings.
We tell our son he can use the bathroom if he has to, but otherwise no one is to leave their bedroom till sun up (he can read if he wants to).
We have breakfast before opening presents.
Well, this is our first Christmas with the baby, but we have talked about doing Christmas much like my family did growing up. Every Christmas Eve, my brothers and I would gather with my parents around the Christmas Tree and we would read the first part of the Christmas Story from the Bible. We would then each get to open 1 gift to symbolize the gift of Christ to the world. It was and still is my favorite family tradition. Then Christmas morning, we would wake up and read the remainder of the Christmas Story before opening our gifts.
Before my daughter and my sisters daughter got to the age of knowing about Santa, my brother, sister and I (and our families) would always end up at some point at my parents house. We all would sleep over. We would stay up late playing a board games and talking. It was fun, I hope some day we can go back to that tradition. Now, we just do our thing at my DH"s family and go home to our house. Then wake up Christmas morning at our house do our thing and head to my parents after. (As children my brother, sister and I would always sleep in one of our rooms together Christmas Eve, so spending the night at my parents, felt like reliving our childhood, I miss that. But someday we might be able to go back to that, I hope.)
I grew up watching my mom slave in the kitchen all Christmas Eve night then all Christmas Day. I vowed once I had a family of my own it would be laid back and about the kids & time as family rather than the elaborate spreads. So my husband and I started our own Christmas Eve tradition--Christmas Eve service (we have an early one @ 4pm or 6pm), Make your own pizza's at our house, games, Christmas carols & watching our daughter open two gifts given by my husband and I: a pair of new PJs and a special Christmas ornament. It is so laid back and anyone who needs a place to celebrate or hang out is welcome. We love it! Have fun making new traditions!
We do the exact same thing every year. We pick up/drop off kids then go to grandma's for dinner then to a candle lite church service. After church we head back to grandma's for a little bit to visit then off to put out cookies for Santa and food for our four legged friends.
We go to my parents house! my husband's family does not live in our area, and until last Christmas I was the only one of my siblings with any kids. My parents give my babies so much, that doing it all on Christmas day was overload. So we go to their house on Christmas Eve and still have the same dinner that I had growing up, tacos! Love it :o).
On Christmas Eve we eat homemade tacos for dinner then as soon as its dark, we start our traditions. We all sing xmas songs (rush thru them since the kids just want to get done to open presents!), my husband reads the christmas story from the bible, then the kids pass out presents and we take turns opening one at a time so everyone can see what each person gets (and I know who got what for the kids!), theres only 3 adults and 3 kids. Then santa comes over night and fills stockings and we open them in the morning. This is the same thing we have done as long as I remember and I'm 43! =0)
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It depends on where we are. We live ~10 hours from both sides of the family so we alternate who has us for Christmas Day (the other getting us for Thanksgiving) and then plan a short visit with the other side right after Christmas. Anyway, when we are at my in-laws they do hors'devours Christmas Eve evening. It is a big deal with fancy buffet setting, Christmas music, and nicer clothes. Occassionally we will go out and look at the lights around town depending upon weather and whether we had a chance to do it earlier. I go to Mass. At my parents Christmas Eve is similar but lower key. When I was child we always celebrated Christmas Eve with my dad's family but once all the cousins started getting married and Grandma moved South that tradition moved to an alternate day and then ceased all together.
OHHH how I wish we can just stay home clean house make cookies make all my candies on Christmas Eve but no not going to happen ever.My mom has decided since she has grandkids to have it at their house before we go to my husbands grandmas house at 6 then home after 10 (thank goodness gandma lives a hop skip & a jump away)I only went to mass 1 time out of 7 years of having my kids.I think this maybe the last year that grandma will hold Chritmas at her house it was decided no gift buying for kids this year.I would like to hold some hoiday cheer at our home but I don't see that happening either if I can talk my mom & sis into having it her this time great.In the past we had to do my inlaws on Christmas Eve as well becasue of her daughters kids they had to be with their dad on Christmas & was leaving that night to go back home to see his family.It gets really hectic going back ^ forth to the point its no fun but muserable & they can't see that everyone just wants to be with their grandkids & family.
I hope everyone has a happy joyful Christmas
We go to Christmas Eve Service and then to Grammas. We have appetizers and desserts. The kids get thier stockings from gramma and we exchange gifts with the extended family. We might play pictionary or some other family game while the kids play with thier new stuff. Lots of whiskey or rum soaked eggnog makes the board games not so boring! Then home to play Santa. One tradition I insist on is new pajamas every Christmas Eve. It makes for pretty Christmas morning pictures.
We get together w/ both sides of the family which sometimes involves them coming to our house and we also go to my inlaws every Christmas Eve. We then stay home Christmas Day.
Your church has a 5:30 service, and the pagent is done at that time. So we have somthing easy very eirly. Go to church and to the pagant, where all the kids get grab bags with little candys and orangs and things like that. Afer church we settle the kids in the back seat and let them have to ther goody bags and we drive around and look at Christmas lights, and the kids keep a sharp eye out for santa. Then home to see how close santa is on our news. We put the little ones to bed and then my husband and I have fun be santa, and after that we will have a nice glass of wine and a snuggle on the couch!!
Good times!!
We rotate to my parents or my in-laws every year. So one year we are at my in-laws for Thankgiving and then at my parents for Christmas, and then the next year we switch it. We go to my mom's for Christmas eve every year for dinner and present exchange with the entire family. We spend Christmas day with our little family and then later my parents may come over. My in-laws usually come to our house, as well as one of my SIL for Christmas or Thanksgiving, whichever holiday we are home.
This xmas eve we are going to my aunt's house for the first time. I have quite a few cousins with kids all under the age of 5 so it's really hard to fit everyone into eachothers plans. I am really excited. I have 2 kids of my own and my husband and I like to spend xmas morning with our kids ( 2 yrs and the other 6 months ) and then we go to each of our parents house since they are local. Xmas eve is kind of the night when we make a bunch of stops to everyone else. Its not always at the same places each year, but I love seeing everyone that we can- on both sides. Xmas is my favorite time of year- great memories from my childhood. It doesnt bother me that we dont have a"set" place to meet up every xmas eve- I think our family tradition will be more focused on xmas day!
We eat stone soup, walk to our church for candle light service (unless it's really cold, then we drive the 2 blocks:), hang out for cookies afterwards, come home, open one gift each and put the kids to bed.
Then Santa has milk and cookies & gets down to business. If it's been a very good year, Santa has single malt scotch & cookies.
We do Christmas with my mom and sister and one of our houses this year it is mine we have dinner and do gifts my step dad reads the Christmas story to the three kiddos the love this and then after everybody has left the kids get a set of new pjs and we put out our cookies and read twas the night before Christmas and then it is off to bed so mommy and daddy can have fun putting stuff together and getting ready for the next day. We don't go anywhere on Christmas and we love it and have done it for 3 years now it is so nice to just spend it together with a fire and some coffee, hot cocoa! Merry Christmas
We always have a nice big family dinner with Grandparents, siblings, Aunts, Uncles whoever is in town! Then we all go to Christmas Eve services at 7 pm and everyone opens 1 small gift. The kids get new Christmas jammies from Gma and the adults usually a new ornament. When we get home Daddy reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" then the kiddos put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and oatmeal for the reindeer and then off to bed to TRY to get some sleep!
For my entire life, I visited both sides of my family on Christmas Eve. It was our big Christmas family celebration day.
In the early afternoon, my dad's family would all gather at my aunt's house for an early dinner and exchanging gifts. Then, in early evening, we would go to my grandparent's house on my mom's side and my whole family on that side would meet there for hors d'oeuvres and another gift exchange. And that has been the itinerary for the 37 years I've been on this earth, or at least for as many of them as I can actually remember.
This year, however, it was decided that we will not be having Christmas Eve at my grandparent's house. It's too small to accommodate all the growing families, no place for the many cars to park safely, and it's just getting too difficult for my grandparents to host that many people (too much prep, clean-up, etc., even with offerings to help with all that - it's just too overwhelming for them now.)
So needless to say, I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it will be nice to just be at home for the second half of Christmas Eve, to do our own thing, maybe drive around and look at Christmas lights, or whatever. But it also marks the end of an era, really. And that makes me terribly sad, and I don't even like to think about it. sigh.
My husband's family always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve - his father had been a cop and often worked Christamas day. In the early years we'd go to his parent's house. When that became overwhelming for them we'd go to my SIL's house. But she's got a real problem with filth and after a few Christmas's of having to held my kids so they wouldn't crawl around on the disgusting floor we began to have Christmas Eve at our house. My FIL died last Fall and my MIL is now in a nursing home so Christmas Eve has changed dramatically for us. My kids are 11 & 14 and the older one is very involved in the christmas Eve service at our church this year. We always go to church either at 4:00 or at 7:00. This year I think I'll make a lasagna ahead of time and pop it in the oven so when we get back from church we can put on a few Christmas movies and relax together on the couch. That will become our new tradition. ;o)
We're in a transtitional phase:-/
Since meeting my DH, we've ended up spending Christmas Eve and morning with his family. But this is only b/c of my parents schedules and not being able to be in town for Christmas morning (so we've done Christmas afternoon with them). But this year my parents are able to come to our house. So we are spending Christmas Eve at my inlaws all day, doing gifts, a big meal, and church. Then we'll come home and have Christmas morning at our house with my parents (then off to my aunt and uncle's house).
It's hard now b/c even though DH and I have been married for 4 years, we still haven't figured out the perfect holiday schedule to balance time with both our families. So we've kinda taken it on a year-to-year basis. My parents' schedule isn't always the same each year so it's hard to say it will be the same each year.
