Anyone have any interesting christmas traditions they do with the family and kids now or back when young?

Question

I love to hear of stories from the past and present.

Answer 1

my brother, my parents, and i always go out together to get our christmas tree... we will spend all day if we have to... we will only go home when everyone has agreed on the tree we've picked.. then when we get home.. we all put the ornaments and the lights on the tree. each ornament is significant.. whether i or my brother made them when we were little.. or the ornaments were the one of the first ornaments my parents got when they were first married.. or some of them are given to us by relatives....

Answer 2

My family comes from Germany. In Germany and other parts of Europe, Dec. 6 is St. Nikolaus Tag (St. Nicholas Day). At night, before the children go to bed, they place their freshly polished shoes in a window. Their Christmas list is then placed inside their shoe. That night, Santa collects the lists and leaves a small gift behind. This is something I always looked forward to, as a child, and plan on passing this tradition on to my children.

When we celebrate with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on my dad's side of the family, we play Rob Your Neighbor. Each family is to buy several small items. They can be gags, toys, or useful household items. Examples: batteries, silly putty, lip gloss, underwear, dish towels, candy, chip clips, whoopie cushions, etc. Each item is wrapped, like a present but with no frills (bows, etc.), and placed in the center of the table. We roll dice and if you get doubles, you get to chose a "present" from the pile. Once all the "presents" are gone from the center, we start the robbing. If a person rolls doubles, they can steal a gift from someone else's pile. We do a couple rounds of that, then everyone opens their "gifts" and has a good laugh. A lot of trading is done, afterwards.
It's funny, because during the game, everyone is trying to stake out certain packages. We try to guess what's in them. Everyone usually ends up wanting the same one, so there's a big battle, at the end, to be the one to end up with it .

Answer 3

When I set up my Nativity, I start the 3 Wise Men (we call them "the wise guys") on the other side of the room and move them closer to the stable as Christmas gets closer.

On Christmas morning, I plug in the lights, light the candles (Yes, real candles...my mother was German, that's what we've done my whole life) and listen to Stille Nacht & O Tannenbaum before we open gifts. Relax, there are only a half dozen candles on the tree and the fire extinguisher is always nearby.

Answer 4

When I was young my brothers and I always put out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. It was so neat to see them all gone on Christmas morning (just a few crumbs left). Now I have kids of my own and I've carried on that tradition every Christmas Eve, although my son has decided that Santa probably prefers chocolate milk instead of white. :-)

Answer 5

Always opened our pajamas on Christmas Eve... listened to the Christmas story and the Polar Express... Made Gramcraker houses a few days after (the supplies was one of the presents)...