What is your most unusual Christmas tradition?

[TerrasCritters]

Quote:
Interesting, do share more info, we do a family xmas party where we all draw for names to shop for one person as its impossable to shop for EVERYONE, the kids shop for the kids and the adults shop for the adults.
There are 14 kids alone! Then the adults there are 13.
I may of forgot someone lol
We also do a orniment exchange, i still need to find mine, its got to be a GOOD one! Last year someone brought a red chilie pepper, it gave everyone a good laugh!

 

[Scrambled Egg]

The love that idea FCMan, how thoughtful!! I think I would be the fly in theoinmtent though as I would hav etolobby all year that I was the most deserving of all the moola!!! Ya'll would hear my tale of woe ad nauseum till I got you vote, lol!! Just kidding, what a tgreat idea --a great unselfish idea! Fit in with that ceremony of burning the greedy reminders that jerryobaby does.

Terra, do a search on ebay for christmas crackers. There are some disney ones for kids and then just the regular one. I bought 20 for about 40 bucks but they are the nicce big ones. Don't buy any that say vintage becasue they will not pop --learned my lesson with those! They have some confetti in them too so expect aliittle mess but it's all in fun so who cares. The fortunes and the prizes are fun and the whole process has become something we look forward to--think I will add the reading of "with a chicken" to the end of the fortunes this year--that should be a whole other series of laughing!! Darlene

 

[southernsibe]

My family has metamorphosed so many times since I was a child, that the traditions have changed right along with it. There are some things that stayed constant though. My mother always wrapped every little thing that was in our stockings, no matter how small. Some years we would wake up to find a string we would have to follow to find the stockings! It wasn't a short string either, it went around the house and outside! One year my stocking was in the dryer, lol.

When we lived in Conn we would go to a tree farm and cut our own tree, that is an amazing thing to do with a child, at least for me it is a lasting memory.

My mother always made her advent wreath with something called Princess Pine, we gathered it in the woods behind our house.

Once my generation grew to adulthood and there were so many more people involved, plus we lived in a different place, traditions changed. When my grandmother was alive, everyone would gather at her house for a Christmas breakfast. It happened at the unholy hour of 9 am!!! Everyone was expected to show up, regardless if they had kids or not. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't because I can't imagine dragging my kids away from their house without a huge fuss. It did change location to my cousins house once she had more then one child. When we were there, we would exchange presents with those people.

It got to be too much after a couple of years to get up, go to my Grandmother's, lugging, I kid you not at least three or four laundry baskets FULL of presents, exchange gifts, eat and come home. By then we were already tired, but the day was young! After that we had to get dressed for the day, since we usually went out with our PJ's on, a very special thing, and start dinner prep, since the Christmas Dinner, was at our house. Any last minute things had to be finished as well, including cleaning and getting the animals put up and safe. It didn't leave any time for opening presents with the immediate family, at least not and enjoy them. Eventually it changed so that the people at my house, the four of us, would wait to exchange gifts until the day after Christmas. If we felt like it and weren't too tired after the dinner, we would sit down and do stockings. We still got those as adults mind you! Then the next day, we would plan a day of relaxation, and opening gifts, while feasting on left overs and doing nothing strenuous. That wound up being a lot more satisfiying.

Then we had our own kid(s). Enter Twelfth Night. We decided it was just way too much to try and do in one day. So we started celebrating 12th night. We have a lot less family now, and could probably do it all on one day, but why? We enjoy stretching it out over the course of time. It solves the problem of too much to do and not enough time. The kids get to enjoy the Christmas time without the huge let down that usually follows "THE DAY". That was something I hated when I was a kid. All that build up, for grown ups to go crazy, things to be rushed, and then, WHAM, it was over. All done, no more. And it isn't like New Year's Eve matters to a kid to look forward to, all that means is it is time to go back to school. So...I changed it. I decided my family was going to have different traditions. My mother and father, grandmother and brother are gone. I am the only one left of our side of the family, and I don't live near my cousins and Aunt and Uncle. My dh has two siblings from his father's second family that we are only close to one of. And she has her own extended family to be with on Christmas.

My extended family isn't blood related. It is my dearest friend in all the world, her husband and children. She has stood with me through the years and I by her, and now as we are in this phase of our lives, we are starting new traditions with each other and our own families.

Sorry so long, just seemed to flow out.
Rachel

 

[Hotwings]

Don't do this anymore but when my half-brothers were younger I would have them over on Christmas eve and watch horror/slasher movies on videos and eat pizza. The Silent Night Deadly Night was a favorite of ours! Needless to say our family is alittle strange lol.

 

[Freebie]

We have a huge Christmas breakfast around noon or so. And usually don't make dinner. When we lived in the city we would go have Chinese take out for dinner. I really miss that. Now that we live way out in the country we don't do the dinner thing anymore. Just leftovers from breakfast.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

When I was a kid we would have a stocking, full of treats and small stuff and a tangerine for some strange reason. Then we had to have breakfast before opening any presents. Homemade Coffee cake (the only time of year my mother baked) and hot cocoa. Then we'd open out presents. Passed out one at time and had to say who it's from and then show what it is to everyone. Long dragged out affair.

After that we'd watch the parade and play with our new stuff until lunch (dinner). Today this is where my Dh and DD and I show up...for dinner. We do presents at our house then drive to my parents. We have Lasagna, Braciola (my Dad always pronounces it Brashjar) basically it's thin flank steak rolled with tons of Italian spices then cooked overnight in his spaghetti sauce, so it basically falls to pieces, yummy. We also have Artichokes, French bread, various olives and Fried peppers that my dad puts in a pasta sauce...my DH loves them but the habanero is too much for me!!

 

[DuckLady]

During my vaca after Thanksgiving, I make sweets and freeze them. I also make tamales and put them it he freezer, too.

On Christmas Eve, we have tamales, homemade tortillas, refried beans and rice for dinner. If I am up to it, I make bunuelos, too.
Margaritas accompanying of course.

 

[FutureChickenMan]

Quote:
mmm, set me a place at the table.

 

[banditgin]

growing up, we'd have Chanukah with my mom and Christmas with my dad. I think sometime around college (or my last year of highschool) I started going down to southernsibes for Christmas - I think it all depended on my dad's work schedule (he was a fireman and would have to work that day). I loved going to her grandma's for breakfast. and remember being quite annoyed with her mother making me go OUTSIDE and around the house trying to find my stocking.

Now, however, we'll be switching it around. We travelled last year, don't feel like it this year. Will do Chanukah one day with my mom and her family, don't know about Christmas yet. But we don't spread it out. So I guess we don't have any unusual traditions.

 

[Windy Ridge]

We celebrate with a bonfire and a Yule log unless the weather is particularly "frightful." We like to burn incense inside, and have special bottle of wine, maybe a fruitcake (that sounds grosser than it is; I assure you I make from scratch and they're good!)

We like to eat dried fruits and preserved things like nuts, burn candles, enjoy the season that is dark and cold but in the process of renewal.

Of course, it hasn't been very cold here, yet, at all. In fact, hunting season has begun with half the leaves still on the trees, very unusual for this area.