Christmas traditions

Hey all, I just wanted to see how everyones Christmas shopping and baking is going? And I was thinking of some of my family traditions, I love Christmas! Some of the things we do is normally on Christmas eve we go to town (with a mug of hot chocolate) and look at the Christmas lights, and of course we eat really good, but so goes the animals (they all get something special too). We leave carrots for the reindeer and milk n cookies for santa. And santa leaves the kids normally 2 or 3 presents and chocolates, oranges, socks, pjs and a toothbrush in our stockings.
I would love to hear what everyone does, please reply

Another question does anyone put 7up or sprite in their Christmas? I heard if you put 7up in your tree or cut flowers it makes them last longer?

And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

My gift buying is done, most of them wrapped waiting for the tree to go up, Baking is all done and dropped of a HUGE basket of baking for the daughter and grandkids this afternoon, will make a traditional Christmas dinner, stuffed Turkey with my special wild rice cranberry stuffing, debone a goose and wrap the turkey in it, mashed potatoes, carrots and corn, pumpkin or deep dish apple pie for desert, while I am doing all this I get to watch all the people in my house mingle and enjoy the day. I never go shopping in malls or stores EXEPT grocery in December.

is there no one else that wants to share their thoughts and traditions?

It's true. I sprinkled some 7up on our artificial tree and it's lasted for years.

We go to an early Church service, come home and have supper. Usually something premade that is easy to heat up. We've done lamb stew, chicken stew, seafood chowder... Always amazing. For desert we usually have mince puddings with a caramel sauce drizzled over the top.

Then we'll open presents from my side of the family.

Christmas Day we get up and usually have a strata made to pop in the oven. Open Santa and the rest of family presents, eat the strata for breakfast and prepare the Christmas dinner. The next couple of days are spent relaxing.

We have a new tradition, and it is a huge hit.

We have Kids Christmas. It is mid Dec, the grand kids (my neices and nephews) head to Grandmas place to do crafts and decorate cookies, open presents, play games etc. Come Christmas day there are stockings (with little things in them, NOT more gifts)and visitng family. Witha b ig family it is not fun to have 10 presents being opened at aony moment, paper everywhere, things stacked, rushed thanks then onto the next item. It is so commercial and hurried. We love the new Christmas with the focus on famiy and getting together . A Big C Christmas. Everything is sooooo much easier, calmer, organized and enjoyable.

We have been splitting up our Christmas's as well. We have 3 and sometimes 4 families to see over the holiday and that always meant a lot of driving in 3 days.
Now we do Christmas with my mom the week before Christmas, gives us all a chance to visit and the cousins to play.
Christmas Eve we spend with my Husband's family, spend the night have have gifts Christmas morning, a nice Breakfast and then come home.
At home we do our chores, then let the girls open gifts from us.
Boxing Day is spent, well BOXING DAY SHOPPING, , but after a bit of shopping we go to my Dad's and have Christmas with him. Usually Chinese food brought in, since he is not much of a cook. And the day is just spent visiting and having a good time.

We don't have a lot of our own Christmas traditions yet as a family. We have Traditions at my Mom's and Traditions at my Hubby's parents, but we are still working on something for our little family. Seems Christmas is always so rushed, hoping to stop that this year by splitting it all up. And hopefully some day I can convince my hubby that it is time we were at our OWN home for Christmas mornings...Then we can start our own little traditions.

Fowler wrote:It's true. I sprinkled some 7up on our artificial tree and it's lasted for years.

I too have done this when I was a few years younger! It was more of a splash than a sprinkle and it really wasn't pure 7UP. It was diluted quite a bit with Crown! ...Stupid cat!

ha ha

LAstnight I put up the tree, which is mostly fake. It's an odd fake tree, the limbs are loose and you jam them into a green, broomstick trunk. THe provided trunk is ridiculous so several years ago I found a dead tree, took all the limbs off and drilled holes to stick the fake limbs into. Hubby watches the annual tree assembly from a position of safety, on the sofa, and muses on what species of tree has branches like a ponderosa pine, but the trunk of a birch?

Once we get all the tree decorating mess cleared away, we'll get a 1000 piece puzzle all set out onthe coffee table. Every Christmas we work on a puzzle that stays in place until it's done. Guests pick away at it when they stop over. They say setting puzzles is good for the brain and helps highlight your over 40 loss of vision. I find that an alcoholic beverage makes me see things more clearly or not care that I can hardly see at all.

My shopping, which is minimal, is pretty much done. I have kept my spending local and took the suggestion of that post that someone made earlier on things to buy from local providers. Bought the teen horsey girl a head crack touch up at local beauty salon. No, this is not the same as a head crack repair kit after falling off horse, you have to get those at the Dr's office.

Ah, this brings back memories Uno. My grandparents would always have a puzzle out at Christmas time as well. Interesting...

As for 7up in the tree, I bet it's the sugar that keeps it going. I have always mixed sugar and water, and used it in the tree. I never had a problem with it drying out for weeks on end.

My job keeps me hectic at Christmas time, so the time off is more for my mental health than anything else. It hasn't helped at all yet, but I'm still optimistic.

Christmas day begins with my homemade Irish Cream. In coffee, or straight. It is delicious!

Then, when there is snow, and sometimes there's a lot, I hook up a small cheap sleigh to the quad with about 20 feet of rope, and my wife and I take turns ripping up and down the road laughing like idiots. Of course, last year she couldn't participate due to a back disability, but she's recently undergone a discectomy, and hopefully next year she can do more than drive the quad again

Boxing day is my day for quadding in the snow, or trap shooting if the weather permits.

Hope you get your bag limit of traps, Hillbilly.

We plan to do the puzzle this year too. Had one out a few Christmases (Christmi? Christmeese?) ago and it was really nice.

We usually make a 1000 piece puzzle on New Year's Eve. This is a tradition that goes back to my Grandmother on my mother's side. On Christmas day, we have my brother and wife and nephew's down in the morning and we open presents together. They stay for a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, mashed potatos, squash, peas, dressing and pie (apple, pumpkin or lemon meringue). Then my brother and his wife take the boys out to their other grandparent's home for supper. Afternoon is usually a quiet time with reading or napping.

We hold our own family Christmas around the first weekend in December to avoid conflicting family and work situations. The first weekend in December is close to St. Nicholas Day which is significant to the Dutch half of the family. The tradition is as many family member get together the evening before what we designate as Christmas Day for an evening of snacks and games with age appropiate liquid refreshment. I made the Christmas cake recipe that I posted on the forum this year and that became part of the snacks. DIL and I made breakfast dishes that only needed baking on Christmas morning. DIL's dish was a mixture of hash browns, egg, cheese, ham and additional seasonings, spices plus herbs. I make Sue's Caramel French Toast.

On Christmas morning the farm chores had to be done before anything else. I fed the cows while grandkids fed and watered the chickens plus dogs with Auntie's help. The kids made sure Auntie did things properly. The gift exchange was next after the socking stuffers. By that time it was breakfast time. I often do the turkey which kept me out of trouble for a bit. DIL took over the meal preparations from there as she likes cooking, although my wife pitched in with some of this. The others spent the day visiting, playing games, playing with new toys and trying to assemble what ever needed to be put together avoiding reading the directions unless absolutely necessary. In the past when the family was considerably smaller some like to put together puzzles for Christmas including 3D puzzles. There isn't space for this at present, but when the new house next door is finished this may be part of the tradition once more. Having two kitchens and more bedrooms will help as well. My wife and I then have a quiet day to ourselves on the actual Christmas Day. We may choose to take down the tree and put things away on that day.

The routine may need to change next year as our daughter and significant other are planning on university in Vancouver next year