What is your most unusual Christmas tradition?

[DuckLady]

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

No eat unless you help.

 

[ChickenBreath]

Turkey stuffed with Cheese Whiz. Not very tasty, but it's a great conversation starter!

 

[Henrietta23]

The weirdest I can think of is the small plastic toy triceratops that gets hung on the tree every year. It's from a set of dinosaurs my brother and I played with in the 70s. I no longer really remember why it hangs on my tree but it has for a very long time. It has something to do with a science project from HS that had to do with methane gas as an alternate energy source. The project involved a model farm with plastic animals and we threw in the dino for a laugh. Her name is Trixie.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
My DH and his family lived in England for a year when he was 8. They do the Christmas crackers every year at dinner. And yes, we MUST wear the hats.

 

[carugoman]

Father's side of family were mostly born and raised in Italy,including my dad. He was #7 of 11 kids and I have 46 first cousins! MY grandpapa owned a restaurant so we shutdown on the 24th+25th of DEC. For Christmas Eve dinner,we'd have 13 different seafood preparations...but no meat. My favorites were the mussels marinara,papparadelle with red clam sauce and stuffed cuttlefish gratinee. Dinner took many hours. Since I grew up in SE West Virginia,it was quite cold and snowy late December. Still,this didn't stop grandpapa from going outside,building a fire in the pit and roasting chestnuts to go with the grappa, coffee and cheesecake! Then the kids, finally,got to open up their gifts from family. We celebrated the year's bounty and prosperity-success with the restaurant. There was no "Santa Claus?" After presents,we(including kids,) all got ready for midnight mass. On Christmas day,it was always each individual household that celebrated as they saw fit. We ate a big supper and opened stockings. We also got a tangerine,because they were considered a special treat and the fresh crop from Florida came at that time of year.

When I went away to the US Army,it seems I never got back home for the holidays because young bucks are at the bottom of a very long list of RANK HATH ITS PRIVILEGES! By the time I was able to take off for the holidays,my grandparents and most of my uncles and aunts were mostly dead or just about done digging their hole in the ground. My new tradition,at least for the past 26 years,is to go out and splurge at the sushi bar and buy,at least $250 of nigiri and sashimi forget the rice roll thingies. I'm going to Tampa with wife in tow, to see her folks and hang out at the beach all day. I'll even bring my little propane bbq and fire up some turkey dogs and sausage?

One last thing that's been a thorn in my side...

we break out the "redneck teef" and regale the family with christmas carols that we change the words to...

what do y'all have against rednecks? Having lived half my life on the "REDNECK RIVIERA" and my childhood in Appalachia, I take offense to the tone of that sentence. Are you implying that a majority of "rednecks" have buck "teef" and therefore improper or less proficient dental care than where you reside? What are you talking about,DUDE?
All y'all take care!​

 

[jeaucamom]

Every year growing up, we got dressed up and went to high tea and then to see the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker. Then on Christmas Eve, we went to midnight mass and when we got home we got to open one present. My brother and I would wake up to small stockings we could open that were hung on our bed, but we couldn't get out of bed until our parents came and got us. It felt like late afternoon, but it was probably around 7 am. We had another stocking outside our door and then presents. Aunt Margarite and Uncle Lester would come around noon on Christmas day. The were actually my great aunt and uncle on my fathers side and they never had kids. They hated my brother and I. They always had a Boston Terrier that just yapped the entire time. We always had homemade coffecake on that morning too. Then the following weekend we would fly back to Vermont and spend 6 weeks at the Grandparents home in Underhill.

With my kids. I have also gotten the matching outfits every year. They always complian but man, I am in the doghouse the one year I didn't think I could afford it. We have tried to go to the ballet also, but the prices are very expensive now, so only go every couple of years.

The one unusual thing I started with my kids was getting them a special ornament every year that when they move out they can take with them and start their own tree. Jessica gets angels, Austin gets snowmen and Caity gets teddy bears. They love picking them out every year and they can remember which one they got every year. Wow, lots of memories.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

jeaucamom = I just love all that sentiment, I bet you really look forward to the holidays! You mentioned the ornaments and that made me think about all those handmade ornaments the kids have at my house. I bought them alot of them too but they are each in a a separate box and when they hang them they have a memory story with each one, hopefully they will have a huge tree at their own homes later in life to mix their own childhood ornaments with those of any their own kids make (future talking here, my kids are still just 17 and 19)!

Srrms like it was seachick that mentioned the christmas pickle, I may have to find one of those and hide it in the tree and have a little prize for the one that finds it christmas morning! Sounds fun, like the crackers! ...which I did read too that Henrietta's family uses them too

Carugoman, you are killin me with your buck teef caroling!!!! To be a fly on that wall!!.........

 

[bantymum]

We have a empty land lot next to my fence which is now a children's park.
I use lots of old tinsel and silver,gold and coloured balls and hang them in the pine tree next to the slippery dip.
I do it at night and Mikey helps me, we love to hear the children shout with joy when they see it.

Now just to destroy my good reputation here I have also been known to put sunglasses on ( so I cant be recognised)and wait for the midnight party bus from interstate to cruise down the main street near my house at 11.pm full of drunk blokes.
We then lift up our tops and show them our fried eggs!!!You should have heard them scream!!! the bus goes quite fast so they dont see much but boy you can hear them coming.
This happened 10 years ago for 3 years at xmas time.
Well you wanted to know our crazy xmas traditions! dont worry I wont tell you what we did for new years eve!!!

 

[schmoo]

that is too funny!! you sound like you have alot of fun!

 

[bantymum]

Thanks Scmoo, way too much fun!! I love a laugh!