Christmas Traditions?

That's so nice to take Alyvia shopping for some Toys for Tots presents! That's a really good idea, we might have to do that also!

The only tradition my family has ever done is we all open one gift Christmas Eve. I definately want to do the whole cookies, milk, letter to Santa thing also.

yeah i want the kids also to write a letter to santa. this year we are leaving a glass of milk, carrot for the reindeer and a mince pie.



I will leave half a carrot, half a cup of milk and mince pie crumbs

Oh & I just remembered, when I was little we used to put a big bowl of Rice Krispies cereal outside the front door for the reindeer

That's so sweet! I never would have thought of a carrot for the reindeer!

My parents never bothered trying anything fun for Christmas. No cookies (my dad was too busy and my mom never bothered), no Santa letter (except in school I guess?), no Toys for Tots... just presents on Christmas and food. Not that I'm really complaining, but... I want Christmas to really be something special for Alyvia, not just an awesome day where you get new stuff and stuff your face.

yeah me too. i love how magical it can be for kids

we always did the one present on Christmas Eve.. the Christmas day we had to wait til everyone was awake then we would start tearing open presents.. (I haven't done that in psh... 4 years? lol i don't really get *stuff* from anyone anymore except Rob.. my parents usually don't get me anything unless its a gift card or movie tickets.) Then we'd go to my grandma's and do the same thing lol.

Robs family... is weird lol.. they go around one by one and open gifts.. i HATE that.. Theres two things in the world i hate more than anything and its being the center of attention and surprises.. i HATE HATE HATE being the center of attention, and i HATE getting presents because i have a hard time reacting and showing emotion. Even if i really like it I can't show it, you know? I'm all like, "OOh! Thank You!" or something along those lines. haha especially now since i know what all I'm getting from Rob AND Shirley because i was there when they were bought and my opinions were asked lol. And their tradition combines both.. GRRRRRRRRRR.

So I'm gonna let my kids go at it.. I'm not gonna change anything for them.. (we're taking presents to their house except the one they each open on Christmas eve because mil just HAS to be able to watch them open their stuff and instead of just coming to OUR place and keeping us from hauling everything over there, we have to take everything there go figure )

Our tradition consist of letters to Santa, building a gingerbread house & they get to open a present on Christmas eve night.

Oh, and they always leave some cookies & coke for Santa

I think the gift thing is such a great idea, Laura!
Brian's class president and he wanted to 'support a family' for Christmas, and have the whole school buy presents for a less fortunate family.

But he was too late

aw thats so sweet of him to thik of that tho!

we always opened presents at my moms and then headed to my grannys for more presents. when we were little we left cookies for santa.

since we had macy we havent been home at our own house on christmas. the kids are opening their stuff tonight at my christmas party (me n like 5 friends lol) and then tomorrow we are going to my inlaws and then my grannys. we are just having dinner and givng each other gifts but going back for santa gifts christmas so we will prob leave stuff out there for the kids to think santa took it. macy brought home a bag of "reindeer" food from school. it smells like bird seed.

o n michelle i lovethe idea of coke for santa! totally stealing that idea.

For Christmas eve we always go to my dads side of the family. Have dinner, and open gifts there. We head up to my moms side for drinks, BS'in, and open gifts. Santa goes to the house while we are up there We get home, and see what santa brings. Head to bed, and go to his moms christmas morning. Have dinner there, and open gifts. I get nap time, while his mom gets grandma time! lol And that's about it. Been doing it that way since i could walk.

We always opened one gift Christmas eve. I always left cookies from Santa until the year I caught my brother eating them. Imagine my horror.
Bri always made cookies for him and left him a glass of milk too. I'm sure that will continue on with Jaylon as well.

We spend Christmas eve at Mike's moms house. Christmas morning we open our gifts. My mother always comes down to watch. Then we go to my sister's house for dinner.
There were a couple of years that Bri went to her father's house Christmas afternoon, so I went and served dinner to the homeless. I have done that for Thanksgiving too.

I have done toys for tots ever since I was in the 7th grade. I love it and it did teach me that there are a lot of people a lot less fortunate than us. It's a great tradition to get your kids involved in.

me and jason havent had any traditions yet since well our first oficial xmas inour house ias having jordynne and this year he isnt here. We always opened one present on christmas eve, i still might let the kids open one though, tomorow night. Usually ever year we went to my grandmas when we lived in fla for christmas dinner. when we were younger we used to leave out cookies and milk. One year my grandpa when hw as alive when we visited fla pretended to be santa on the roof but then he fell off and you could hear him swearing lol. The whole xmas day would be spent playing with your new stuff outside with friends while all our parents cookied christmas dinner. I miss all that stuff .

We always buy a gift for toys for tots because Darren was in the Marines and that was one of the things he liked best. Now that Geneva is older, we take her to buy one boy and one girl gift. This year we will be making a gluten free gingerbread village. I even found some gluten free ice cream cones so we can make little trees! We will do this on christmas eve. We always open one present on xmas eve and then leave out cooies and cocoa for santa, and a carrot for the reindeer. I always use one kind of wrapping paper only for santa gifts that's different from our gifts so they look special. Santa also pust candy canes on the tree (god i hate candy canes!) Christmas morning we have a light breakfast while we open gifts but we do it one at a time (haha sandy! lol) After Gifts we have a huge brunch with family and friends that are here in town and don't have family to visit (most of my family is in another state). We call our relatives and watch old movies on DVD. Then in the afternoon we go out to see a movie at the theatre. Sometimes afterward we go sledding (if we have snow) or go ice skating. Last year we were at my relatives house in Iowa, and I will never ever spend christmas away from home again. Before we had kids we would get up, open giftsd, have a fancy breakfast, and then go snowboarding for the rest of the day. When the kids get older, I'd like to do that again, but I hope it's before I am old enough to fracture my hip up there. The last tie we did that my friend John fell and got a concussion so that ended our day pretty early.

When I was little, we would never get a chirstmas tree until Christmas eve, and then my parents would put it up, and we'd go to bed. Santa would have decorated it for us by the time we woke up. I thought that was cute.
We'd always leave milk and cookies for santa, and a baby carrot for each of the reindeer. I remember one year, I must have been about 6, I spent like a week making felt antler-warmers for the reindeer because I thought their antlers might get cold.
We would always open one gift on Christmas Eve, and I would always open the one from my maternal grandparents, because they send me a porcelain doll every year.
If any of you ladies with daughters are at a loss for a sort of continuing gift, porcelain dolls are great. I've got one from every Christmas, and I love having the collection.

Right now our only tradition is buying a special ornament that represents that year. This years was a Disney Classic one since we met while working at Disneyland.

"hes gunna leave! hes gunna leave!"

We've always opened one gift on Christmas Eve, and they're always pajamas lol this year I opened mine today because I have to work until 10 tomorrow night. Then we go to bed & my mom wakes me up early on Christmas day and we open presents one by one (i hate it too, I always fel like I say the same thing "aww thanks!" I feel so fake!) & then I go back to bed and wake up in time for church lol