Christmas Traditions

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Registered: 03-25-2003
Christmas Traditions
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Wed, 10-11-2006 - 8:24am

Stacy's reply (ma2connor) about Christmas and some of the traditions that her family follows made me think of another question. What traditions are important in your family for Christmas or whatever winter holiday that you celebrate?

We are a Christian Family so we celebrate the real reason for Christmas. We have an Advent Wreath and Advent Readings that we do as a family each evening, my kids participate in the Christmas Program at church, we adopted names off the Angel Tree and buy gifts as a family for them (not just mom picking stuff up but the boys putting thought into appropriate/caring items), choosing our tree together and decorating it one night as a family while listening to carols, eating popcorn, and drinking hot chocolate. Our tree is filled with years of homemade ornaments and the boys special ornaments for each year. We go to special events at church-programs, concerts, etc.

On Christmas Eve, I make a meal and typically, if able, both sets of our parents come over. We have appetizers, then go to the Christmas Eve service at our church, come home for supper, we read the Christmas Story from the Bible, open our immediate family gifts, then have dessert and coffee. At bedtime, the parents head home and the boys set out Santa's milk and cookies (younger one still believes but we will do this every year regardless), and we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Santas "visits" after the boys are asleep.

Christmas Day, the first one awake wakes me (sometimes Dad too!!) and we head downstairs. Santa does not wrap at our house so there it is for all to see. We have a nice Christmas breakfast and enjoy the boys gifts. We typically are not expected anywhere until mid-late afternoon so it is just a nice quiet day at home.

 
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Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 10-11-2006 - 10:27am

Well, one of our craziest Christmas traditions is actually putting up our tree on Thanksgiving afternoon! My daughter's birthday is December 28th so I used to always make sure all the holiday decorations were packed away by then so we could have two seperate celebrations..so she wouldn't feel ripped off by being born so close to Christmas (did I mention our anniversary is Dec 29th? YIKES). It came about because we were overseas in Japan during her first year, and we had Thanksgiving by ourselves. After the dinner was cleaned up we were kind of bummed at being away from our extended family so we decided "What the heck" and pulled out the Christmas stuff. We've just continued to do it because it's our favorite holiday and we like seeing the house decorated so pretty and it gives us the change to enjoy it for a longer period of time BEFORE the holiday since it's coming down right after it.

We too do the Angel Tree on base to help lower-enlisted Marine's kids and usually help with a food drive.

Now that we're in the States, our other big holiday tradition is spending our holiday vacation in the car traveling to see all the relatives who never hop in the car to come see us...sigh...

Denise