What are your family Christmas traditions?
Categories: Just for dads, Just for mums, Fun & activities
So now it's just a month to go till Christmas Day, and preparations are definitely getting underway. One of the really nice things about this time of year is how you can create your own family traditions once you become a parent.
So maybe you'll take a few things that you or your partner did as a child, and add a few new ones of your own, to create your own unique family Christmas traditions. Because the stuff that we do every year, and only at this time of year, is what tends to stick in our memories - much more than individual gifts.
These are my family's traditions, what are yours?
- The music
Christmas season officially opens in our house with the playing of Phil Spector's Christmas Album, which goes on as we are putting the tree up. I also have a CD of cult film director John Waters' Christmas music, which I only play when the children aren't around because it contains swearing. Bad mummy, don't tell Santa. - The comedy gift
One year there was an unusually shaped present under the tree, labelled to me from my partner. I opened it up with great excitement to find - a bottle of tomato ketchup. And so the tradition of the comedy gift began, in which a member of the family will receive something slightly...er...unusual. Previous efforts have involved: a jar of pickled eggs, a tin of pineapple chunks and some stick on moustaches. - Wrapped up presents
Everything from Santa is wrapped, including stocking fillers. When I was a kid, gifts weren't wrapped, and I remember the pile of stuff being a bit too much to take in. Unwrapping spins it all out a bit more and means that Santa can sneak in a few boring gifts like pants and socks too. - Stockings for all who've been good
Did you think Christmas stockings were just for kids? Not in our house. Last year I had a can of gin and tonic and a 10% discount voucher for the local pie shop in mine. And a Terry's Chocolate Orange - that's compulsory. - A walk on the beach
After we've opened our presents, we take our chocolate oranges down to Brighton beach to scoff them. The beach on Christmas Day is full of jolly people in new knitwear and mad fools going for a swim. It's lovely. - Yorkshire puddings with Christmas dinner
Personally I find this weird weird weird, but my partner insists that yorkies are a compulsory part of the meal. Does anyone else do this?
So what are your family Christmas traditions? Leave a comment below and let us know
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Katie Lee 11-27-2009 @ 3:52AM
Our traditions are:
- Peeling all the veg the night before into a big bucket of water whilst drinking sherry and eating mince pies.
- Making sausage rolls and then eating them hot from the oven before Christmas lunch (as if you need any more food on Christmas day!)
- Taking the dogs for a really long walk. I feel a bit sad on the years where I'm with people who don't go for Christmas Day walks.
- My dad used to make a big fuss about standing up to salute during the Queen's speech. He thought he was hilarious. I guess we did too! We certainly miss rolling our eyes at him.
- Making bread sauce and proper stuffing in about 3 different flavours.
- Frying up the leftover potatoes (we do too many on purpose) with onions to eat with the cold meat the next day. I think our Boxing Day meal may be better than a Christmas dinner!
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Emma Cossey 11-27-2009 @ 4:50AM
Love the comedy gifts idea!
So, our Christmas day usually involves:
- Cooked breakfast and a glass of bucks fizz or two.
- Opening of half the presents by the tree. We've got pillow cases instead of stocking though. Classy like that.
- Everyone gets involved in preparing the Christmas dinner. We tend to eat ours in the evening, and have pork and chicken as no one seems to like turkey. Definitely yorkies and stuffing, it's not Christmas without the full spread!
- Walk along the river in Henley usually with the dog.
- Dinner is usually a 3 course deal, with lots more alcohol. Then Christmas pudding for me and mum and chocolate cake for the others.
- Several hours of seriously competitive board games.
I'll be doing something with my boyfriend's family this year too, so will be interesting to see how they compare!
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Jenny Cornish 11-27-2009 @ 10:29AM
One of my parents' Christmas traditions is that you don't put the tree up until Christmas Eve. I do think this is really nice as it makes it feel very special. However as this is my baby's first Christmas I'm way too excited, and also we will be going away to the in-laws on Christmas Eve, so it's not a tradition we'll be following this year! I keep having to remind myself that it's still only November, and therefore too early to buy a tree. My in-laws' traditions involve lots of singing Santas and other Christmas-related musical things all around the house, which I'm sure the baby will love!
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Debbie Webber 11-27-2009 @ 12:03PM
There are loads (she says a bit wearily). The whole of December seems to be full of ritual and tradition.
Christmas eve we go to church for the crib service. Always walk there and back in the dark. Track Santa on Norad. Lasagne for tea. Prep veg and leave in water filled bowls.
Santa then flies past because you can hear his bells (yes really). Strangely, Hubby is never around to hear this. Santa is checking to make sure everyone is in their jimjams and is in bed. Christmas argument between me and Hubby because I think Santa would like a Baileys, he thinks beer (and is always right).
Xmas morning check to see if Santa's been (always leaves pressies downstairs by fire). He is messy as he always leaves glittery footprints and one present each for the children and fills their stockings. All of this is wrapped. In special Santa paper that is different to anything else.
Breakfast of bucks fizz and croissants and probably chocolate for children. Stockings and santa present unwrapped to xmas cd. this is mandatory. Stockings must also contain, among other things, orange and choc money and a toothbrush
Yes, yorkshire puds too here with lunch. Children get annuals at their placemats (and Grandad, Private Eye one). We also do secret santa and these are handed out.
Boxing Day we have to go for a lovely walk with pockets stuffed with sweets and a hip flask for adults. Usually save some presents over for the children and they open some today otherwise it gets a bit much.
Betcha glad you asked now....
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June Johnson 11-28-2009 @ 3:40AM
A big YES to yorkshire puds. Big no to turkey. One pressie Christmas eve, rest of them Christmas day, then off to my mothers Boxing day when we swap gifts with the rest of the family.
we all have stockings, even our 22yr old son who has a place of his own. I think the only reason he has given us a key is so Santa can get in to deliver his stocking
Sadly a new tradition is a visit to the local home for elder with dementia to take my Aunt to say happy Christmas to my uncle, but I can assure you, this is full of hilarity.
Our family get involved with quite a bit of fund raising in the Christmas build up, so traditions include:
making fudge and boxes for it to go in ready to sell
hunting down items to sell on stall at village hall Christmas fayre
teaching children Christmas songs for carol singing (this year the local guides)
My favourite tradition though is one I picked up from a friend. I am sure everyone knows a family going through a rough patch. we sit as a family a choose one. On Christmas eve a note is delivered telling them to keep an eye open from the Christmas fairy. On Christmas day a gift is delivered (without us being spotted) to the doorstep. A note reads 'on the first day of Christmas the fairy gave to me, one (then what the gift is). day two we leave two items, day three, three and so on until 6th January. They don't hae to be big items, 6 candy canes was one year, and 12 coluring pencils. It isnt the item, but the arrival that seems to thrill, and we have great fun hunting for the 12 days, and trying to get get caught when we deliver! We are on year 5 with this one, and no one (except you)knows it is us. not even our family.
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Joanne Mallon 11-28-2009 @ 3:49AM
June, that is brilliant. What a fantastic thing to do. You sound like a lovely family
Chris R 11-30-2009 @ 5:51PM
Including me I only have 4 members left in my family.
My mother was the only link, since her Birthday was Boxing Day, and so Christmas was centred around her.
Now all my Aunts and Uncles have died, which just leaves my sister, Brother in Law and Father left. I only have a one bedroomed flat, my father a two bedroom bungalow, and my sister and brother in Law a two bedroomed house.
My father is 80, so cannot be expected to sleep on a sofa: I have not intentions of sleeping with my brother-in law, and why should my sister have to sleep away from her partner?
So to me Christmas is just another piece of commercialisation. I send Christmas Cards, and my immediate family gave up sending eachother Christmas Presents, as, afterall, after 50 years the novelty wears off.
Nope, for the last four years I have either gone abroad or stayed at 4* hotels. In reality cheap, as you get everything done for you, food, drinks, cooking Christams Dinner. And most importantly not being on your own. In England, Christmas Day has the greatest incidents of suicide due to lonliness, particularly with the elderly.
This year I can't go away as I haven't the money, but I will book a table at a local hotel/restaurant and have a Christmas Dinner their.
No lonliness, no squabling siblings, no screaming children, no father losing his temper becuase he can't get his own way.
Just a nice, quite, peaceful Christmas and Boxing day, with my Dinner, half bottle Champagne, macro Christmas Pudding, and rather a lot of brandy/ port with some lovely cheese and buscuits.
No screaming children, bickering adults: just peace and good will to me. Ahhhh- bliss
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Jennie 12-04-2009 @ 4:47PM
My partner has yorkshire pudding with xmas dinner, i still find it weird even after 5 years. No-one in our house likes turkey. So it's usually either beef or gammon.
Christmas tradition has usually been visit one set of parents in the morning & go to the others for xmas dinner. Last year we decided to have everyone to us. NEVER AGAIN.
This year we are staying at home & have banned visitors. We will visit my family on xmas eve & his on boxing day.
That way the kids can actually have time to play with all the lovely new things Santa has brought them. We will be keeping the tradition of the kids opening the presents from Santa then having breakfast (all the while explaining that chocolate is not a breakfast) & opening presents from grandparents, aunts, uncles & godparents after breakfast (which usually ends up containing some sort of chocolate as he sneaks it when I pretend I'm not looking) It is xmas after all.
The other tradition we have kept so far is the amount of hard work & effort I have put into making sure they have everything on their list (do you know how difficult it is to find baby born RC scooter in blue?) knowing that some fat bloke in a red suit with a sleigh is getting all the credit xlolx
As for stockings kids contain apple, satsuma & chocolate coins as mine did as a child. His family didn't do stockings! Mine contains Lily O'Briens dessert selection chocs & if I'm lucky a small box ;-) his contains cappucino truffles & socks.
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