Hanukkah / Christmas Family Traditions

laynesmomma · November 2012

I grew up celebrating Hanukkah n dw Christmas. This is the first year that LO will be able to participate. Wondering what some of you do as family traditions around these holidays.

CageyMack · November 2012

Our DD (9) has always loved our advent calendar. My mom made it, it is felt and has little pockets for every day. We put little treats in there (stickers or small trinkets) and she always loved getting in there. Warning: it can become tiresome to keep that baby stocked. : ) You can always get a nice chocolate advent calendar, too.

Other than that, she loves setting up Christmas, which involves a tree, of course, since my Anglo, atheist, vagabond family has always been kind of crazy about trees. We also have a "candy town" with little lights and gingerbread men and houses, and she ADORES setting that up. My mom got that, too, came in one day before Christmas several years ago with two enormous bags and, as I rolled my eyes at the tackiness of a "Christmas village", unpacked it all. I love it more every year. A couple years ago we found a "Christmas halfpipe" at Ross for about 5 dollars. Yes, it is a snowboarding halfpipe with little figures that move with magnet power and it plays 25 of your favorite christmas tunes. Man, the kid freaks out over running that. Blends right in with the gingerbread people of Candytown. : ) Now I need one of those magnet penguin thingies.

Sheesh. Apparently our holiday tradition is "tacky." You, too, can have this.

Oh! I forgot one of my family's oldest traditions. We used to walk to our neighbor farm to pick out our tree. And when we finally selected our tree, a young child (or children) would recite this poem as our name tag was tied firmly on the tree:

Don't you think the trees remember,

What day happens in December?

Hardly rustling lest they should,

Fail at being green and good.

Asking other trees that wait,

"Tell me, are my needles straight?"

Each one hoping, oh, to be,

Chose for a Christmas Tree.

We would also sing "O, Tannenbaum" as we searched. And then in English.

There. Now we're not tacky. : )

leapgirl8 · November 2012

Growing up, we had a big family party on Christmas Eve with appetizers or sandwiches and music, and we opened all of our gifts from each other. Then on Christmas Day we opened our Santa gifts and stockings in our pajamas and had a nice breakfast together before cooking all day and getting together with everyone (lots of friends dropping by too) for a big traditional dinner. We have an Advent calendar that my mom still fills with candy. We do the same thing now, it's just smaller since we have moved away from most of our extended family. Oh and we always watch Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. More than once :-D

We don't have any "new family" traditions yet and we have time to think about it since the babies are still so young. I do plan on doing Santa visit and getting a tree during the first weekend of December, and letting them each pick a cookie recipe to make for us to leave out for Santa. Thinking about new traditions is one of my favorite parts of having kids

2brides · November 2012

Growing up, we went to church and then either we went to my grandparents or they came to our house and we had dinner and I opened 1 gift (typically a game) and got new pajamas. Christmas morning we got up and i got my Santa gifts (unwrapped) and my stocking before having breakfast and then opening up the gifts under the tree.

With the kids, they have a Lego Adventist calender that they open. Christmas Eve we've been going to our favorite Mexican place for an earlish dinner and then home to open 1 gift (a game) and the kids get new pjs. We write letters to Santa, put out treats, and put the kids to bed. In some years, L and I have been up well past midnight putting together stuff - thankfully, those years are past and we put out all of unwrapped Santa gifts and fill the kids stockings and each others before going to bed.

Christmas morning, the kids get their Santa gifts, open stockings, and then we have breakfast before opening the wrapped stuff under the tree. L likes to unwrap things gradually so it lasts nearly all day (kids unwrap, play with new thing, unwrap next thing, play with new thing...) A friend of ours has typically come over to hang out and we just chill in our pjs all day. Very relaxing.

2mommiesinoh · November 2012

We decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving and put out all kinds of crazy tacky Christmas decorations too!

Typically we did Ky's stocking on St. Nicholas day as A grew up with that tradition and wanted to continue it (I did mine on Christmas day growing up). Since A and I seperated I have not decided what to do with that.

We always open one present on Christmas Eve of our choice. Normally Christmas day is crazy but this year Ky will be home with me all day since she is going to A's family on Christmas Eve while I work.

I am looking forward to starting new traditions with Ky.

2moms2twins · November 2012

We dont have traditions yet the girls a a wee bit too young,

but we will do Hannukkah and have latkes and dreidles and all that jewbie stuff that i do -

and we will also celbrate x-mas. I would prefer if we did x-mas at DW parents house as that is what i know Christmas is waking up at their house with tree and all the x-mas goodness gifts stockings. I dont really wanna do all that at our house since we go to CA for xmas so no need to have tree and the trimming here if we are not gonna be here. DW has a tradition with her mom that they get an ornament that symbolizes something from that year - so we went to Hawaii so we would get a Hawaiian ornament or something like that but they kinda let it fall by the way side.

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