Christmas Traditions

Do you have any?

When the kids were little, we always sat as a family and watched 'A Christmas Carol' on Christmas Eve afternoon and then the kids watched 'Wizard of Oz' in the evening (it kept 'em quiet and they loved it). It's something that my youngest son has carried on with his kids - it used to be every year, but now it's just when he has them on Christmas Eve and the time-frame has moved to earlier in the day so that he can get them back to their mother. Mind you, he still watches 'A Christmas Carol' even when he doesn't have the kids

I always cook the turkey on Christmas Eve (we have a big bird) and get all the veggies prepared and in the pans ready to be cooked then too.

I miss our old traditions from when the kids were little and the ones we had when the grandkids first came along and we had a houseful on Christmas Day (these days, there's just three of us and Rosie). I miss my mum coming with with my brother (who we lost almost 5 years ago) and being picked up by my sister to go to her house for dinner. I miss the kids ripping paper off presents and the look of pure joy on their faces and the look of horror on mine as I surveyed the living room to see if I could spot an inch of carpet under it's shredded remains.

It's quiet for us these days, but new traditions have taken over. We still do Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning, Rosie will have her presents, then it's pick up our oldest lad and we open presents when he gets here. Big turkey dinner then he usually want's to be off back down to his own flat.

I much prefer the houseful, cooking for 11, clearing up paper, playing with toys and wondering if the house will ever be the same again

I agree Chris, I love having everyone here.
It has been very quiet of late because all the children have grown up and it's not the same.
This year of course we will have Kyla and I think she will be thoroughly spoiled, not by me oh no!
We have never had any "traditions" just eat, drink and be merry!

When I was very little I went to live with my Aunt and Uncle for a while following the death of my Mother.

My Uncle was a farmer and a lovely man. On Christmas eve we would all go out across the fields with an axe to find a well shaped holly tree to be our Christmas tree.

The tree was placed in a tub and decorated with a huge red bow the colour of the holly berries and we had real candles in holders on the branches as well as the usual coloured balls and tinsel.

On Christmas day the candles were lit and their flickering light was reflected in the shiny leaves, the tree looked magnificent .

I was chatting about this with our lovely library lady yesterday.

She has four grown kids so all the traditions are there.
I was saying that in times past all the "sweet and silly things of Christmas" used to mean everything to me, but now they do not matter so I sit lightly on them.

As I said to her, we change and grow... and that is right and good.

Just pick up on a few is all, always the Crib and always the Advent Candles and the Christlight and the red candle in the window here all that Holy Night.

Maybe it is that now so much time etc goes in the work for others; so that needy ones can have a taste of Christmas ,but I am supremely content, and love to see the way irish folk light therie houses for Christmas as I drive to market in the early dark

last Christmas Eve I was at a market, then went into the Church and sat on the bale of straw in the life sixed Cribw.. it was a wonderful half hour as they were decorating the church still for midnight mass. It was utter peace and then home to bed for me!

But the rest means little now to me; family will get together across the world and time xones for Prayer at a set time.

Many are horrified at the idea of being "alone" at Christams, but I love it and am of course never alone; I have Jesus.

The lovely words re cutting Christmas trees reminds me of my first Christmas in Ireland,, a farmer neighbour brought me a Christmas tree, fresh cut, he said, from his plantation...Learned much later it was stolen from the forestry!

When I was little, I always had a tangerine and a brand new penny in my stocking. Can you imagine what the kids today would say to find a tangerine and new penny in their stockings?

The only presents I remember were a doll and pram one year (I think I must have been about 4 years old) and when I was around 11, I got a music box. Today it's all electronic bells and whistles but I wonder if the kids will remember them with the fondness that I remember that doll and pram and music box.

Isn't it nice, remembering back to our childhood christmases Yes Chris, I had tangerines and the penny, along with the plastercine (sp?) and we were over the moon with it all weren't we, and like you say, I couldn't imagine kids nowadays being pleased with that lot somehow, not even the little ones.

I remember my new pram too with my new doll, but my very best present ever, when I was about 8 I think, I got a brand new bright red, Raleigh bike, it was the business, and I went out on it all day long, which would also be unheard of nowadays wouldn't it, but I'm still here and I remember that day oh so well!

My teenage Christmases and in my 20's are one big blurr I'm afraid, it was just partying all day and night most christmases but even so, I enjoyed it all at the time - well, you gotta live haven't you!

One tradition I always keep which stems from my mum and dad's at Christmas is the champagne, that one will stay because I like it, even though this year, I seem to be having the whole bottle to myself, as Dave has given up drinking cos he thinks it causes a migraine (even one can of lager!) and for once in my life, no friends popping in on christmas morning, so there I'll be in me jim jams like Tawneywolf will, sipping the champers and opening my presents in a pair of new jim jams, just cos I can!

The best bit for me has always been the dogs opening their pressies, and old Georgie really did know how to do Christmas, but sadly, he won't be with us this year except in spirit, but I'm sure he's taught Zena how it's done, so hopefully she will enjoy her day of spoiling.

Mum's are very sadly missed at Christmas and mine will be no different. As daft as it sounds, she will be coming in from the conservatory in her little cardboard box and I shall put a candle on the top just to let her know she is never forgotten, and moreso on this very special, magical day. It really is a magical day to me even at this ripe old age

Dave (bah humbug) will be stretched out in his recliner chair staring at the telly He doesn't like Christmas, he doesn't have good memories like me, so he just tolerates it and is glad when it's all over. Expect there's a lot of men like him!

We always used to get 12 shiny new pennies each and and orange in the toe of the stocking amongst any other small toys that would fit in a knee sock. I carried the tradition on with my kids too but in their case it was 5 shiny pound coins and the satsuma in the toe with tubes of jelly tots, maltesers etc. I suspect they'll carry it on too with their kids as they still wanted a stocking the entire time they lived at home even at 26

We didn't have the traditional stockings, we had pillowcases! I remember my grandma one year gave me a half crown in a box, and I kept that for years, and by the time I thought about it, it was old money, but I expect it would be worth a lot nowadays, as it probably was in the late 50's.

We had pillow cases, and also always had a tangarine, I know my sister continues that with her boys. Also news udnerwear always appeared in the stocking and new pens and pencils for school

I get VERY homesick this time of year, however the Christmas I long for is the one from my childhood, we grew up on a farm and it was a big family Christmas.

However, saying that now that we haven't travelled back to England for Christmas for a few years, we are starting to get our own traditions, we always put our tree up early and watch a Christmas film, and also we always have Roast Beef and not turkey for Christmas lunch, we enjoy slouching around in our jimjams playing with the doglets and eating and watching whatever we want!! To us this is a perfect day, just the 2 of us, I am sure our families think we are selfish not travelling back but we decided about 4 years ago to do what WE wanted to do.

And you are right to do this. Sometimes traditions and habit become a bondage that no one enjoys.