Christmas Traditions
Discussion
What are your Christmas traditions?
Do your children leave out a glass of Father Christmas's favourite tipple every year? Does your tree go up on Christmas Eve or the first of December? (next door have had theirs up for a week!) Do you have a special time or order in which you open gifts? Does everything stop for the queen's speech, or is 3pm the time Twister comes out and Aunty Agnus is asleep under the dining table, whiskers twitching?
It is going to be our first Christmas with Alex, and it will be interesting to see what family traditions 'develop' for our little family.
Come on, share yours!
Do your children leave out a glass of Father Christmas's favourite tipple every year? Does your tree go up on Christmas Eve or the first of December? (next door have had theirs up for a week!) Do you have a special time or order in which you open gifts? Does everything stop for the queen's speech, or is 3pm the time Twister comes out and Aunty Agnus is asleep under the dining table, whiskers twitching?
It is going to be our first Christmas with Alex, and it will be interesting to see what family traditions 'develop' for our little family.
Come on, share yours!
The tree and trimmings go up when Santa's little helper (ie me!) decides its time, and I am one of those really horrible mums that do it once the kids have gone to bed (and it has been known to come back down due to behaviour of aforementioned kids)
Christmas Day.... kids get me up (or as has been known, I get them up) all head off downstairs to see what we can find. Santa has usually left a couple of pressies on the beds, and the bugger always seems to leave his plate and milk glass on the landing at the top of the stairs!
Try to get the overexcited little bods to take it in turn to open pressies...and even read them to see who they came from (not an easy job).
Mother in law tries to get us to wait till after dinner to open some of them, but I am trying to do away with that tradition as I just wanna open my pressies.
One thing I do insist on, is that everything if left in it's box etc, until I get 5 minutes to sit down with a black bag and scissors to free everything from it's various packaging confines (and hence keep the general rubbish pile of cardboard/plastic/twist ties down to a managable level)
Christmas Day.... kids get me up (or as has been known, I get them up) all head off downstairs to see what we can find. Santa has usually left a couple of pressies on the beds, and the bugger always seems to leave his plate and milk glass on the landing at the top of the stairs!
Try to get the overexcited little bods to take it in turn to open pressies...and even read them to see who they came from (not an easy job).
Mother in law tries to get us to wait till after dinner to open some of them, but I am trying to do away with that tradition as I just wanna open my pressies.
One thing I do insist on, is that everything if left in it's box etc, until I get 5 minutes to sit down with a black bag and scissors to free everything from it's various packaging confines (and hence keep the general rubbish pile of cardboard/plastic/twist ties down to a managable level)
pies said:
Only one present can be onened in the morning,santa left this at the bottom of the bed.All other presents were opened after the queens speech
Evil git. we used to open them all in a fury early in the morning, after running in and jumping on mum and dads bed! After much grumbling we'd get up, and open the pressies! Letting the poor wee kids suffer for so longg on xmas day!
My parents are church-going types, so when I was growing up you could open the "santa sack" at the bottom of your bed when you woke up, but the main presents had to wait until the afternoon, as it was church, come back from church and start preparing lunch, then lunch, then prepare the coffee, and THEN presents. This meant it was usually almost 5pm before the presents were opened. The bastards.
Now I have my own family, it's presents opened at the crack of dawn, which does tend to mean that Christmas feels as if it is over by 9am, so I think we might have to come up with a better idea this year.
(Whatever it is, it won't involve church though)
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 29th November 16:14
Now I have my own family, it's presents opened at the crack of dawn, which does tend to mean that Christmas feels as if it is over by 9am, so I think we might have to come up with a better idea this year.
(Whatever it is, it won't involve church though)
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 29th November 16:14
Stockings in bed rooms; my sister and I have started doing them for mum and dad now as well which if anything is more fun that getting ours. These are opened whenever we wake up. One present after those going to church have got back, then the rest after lunch (or after the queens speach if lunch runs to 3).
editted to add: christmas tree usual goes up on about the 20th (about a week after the end of the school term) and for some strange reason it has been in the hall not the lounge for the last few years. I think because its nearer the front door it doesnt drop all its needles when taking it out.
>> Edited by hugh_ on Tuesday 29th November 16:19
editted to add: christmas tree usual goes up on about the 20th (about a week after the end of the school term) and for some strange reason it has been in the hall not the lounge for the last few years. I think because its nearer the front door it doesnt drop all its needles when taking it out.
>> Edited by hugh_ on Tuesday 29th November 16:19
Always have new pj's for chrimbo eve. Leave bottle of beer and glass of whiskey and mince pie for Santa and a bowl of water with carrots for the reindeer. Chrimbo morning wake up and open stocking at the end of the bed. Then wake others up and all go downstairs together. Then the madness begins.
Go buy the pick the tree a week before xmas, then watch my other half give himself a hernia putting it up.
Kids have decided they're too old for santa now, so not sure what they're going to do about his pie and drink.
My husband usually starts pestering to open a pressie at midnight. Kids get a stocking at the end of their beds for when they wake in the morning, thats if dad doesn't wake them first.
We have usually gone to my in-laws for xmas dinner, but this year we are staying at home, so not sure what we will do for the rest of the day. My other half has said he will help with the xmas dinner, so we shall see what is edible when he's finished putting his 2 penneth in.
Should all be good fun
Kids have decided they're too old for santa now, so not sure what they're going to do about his pie and drink.
My husband usually starts pestering to open a pressie at midnight. Kids get a stocking at the end of their beds for when they wake in the morning, thats if dad doesn't wake them first.
We have usually gone to my in-laws for xmas dinner, but this year we are staying at home, so not sure what we will do for the rest of the day. My other half has said he will help with the xmas dinner, so we shall see what is edible when he's finished putting his 2 penneth in.
Should all be good fun
JonRB said:
Now I have my own family, it's presents opened at the crack of dawn, which does tend to mean that Christmas feels as if it is over by 9am, so I think we might have to come up with a better idea this year.
(Whatever it is, it won't involve church though)
Thats why we usually spread them out over the day, some in the morning rest in the afternoon
Crimbo stuff up first week of December (Mrs Wanty testing fairy lights now!)
Bacon rolls & champagne Crimbo morning before opeing prezzies with kiddies at about 10am. That's after they've eaten all the chocolate from their end-of-bed stocking, which generally gets opened up at 7am!
Worst Christmas I ever had was with family in New York - opened prezzies at Midnight on Christmas Eve, nothing then in the morning, big dinner and back to work on what I assumed was Boxing Day!
Bacon rolls & champagne Crimbo morning before opeing prezzies with kiddies at about 10am. That's after they've eaten all the chocolate from their end-of-bed stocking, which generally gets opened up at 7am!
Worst Christmas I ever had was with family in New York - opened prezzies at Midnight on Christmas Eve, nothing then in the morning, big dinner and back to work on what I assumed was Boxing Day!
grass widow said:Our son really had us fooled. We were convinced he was just going along with Santa to keep us happy and to get an extra present, but came home from school recently saying all his friends said Santa didn't exist but he knows he does, and demanded to know the truth from us. So eventually we gave in and told him, cue major upset on behalf of a little boy who has just had Christmas ripped out from under him (in his mind).
Kids have decided they're too old for santa now, so not sure what they're going to do about his pie and drink.
Personally, I've never felt comfortable with maintaining the illusion, but have gone along with it for my wife's sake. It's ironic, it's ok for me to profess my atheism in the house but I had to hold my peace about Santa.
>> Edited by JonRB on Tuesday 29th November 16:32
Funnily enough I have to go and dig the tree up again on Thursday. He's a Blue Spruce tree christened 'Bruce' has a 1 month holiday each year in the lounge then gets planted back in the garden for the other 11 months. Doesn't seem to mind too much.
Oh I make a holly reef as well for the door. Mrs caused great offence on the w.e by daring to suggest we buy one!
>> Edited by timmy30 on Tuesday 29th November 16:34
Oh I make a holly reef as well for the door. Mrs caused great offence on the w.e by daring to suggest we buy one!
>> Edited by timmy30 on Tuesday 29th November 16:34
Interesting Santa quandry - we think this will be the last year our oldest (Niclas - 6) will take what we say about Santa as the truth (he's very inquisitive!) We're thinking about telling him the truth in the summer as he'll be old enough to understand and also not tell his younger brother!
My misery guts in laws this year have decided amongst themselves NOT to buy any presents this year at all.
There are only 8 of us in the whole family including me and hubby.
Needless to say i think they are all being really tight and boring so I am ignoring them and have brought presents for everyone!!
Re traditions this will be the first year i have spent xmas day alone with hubby as my family dont want to come over for dinner!! How RUDE!
So we are on our own. Next year will be different however as we have a new family member on the way.
We can start our very own family tradtions!!!!!!!!!
There are only 8 of us in the whole family including me and hubby.
Needless to say i think they are all being really tight and boring so I am ignoring them and have brought presents for everyone!!
Re traditions this will be the first year i have spent xmas day alone with hubby as my family dont want to come over for dinner!! How RUDE!
So we are on our own. Next year will be different however as we have a new family member on the way.
We can start our very own family tradtions!!!!!!!!!
Cotty said:
The tree and trimmings go up when Santa's little helper (ie me!) decides its time, and I am one of those really horrible mums that do it once the kids have gone to bed (and it has been known to come back down due to behaviour of aforementioned kids)
Thats
Why and which bit?
I would rather my decorations stayed intact, hence I do it. And they were warned, p1ss me off once more with your lying/stealing/general horribleness and I'll take the decorations down... they carried on, so I carried out the threat. What's the point if you aint gonna go through with it?
The one thing that I always remember about Christmas with my Grandma is her decorations... She has some absolutely ancient (well, 20yrs+) baubles and things, that I absolutely love, and hope Alex will enjoy as he gets older. We have had decorations the last couple of years, but they have always been cheapy ones, so this year I have been and spent an absolute fortune on some gorgeous ones.. though I may have gone a little OTT
The only thing I'm worried about is the fact we have been given a 50+year old fairy which belonged to Dieselnut's aunty before she died and I am the most clumsy person I know!
I am making Alex's stocking and santa sack, so it is a bit more personal then buying a plastic one for 99p from the market, and hopefully in years to come he will enjoy getting it out and hanging it up.
The only thing I'm worried about is the fact we have been given a 50+year old fairy which belonged to Dieselnut's aunty before she died and I am the most clumsy person I know!
I am making Alex's stocking and santa sack, so it is a bit more personal then buying a plastic one for 99p from the market, and hopefully in years to come he will enjoy getting it out and hanging it up.
When I was a kid me and my sis would leave a mince pie and glass of sherry out for santa. Wake at about 5.00 in a frenzy of excitement and ask mum and dad if we could open our present at 5 minute intervals until around 7.00 when they gave in 
Last 2 years have involved getting up at approx 07:00, quick shower, in the car, sit at work for 12 hours
This year I have christmas off - but dont really fancy just sitting at home with my ma and pa on my own
I can go for a damn good blast assuming its not a white christmas!!!
Last 2 years have involved getting up at approx 07:00, quick shower, in the car, sit at work for 12 hours
This year I have christmas off - but dont really fancy just sitting at home with my ma and pa on my own
I can go for a damn good blast assuming its not a white christmas!!! Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff