Christmas Traditions?

Jill - posted on 12/19/2009

That is so beautiful! It is so nice to hear about other families sharing the TRUE meaning of Christmas with their children. I think the real joy comes from giving, not receiving. It almost sounds selfish hearing myself say that. I pray that your family has a blessed Christmas season!

Mary - posted on 12/19/2009

We make a Birthday cake for Jesus, and have bagels and cream cheese with locks, tomatoes,bacon, and onions for breakfast on Christmas morning. Then open gifts. We ALL have a lot of fun.

Theresa - posted on 12/19/2009

We used to travel more when the kids were too young to know what day Christmas actually was. No w that they know we stay home. Christmas Eve is just our family (sometimes grandparents are there too). We go to Christmas Eve church service, then come home and have a special dinner that we've decided on ahead of time. We open family presents after dinner. Christmas mornig there are Santa presents. Sometimes after that we will go to a reletive's house to celebrate with extended family. It depends on how it falls in the week. My husband manages a restaurant so doesn't get a lot of time off, but Christmas Eve they close early and are closed all Christmas day. Even though we have Santa come to our house we have always made sure our kids know the true meaning of Christmas. They know it's really about Jesus' birth, not Santa and presents. BTW my kids are 13, 10 and 14 months, and there's another due in March.

Erin - posted on 12/19/2009

We started by giving our boys one gift on St. Nick's day (Dec 6). I'm part Dutch and it's a Dutch tradition to give gifts to celebrate that saint day. This year, we're opening the presents we got from my side of the family this Sunday while on speakerphone with my parents. Then we will be heading to my husband's family on the 23rd. Christmas Eve is celebrated with a church service. Presents will be opened on Christmas day with the whole family on that side. Our stocking will be opened on January 6. That is Epiphany, which is the celebration of the wisemen arriving to see Baby Jesus. There are 4 of us in our family, but we have 5 stocking hanging. The 5th one is called the "Jesus stocking." During the holidays, we place spare change in this stocking and give everything we have put in there to a Christian charity. Merry Christmas!

Kylie - posted on 12/19/2009

OMG we have a crazy busy christmas time! We live in Aust and have christmas in the summer. On Christmas eve my family household have dinner together usually some kind of roast, but I am thinking of something more summer friendly this year. And Santa comes to our house on Christmas eve, when the kids are out/napping, because he is very busy and we have talked to him about it! Then on Christmas day we go to my Mum and Dads for breakfeast and presents with my parents and brother and sister (they live 50mins away, with no triaffic) we need to be there by 8am. At 9am we need to go to my Grandmas house for presents and lunch with my mum's family, her brother and sisters, and their kids (it gets very crowded). Then at about 12.30-1.00 we go to my husbands grandparents for lunch and presents with his uncles, and their families. Then in the late afternoon, we go back home. Collect our things, and then drive 3.5hrs to my Dad's parents house, where we stay the night, and then on Boxing day we have another family lunch with my Dad's parents, sisters, and their kids. Then usually we try and stay with my Dad's family for a few days, but my husband has to work on the Monday this year, so we are coming back on the Sunday afternoon.

Sarah - posted on 12/19/2009

On Christmas eve we read the birth of Jesus and Tis the night before Christmas. Some people give pj's each Christmas eve for morning pics (I get pj's but like to get some use out of them,lol). We bake gifts for everyone, sing Christmas carols, donate food and toys, show them that Christmas is a lot more then just gifts- its love and caring and peace on earth and just be happy together . Christmas day, we open gifts then go over my aunts and have breakfast/ exchange gifts, then go home and have fun playing with everything, watch the parade, and cook dinner. My brother is coming up Christmas night and my dad is coming the next day this year. Merry Christmas!!