CoN 25th Anniversary: 1997-2022
Christmas Traditions

Posted: 14th December 2002 02:49

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Cactuar
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I think it is really neat how families have different traditions at Christmas time .My family doesn't really have any set special ones. Though on either the second or third week of December we go to the tree farm near my house and cut down a tree. It's a lovely scene like something out of a picture book. A small farm house in a New England setting built at the base of a mountain. There is normally a lot of snow and we have to trudge through it. It is so peaceful and quiet you can almost hear the snow fall. We also go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, and exchange one small gift in front of the tree. But that’s about it. :)

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Posted: 14th December 2002 03:04
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Onion Knight
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My Family doesn't do anything too special, We go to my grandma's house for a ham dinner, after that we exchange gifts in the living room around the tree. I would love to go cut down a tree but it sucks living in the city.  -_-

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Posted: 14th December 2002 03:29

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Nothing special here.  Get a tree, decorate the tree, decorate the house, put presents under the tree, eat, ta-da.  That's basically my whole Christmas.  Not that that's not good enough for me.  I love Christmas, of course.

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Posted: 14th December 2002 06:12

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Grandmas, aka FOOD. Lasagna, general italian food, occasional turkey. Everyone's there: grandparents, my family, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors. Girls generally play bingo, guys play cards or just talk about hockey or something. Always fun. We of course repeat this a week later on new year's eve.

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Posted: 15th December 2002 03:35

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Chimera
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My family goes to Christmas Eve mass, despite the fact that none of us practice Christianity (I like Taoism, my mom likes Zen Buddhism, and my sister's undecided.) Then we decorate the tree when we get back. Nothing really big on Christmas day, we open presents, maybe play a game, and eat the holiday-food-of-choice around my house (deep dish pizza.)

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Posted: 15th December 2002 03:42
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I get to open up one present Christmas Eve.  We have a nativity scene and we put Jesus in on Christmas Eve as well...

-Nayr
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Posted: 15th December 2002 15:44

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Actually, i just went to my Aunt Lola's house yesterday for Christmas.  It's been a tradition ever since i was little that we'd go to her house with all my relatives on Christmas day, but my uncle bobby from new hampshire who i never get to see was in town, so we decided to do it yesterday. My Uncle Bobby is pretty cool, he was letting me try all these drinks and stuff. My dad wasn't too pleased, but oh well. Good times. ^_^
This year we're having Christmas at our house on the 25th with my Mom's side of the family which we usually do the day after on the 26th. Strange year, huh?



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Posted: 15th December 2002 16:57

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Alright, well on Christmas Eve, we have a nice dinner. Not break mom's back with cooking nice, but a good meal, usually my grandfather will be over too, and maybe a couple other relatives. That night, my mom tries to convince me and my sisters to go to Catholic church with her. This is something I don't normally do, but generally it'll end up that we all go. We come back late at night/early morning and each open one gift, then go to bed. When we were kids, me and my sisters would gather in one room and talk most of the night, but now that we're older and can actually sleep christmas eve, we sleep instead.

Next morning, me and Julia are up at around 9. We pace around, waiting for my dad to get up, then Sarah and my mother to get up. Dad cooks a great breakfast of croissants with blueberry or strawberry jam, and we have it with gouda cheese, christmas oranges, etc. When everyone is up and after we've eaten, we open presents, show them around, etc. Then we sort the garbage into recyclables/non-recyclables, put boxes and bows to be saved in a cupboard, and generally leave a few presents under the tree (unwrapped). Oh, we also have stockings at the fireplace, those we generally go into while waiting for others to wake up.

That night we have a good meal again, with guests, and go visit people too. Wow, I really wrote a lot there. Merry Christmas guys ^-^ and Happy Hannukah, though I think that's over with now.

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Posted: 16th December 2002 05:58
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Red Wing Pilot
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well me and my dad have started a tradition last year..
last year on christmas day we went to see the Lord of the Rings
movie. so were gonna see the second one on christmas day this
year, and the third one on christmas day next year. ^_^

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Posted: 3rd January 2003 08:36
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I do the same thing every year. Go to my aunts house for the big Christmas Eve's party, then head back home, fight with my bro, them open gifts on Christmas Day at like 1:00 a.m.

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Posted: 15th December 2016 15:44

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It's been over a decade since my wife and I have lived in our hometown, but since then we've missed only one year of going back for Christmas, so that's a tradition of sorts. We always have an early Christmas Eve with my mom's family, a later Christmas Eve with my wife's family, and then Christmas morning with coffee and breakfast at my parents' house, where we stay. It's been fun layering in our daughter to that trip over time as well.

Because we're never home for Christmas, we also have a special arrangement now where we talk to Santa to make sure he shows up a little bit early for her, and we also have a long-standing tradition where my wife and I tend to exchange gifts on our wedding anniversary, and not Christmas, since our anniversary is just a few days before anyway and we're usually at our home and not traveling yet. We also insist on having a real Frasier Fir tree every year (easier now, as they seem to have become the most popular kind of Christmas tree - they weren't ten years ago when we started).

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Posted: 16th December 2016 14:00

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Christmas is definitely that time I wish our (my fiance & I) families were closer together. Our current tradition is to head her grandparents' place north of Syracuse for their traditional party on Christmas Eve with the extended family, then open presents the following AM at her parents', then an hour drive back to do my family's Xmas. We certainly have a ton of fun, but the traveling puts a damper on it all when trying to fit everybody in, in a 24-hour timeframe of madness.

I'd like to start our own tradition once we start our family and they get old enough, and have people visit us. We do love hosting! We'll see though if the rest of the family agrees, and traditions are hard to break.
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Posted: 17th December 2016 20:56

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Until R51 got to this forum going, it's been years! How have people's traditions changed since? Folks got families now? What's the haps?

I have had so many different traditions over the years myself. When my folks were together in my youth, it was pretty staple with them, then have Christmas with my grandparents on my mom's side, then on my dad's. Even after they split, we still did Christmas at each grandparents until my dad's family stopped hosting there's. Christmas on my mom's side has almost always been a consistent thing for me until I moved to BC. It gets pricey flying across the country!

The biggest thing that has altered my traditions over the years has been partners. Different girlfriends in my life have opened my up to their families and traditions. Like, Midnight Mass - never knew that was a thing until a few years ago when I went with a gal and her family. It was nice, very calming and humbling experience. Others have had me over to meet their extended family, play games, socialize - similar to what my mom's family does.

Now that I have been dating Annette these past few years, I have a family with her and her now 6 year old daughter. Her little one, Gwen, alternates between us and her dad for Christmas Eve, so that's one change. Last year, we spent Christmas at Annette's dad's place and a lovely Christmas morning as a family with grandpa. Then Annette's sister came by and we hung out, made lots of food, played games and relaxed. It was nice.
This year we'll do our Christmas dinner and everything Christmas day again, then do presents and such with Gwen Boxing Day.
From here on out, this seems like it'll be the tradition for me with my family. And like EvilEye said:
Quote (TheEvilEye)
I'd like to start our own tradition once we start our family and they get old enough, and have people visit us.  We do love hosting!  We'll see though if the rest of the family agrees, and traditions are hard to break.


We're hoping to do the same now that have a house with space, and try and get all our parents out here every couple of years, from my side and Annette's side, and host them at our place for Christmas. Fill our home with ALL OF THE LOVE.

Anyhow, thanks for sharing everyone! it's been interesting reading all the different, and similar, traditions.

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Posted: 20th December 2016 15:23

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Every year my extended family gets together at my grandparents' for Christmas Eve. There are a ton of us (they had nine children), so it's always a packed house with plenty of fun (and always kids). We do a massive "secret santa"-style gift exchange, and mass the next morning. I love just about everything about Christmas, and this part in particular is one of the things I look forward to most all year.

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Posted: 25th December 2016 06:13

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Quote (Death Penalty @ 20th December 2016 10:23)
I love just about everything about Christmas, and this part in particular is one of the things I look forward to most all year.

That sounds delightful, DP.

I also look forward to Christmas the most of any holiday celebration each year, because of the general giving and loving spirit amongst those closest to me. Also, I really enjoy that, as a server, it's one of the few guaranteed times of year I get off. I mean, I only serve four days a week and thus get days off, but it's rare that I don't have other obligations that require my time.
At Christmas, everything just shuts down and you can do pretty much whatever the heck you feel like.
Today my girlfriend and I got to spend some quality time together, we wrapped some gifts, tidied, made some goodies and food, watched a movie then left to her dad's for this ridiculous seafood feast with wine and scotch and conversation - no stress, just for us to make up as we went, more or less.
I think that's the biggest draw for me with Christmas. My girlfriend even commented that she loves Christmas with me because of the 'childlike wonder' that comes out of me at this time of year, and the fact that I'm just so easy and relaxed for a change. I rarely allow myself the chance to let go.
Anyhow, Happy Christmas, all!
Hope you're having a rocking time with loved ones!
We actually have a decently white Christmas here in Vancouver for a change, so it's lovely!

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