What's your Christmas Eve traditions?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2006
What's your Christmas Eve traditions?
16
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 12:45pm

What do you do on Christmas Eve?


This is our first Christmas Eve that we will not be around family and I'm trying to figure out what we can do. We will probably let the kids open one present but I want to make it fun too. We have always gone to my parents for on that night and now we are just going to stay home and go down to visit a couple of days later.


I'm just wanting to get some ideas to make this a fun day & night.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 2:02pm
when we were little my parents let us watch all the classic christmas movies while we sat around the fireplace. You might want to make a nice christmas eve dinner. You could do a family night offer some games or just talk. Find out what christmas means to everyone. Make cookies for santa and decorate them.
Avatar for cathiann
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 2:25pm
Well we go to my parents' house for Christmas Eve, but if we were home, I'd have us watching Christmas movies all evening.
Surviving Middle & High School
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-15-2005
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 2:26pm
We do

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 3:12pm
We always order pizza for dinner as I figure cooking one big meal in two days is my limit. :-) Then in the evening we have chocolate fondu with all kinds of fruit and Kristen gets to open one present. Otherwise we just watch TV or talk or whatever strikes our fancy.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 3:16pm

Well, being a miitary family it's hard to be with family on a regular basis on the holidays! I bring the tradition of Mexican Food to the table on Christmas eve (from my south texas roots). If DH's parents are here we go to Christmas Mass. Otherwise we usually watch A Christmas Story (DH's brought in tradition) and maybe go driving to look at the lights. We don't usually open a gift that evening but there are exceptions to the rule!

Denise

Avatar for 2boyz4us
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 4:42pm
Christmas Eve is the day and evening that we spend in OUR home. We invited both sets of our parents, but no one else. If they can come (weather, etc) they do. They arrive around 4:15 or so, we have appetizers and a glass of wine, then we go to church at 5:00 for one hour. Afterwards we come back to our house for dinner-sometimes more elaborate and sometimes simple. This year it is a Subway platter, chips and dip, green bean casserole, and maybe a jello type of salad. After we eat, we will open presents (not the main ones from our parents-those are for Christmas celebrations at their house)We only do the Santa gifts on Christmas Day. We give our gifts to the boys and something small to each parents, and our parents do the same and exchange gifts together. After presents we have dessert and coffee while the boys get into whatever they received. We read the Christmas story in Luke and also Twas the Night Before Christmas. Our parents usually go home around 9;00, the boys head up to bed, and then we wait until they are asleep for Santa to arrive.


Edited 12/19/2006 6:00 pm ET by 2boyz4us
 
Avatar for bradleyteach
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-29-2001
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 7:56pm

LOL what a great question. We sit around eating pizza watching down-to-the-wire-Dan (dh) run around like a lunatic making wreaths, wrapping gifts, decorating, etc.


Then we hang the stockings, read the kids a Christmas story, leave out the cookies and eggnog for Santa and send them off to bed so we can put the gifts under the tree.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-16-2004
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 9:58pm

Since I have to work Christmas Eve, we will head to my parents house when I get off.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2003
Tue, 12-19-2006 - 10:07pm
On Christmas Eve we do Fondue!

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Registered: 03-02-2006
Wed, 12-20-2006 - 9:48am

Oh those all gave me some great ideas! Here's what I've come up with so far,


I have bought some new board games and I need to decide what we will eat still. But I also got DH some Christmas movies, the old Rudolph & Frosty and Peanuts, and I may let him open them that night and then watch them. I'm thinking we will drive aroung looking at lights. We have always read The Night Before Christmas and The Cajun Night Before Christmas (DH's touch) but this year it will not be so late since we will not be going to my parents.


Thanks for the ideas everyone.

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