Christmas Traditions

One thing I have always done is on Thanksgiving Day, right after dinner, no matter if it's evening, we go out and buy a beautiful Christmas tree and than we go home and start putting it together, even if we don't finish it that night. That is always the onset of the start of Christmas for us. My son is 22 and my daughter is 21 and my youngest son is 5 and we do this every year. My two older ones, even my son with his wife and kids, all go to get a tree right after dinner. It's become a tradition and something we always look forward too. Even now that they are adults.

Hi Michelle... I don't have any additional traditions to add to the list, but I wanted to thank you for posting this question. I have a 4 month old son and loved the responses you got... gave me some good inspiration for us to celebrate his first Christmas!

We always do Reindeer food on Christmas eve, and then come in and open just one present each. We put all the presents from each other under the tree Christmas even night before the kids go to bed, and then Santa comes with his gifts and to fill the stockings in the middle of the night. We do gingerbread houses in the middle of the month, and let the kids snack on them thereafter if they want. We bake different shaped Christmas cookies, and always leave some for Santa on Christmas eve, along with a Thank You Note for visiting our house, and leave that in our Dear Santa pillow. Hmmm...what else? We always start decorating on Thanksgiving, and we do the main tree all together, and then we all have trees in our bedrooms that we can do ourselves or ask for help on. There's probably more, that I'm forgetting. Also check out http://www.happyhomeclubonline.com/profile/BethReed and go to Family Wiki for more ideas on all sorts of traditions.

michelle,I two girls 7&8 and we let them open new pj's on Christmas Eve. it is a tradition from when I was a kid,pj's and always knit slippers from Granny.when big enough we put oats and a little glitter on the lawn for the reindeer,the glitter is so it shines,so they can see it,and of course cookies and milk for the big guy,we also make a mouse just the body the girls draw a face and the tail is green and red rings for each day until Christmas,the last ring is yellow(the golden ring)the rings are the tail,you can also make a snowman and the rings are his scarf anyway I did the 12 days till Christmas,now they are older and we do it Dec.1st,attatched at the top the poem reads, each night as good night is said,tear off a loop and hop in bed,when the tail has gone away,Christmas will come the very next day! they love it,we do it for B-days whenever,it lets them know how long.have fun!!

We bake cookies from scratch for Santa on Christmas Eve. Of course, we sit down to eat some. We also make hot chocolate and serve it in Santa Claus mugs that we only use around the holidays. Good tidings!

Well im a mom of three girls and expecting in june . So i try to keep the hoildays speacial . Christmas morning we all come out in our pj,s and sit around the tree . We read the christmas story of what christmas is about and the reason. Then we open our stocking , which r filled with orange, pinapple juice and other goodies. We all sit and have summer saugage and cheese and crackers and our juice. It's real nice to do this and not rush into everything. I been doing this for about 6 years now.

My girls favorite traditions are making homemade Christmas cookies, the cut out ones that you frost and decorate.
Also on Christmas Eve every since they have been born the get a pair of pajamas as their Christmas Eve present. They are 21 and 22 and still love this tradition. They look forward to the new pajamas.
Also we made homemade ornaments for the tree. Each year it would be something different. They now have all of these for their tree when they get a home of their own. Glitter on pine cones, card board cut outs wrapped in foil, etc......

We are in Sarasota, so it'll be a little different, but you will get the drift and be able to plan things where you are. We start Christmas traditons off the weekend following Thanksgiving with the decorating. Then we go down for Holiday Night on St. Armand's Circle the first Friday of December (it was tonight and we had a ball). We go to the Holiday Parade downtown the following night. We do family Christmas pictures on the beach to send out on cards during that next week and have dinner picnic-style out there to follow. We attend my company Christmas party the weekend after. We go to Christmas parties with the kids at 2 different friends houses every year. We go to the local mall where there is an incredibly real looking Santa the week before Christmas so that the kids can tell him what they want. We spend an evening with my sister and Dad during the week leading up to Christmas too having dinner together and letting the kids open presents from them. Due to loving Christmas at home with the kids and a estranged relationship with my mother, we celebrate with my Dad and sister early. We let the kids open one special gift while having eggnog by the fireplace together on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is spent opening the gifts with the kids and having a big breakfast together. The in-laws are in from up north the day before, so they come midday and we have a big dinner together after the kids open presents from them. The day after Christmas is our Christmas finale with the sister, her hubby and mom-in-law coming down, as well as my Dad. They join my family and my in-laws for dinner and then a local trolley ride complete with Christmas carols that takes us by all of the best decorated houses in town. We all come back to the house for dessert and coffee together. It is a wonderful ending to our month long Christmas celebration! The key for us is that we do nothing without including the kids and we celebrate all month long. Good luck with making your own family traditions and Merry Christmas!

We have always let our son help put the star on the tree. He has also "helped" bake and decorate cookies. One thing I did last year is I bought a snowflake ornament that you use to shut the lights off and on so he gets to put the lights on all the time. You just attach the adapter on the ornament to the end of your lights. He tells everyone about these things so I hope he is building his memories already.

We always listen to a Perry Como record while making cookies.

It's my favorite time of year (I miss the snow most). We decorate the house the night of Thanksgiving or next day. I bake cookies all month long. I buy Christmas cads after Christmas (they are 50%-75% off). I write them out in the summer then I have the pictures taken during Thanksgiving week or after and mail them out. I make a few dozen different cookies and give them as gifts to neighbors with their cards (I save on stamps and it's good to see the neighbors). We used to make cards for the local nursing homes with Moms Club. We go to Christmas Lane in Seffner. We eat dinner at the in-laws. At church we take an angel from the giving tree and buy a new gift for a child that needs one. That's pretty much it when you have a buget. Maybe when my kids get older we will volunteer at a soup kitchen and share the day with others in need. Good luck finding your special memories.

It's great to see everyone's traditions. My husband, son and I have some of our own. Every year we put up our tree the day after Thanks giving and we leave it up until January 6 (Epiphany- my husband is Greek). Every year we get a new ornament, but we don't put it on the new one on the tree until Christmas Eve (we even buy them for our cat and dog). We don't open any gifts until Christmas morning, as there aren't any under the tree... everyone knows Santa comes in the middle of the night! My son's birthday is December 6 so we wait until after his brithday and then we paint ornaments or a nativity scene (we each get our own piece)- we ususally do this around the 15th. We all write letters to Santa and we make sure they are sent out by December 15th. I sent out Christmas cards every year to family members and friends. This year I will be sending on to : A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

We also bake cookies on Christmas Eve and leave some for Santa, we also leave celery or carrots for the reindeer. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Every year for Christmas Eve we go to a candlelight service at our church. We look at lights driving home. We we get home we have a light dinner and then have a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday. We read about His birth from the Bible. The next morning I always make sausage balls and we have that then open presents. We take our time and have told the families that we will be there after our time with the kids and they play for a bit. We refuse to take Christmas morning away from our kids because we have to go several places that day. It seems like we are on the road most of the day so we let the kids play with any toys that they got before we leave.

How wonderful you want to start some traditions for your family. Some of ours are carried over from when I was little - like open one present on Christmas eve - it's always pajamas (good for pics on Christmas morn). Some I have started for my kids are 1) every year we make our wrapping paper. I buy a roll of brown paper and I have paint and several stamps and the kids use the stamps, their hand prints etc and we do the whole roll - then we use it to wrap the presents to everyone. It's a nice way for the kids to be involved and eliminates trying to find the 'right' paper for a gift and is an extra special touch for grandparents or aunts and uncles. 2) we make a birthday cake for Jesus every year. This reminds the kids that Christmas is more than just Santa Clause but it's a celebration of Christ birth. We even sing happy birthday and blow out the candle together. 3) we read the story of Jesus birth on Christmas Eve. Used to do it on Christmas but the kids get so wrapped up (no pun intended) in opening presents etc that I have found it works much better to do it on Christmas Eve. In fact I've parlayed the baking of the cake into that and then we sing and celebrate on Christmas day. We also make cookies and set them and milk and even a few carrots (for the reindeer) out for Santa. Every year my kids race to see if Santa and the reindeer eat their goodies! :-) These are just a few... Know that whatever you do, it will be special because it's your tradition for your family and your children and will be looked forward to and carried on for years to come!!! God Bless!!!

Christmas Eve is always my fave. We have celebrated it the same as long as I can remember. We go to the Children's Mass at Church (Catholic churches usually have a Children's Mass around 5 pm Christmas Eve. Then we all go out to dinner. Going out to dinner Christmas eve is always fun because not every place is open. In recent years it has been easier to find a place. But some years we ended up at diners.

Then we go look at Christmas lights!! In Wisconsin growing up there was a ritzy neighborhood that had the best lights. They competed with each other and the displays grew every year. Sometimes we find neighborhoods like that. Sometimes we just drive around to see what people have up. In St. Pete there is a house I think on 18th Street off of 62nd Ave. that has the best light show with music (you tune your car radio to the station posted). So we have ended up in front of that house for the past 3 years.

When we return home the kids open one present. The PJs. They get their new pajamas on. We get Santa's cookies ready and make hot chocolate. Then we read the Night Before Christmas. The story is in this really old Christmas book my family has had since I was very young. Now the book has been passed to me. So it's a very special book we read from. Then it's off to bed!! It's such a fun night.

I have a special Christmas journal/book with two pages for every Christmas. It has a place for your Christmas card and a photo from Christmas day and places to write down who you celebrated the holiday with, the ways you celebrated the holidays, and special moments from the years. I would like to find one now to give my brother since this will be his son's first Christmas and I think this would be a good gift. The one I have has room for 20 years of holidays. I started when we got married and so already have 13 Christmases documented.

We always do new pajamas on Christmas Eve. It is the one gift my boys are allowed to open early. They are all old enough now that they know that is what they are getting, but they all still look forward to it.

We also bake cookies and make sure to leave them out for Santa with some milk. We drink most of the milk and eat most of the cookies with my husband leaving one with a big bite taken out of it. A few small carrots for the reindeer too. Husband then writes a thank you note to our boys and signs it from Santa and draws a little hoof print too for Rudolphs thank you.

We always decorate our tree the weekend following Thanksgiving and it is a family affair. Each boy has a few of their own ornaments (baby's 1st Christmas, etc) that they get to hang themselves where they want on the tree. No matter if it is a warm or cold season we are in our pajamas and have hot chocolate while decorating.

Since my kids were little they have gotten a Christmas Ornament on Christmas Eve. I usually make sure it indicates the year and something that they are into that year. Now when they put them on the tree every year we talk about what they were doing at that time. When they grow up and are on their own the ornaments and memories will go with them to their own tree.

Hello! I hope this helps. I have an 18 month old and this will be her 2nd x-mas. When i was pregnant and then her 1st year and now this year...what we do is on x-mas eve we crawl into mommy & daddy's bed and my husband reads her a short story about christmas. The "true" meaning of x-mas- about christ...not santa. This way she will have the tradition each year, learn the true meaning of x-mas and have santa in the morning. It justs brings the "family" close together. Nothing like a good snuggle with your wee-one before going to bed on christmas eve. C. a.

When my children were small we did things that my kids now share with their own. I made or purchased an ornament with the date that had something to do with their stage of life, 1st Christmas, new bike,ect.(always date them) Then when they are adults you have a wonderful gift for tham to put on their tree. Another was a jar with strips of paper with a fun thing to do related to Christmas. Perhaps that night we would pull out one that suggests we read a special book related to the christmas season, a scripture, a song to sing. Just remember not to get to detailed and that whatever you write down to do you would be able to do it on short notice, like bake cookies, ect. On Christmas eve theyopened a gift of pjs (need those for pics), bake a birthday for Jesus. These are just a few Children want your time not stuff, and time now is of such a premium that it is worth more than stuff. Most important, take the time to celebrate the season, whatever your family backgrounds and start some of your own traditions. Have a blessed Christmas.

Oh man, where do I start...?

Christmas Eve we open 2 gifts (from Santa's little helpers) 1 is always Christmas PJ's and 1 is an orniment for the tree. My parents started the orniment idea years ago so me and my sister would be able to have a tree of orniments the first year after we moved out of the house...and it was great!!

Christmas Night we go to our local church for a tree lighting services, which is always special and then have dinner together.

Christmas Day, we always make cinnimun buns to eat while opening the gifts, to this day I won't NOT have those yummy buns on Christmas morning.

Then we do a Yankee Swap with everyone at Christmas dinner...instead of having to buy gifts for everyone. Plus we typically have a lot of extra friends/family (those people that we just won't let be alone for Christmas) and by doing the Yankee swap they even get to open gifts. So is the short of it: Everyone brings 1 unmarked general gift (gag gifts, re-gifts, whatever) but it has to be less then $20.00. Then you pick a number from a hat (with the total number of people playing). The person with #1 picks a gift first, they open it and keep it. #2 picks a gift and opens it, if they don't like their gift they can swap with #1's gift. #3 picks a gift and they can swap with either #1 or #2..that continues until the last person opens the gift (mind you they can pick from everyone) But then the #1 person gets to pick from everyone again at the very end. It's lots of fun!! Let me know if that's confusing!!

Those are just a few I've done for years and have brought into my family now. I just love them and hope you will too.