Christmas

DaniGrace89 · July 2014

I realize that it's July...but I am thrilled to have a baby in our little family this holiday season. She is our first, and will only be a few months old come December, but I want to cement traditions on her first Christmas.

Here's my question! What kinds of family holiday traditions are special to you that you are eager to share with your LO? Any cool ideas!?

CNJ4EVA · July 2014

My DD was 7 months old on Christmas. We got a real tree (we usually put up a fake) to celebrate her first one. I loved doing that because my mom only got a real tree the year each of her children were born, so I feel like I'm continuing a tradition there. We also got a special 1st Christmas ornament.

When the kids are older and can appreciate it more, we'll pick a night during the season to ride around the neighborhood to look at holiday lights, another tradition continued from my childhood. Growing up we did Christmas Eve, but I feel like that's too hectic, so we'll pick a different night.

Also looking forward to baking Christmas cookies together.

ETA: After reading the other responses, I remembered that growing up we also did one gift on Christmas Eve and I'd like to do the same with my LOs.

Emerald27 · July 2014

Our family does an advent calendar (the ones with chocolates for each day) and has an advent wreath that we light the candles on each week until Christmas. We bake cookies for Santa and leave him cookies, milk, and DH wants to start leaving a beer.

We plan to follow the "three gift" plan (plus a book) for under the tree. Each Christmas, Santa brings "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read." This will not include whole family gifts, though, like a game console or something.

Stockings are a mix of DH's traditions and mine. DH grew up getting nuts and oranges in his stocking, and I got candy and gifts in mine. So our LOs get nuts, oranges, some candy, and a small gift or two.

Another tradition in our family is to give an ornament each year. DH and I go nuts trying to find a special, unique ornament for each other, and we together pick out DS'. We write the year and first initial of the recipient in sharpie on the bottom (or in some obscure spot), so that each year we can talk about them and reminisce as we decorate the tree.

We cut our own tree in the mountains.

We celebrate St. Nicholas day by leaving shoes out. He brings chocolate coins (representing the true story of the saint), a banana, and a book, in each shoe.

Ok, I'll stop there. We have LOTS of traditions!!

MrsL2B · July 2014

My husband and I don't usually do too much at home, aside from put up a tree and maybe lights at the last minute, cook roast beef for Christmas Eve, and watch Die Hard on Christmas Day. I'm sure we'll come up with something more fun for the kid! And Die Hard might have to be reserved for after he goes to bed on Christmas Eve.

caranichole · July 2014

We don't really have any solid traditions in place. Each holiday season we have been transitioning into/out of homes but I do think I really want to make these for our tree! Something I came across on Pinterest a while back.

2goingon3 · July 2014

We do a Christmas Eve gift (always new pj's) from grandma (and the kids give her pj's as well), lay out cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeer. We set up and set out the "Santa" gifts separately from the other gifts, some parts are in a special Santa gift bag, but the main part of the gift is unwrapped and ready to be played with. We have an Elf on the Shelf, and that's a really fun tradition!
We've always done a real tree.
Oh, DH gets me a nutcracker every year, so he's passed that tradition along to the kids...they get to pick out our new addition.

heathera1979 · July 2014

Growing up, we also got to open 1 gift on Christmas eve and it was always new pjs. I plan to continue that tradition with LO. My sister and I would always watch the santa watch on the 1000 news before bed and I'm sure we will be doing that as well. I plan to get her a special ornament every year. I think elf on the shelf would be fun when she's old enough to enjoy it.

[Deleted User] · July 2014

We don't have any family traditions, but FI and I have discussed starting some. We want to get a special ornament every year for each of our kids. We will probably pick them out the first year or two, then let LO pick one out once he can pick out things. I'll keep them all in a box and give them to LO when he is older.
I'll probably make homemade chicken and noodles every Christmas Day. That's as far as we've gotten.

angeltennis3 · July 2014

When I was a kid, my parents read us 'twas the night before Christmas on Christmas Eve before we would go to bed. This happened until we left and moved out on our own. We will likely do the same.

DH always did Christmas Eve pjs, so I am sure we will incorporate that.

I would like to also start some new traditions with our LO. Reading through yours are great!!!

asarem93 · July 2014

Oh man, Christmas is a VERY important holiday for DH. It's the one time of year his parents ever did anything as a family.
He has tons of traditions he wants to pass down, some I agree with some I want replaced with new ones.
There are a lot so I won't bore you with all of them. But one that I actually do love is they spent all day together as a family and didn't open any presents until the evening. DH and his sis LOVED that. It gave them quality time with their parents and then by the time they could open them it was near bed time, so they didn't get bored after am hour of playing with them. It's hard to explain typing but the tradition is awesome, even if we get some flaming from people who say we are torturing our kids by making them wait.

A new tradition we both want to start is watching the Polar Express on Christmas eve in new pjs with hot coco, and then reading the book before bed!
Ahhh just thinking about it makes me so excited!

JuliaB317 · July 2014

I'll be honest, I'm a little stressed out at the thought of Christmas, because it means I'll have to buy my crazy (loveable, but crazy) family a whole bunch of gifts with a newborn in tow. I think this year I'll have to have my first online shopping binge. I would send my hubby, but I'm just SO much better at buying gifts than he is.

In terms of what I look forward to...previous years? Seeing family, time off work, and wine.
This year, well, pretty much the same. And if people wanted to baby-sit and give me the gift of sleep, that would be my dream.

As for the baby...he/she will be two months old, so the only thing I'm really thinking she/he needs this year is lots of family time and snuggles.

yella726 · July 2014

YAY!!! I'm so excited about Christmas this year with our new little one!

Aside from the lazy Sunday tree decorating ritual (my mom used to unpack all the ornaments and lay them out on the living room coffee table and I got to decorate), our favorite family tradition is that I got to open up one gift on Christmas Eve. It was always a set of pajamas which I wore to bed that night. This past Christmas was the last time I will open my own pajamas. This Christmas will be the first time that I give this present to my little one.

white714 · July 2014

I plan on getting matching Christmas pjs for DS and LO. My mom always did that for me and my sisters every year. We would open them up on Christmas Eve and wear them to bed. She always put an orange in our stalking so I do that too. DS would always get that small variety pack of cereal boxes so we do that too! I always bake our favourite treats then munch on them while we open gifts.

yella726 · July 2014

@white714 I like the orange in the stocking idea! My mother grew up in Northern Italy in very simple and modest household. At Christmas, they got oranges, too, because it was considered such a special treat.

savicke2009 · July 2014

We always spend christmas eve with my family as it is my dads birthday and we watch national lampoons christmas vacation (very sentimental right?

) we all go to the late night service at church and then get up & eat breakfast/open presents christmas morning and my mom mom made dinner... we still do it pretty much the same- except we open our stuff at home first and then go over to my parents.. we all have the same stockings, my great aunt has knitted them all for every person in our family (so all of her kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great great nephews)

guess we'd better figure out a name so she can start little lady's

last year we took the kids to cut down a tree (first time ever!!) Which was so fun.. we also dressed them in their pjs one evening and got wendys and drove around and looked at lights in the 'fancy neighborhoods'

we do an advent calendar that my mom made when I was little..

miriamm08 · July 2014

I love Christmas! Last Christmas was DH and my first Christmas, so we don't really have any set traditions yet, but one thing I do want to carry on from my family traditions is homemade felt stockings. Each of us has one that was made for us when we were born, my grandmother started it when my dad was born, so this will be the third generation to do that:) also we didn't have a fire place to hang our stockings so, we hung them on our bedroom door. We were always amazed that Santa got into our room without waking us up. Other than that we will do church on Christmas Eve, and then spend Christmas Day with family:)

jesslinnn · July 2014

We always cut down our own tree. This past year it snowed a lot which made it kind of hard with a 1 & 3 year old, but it was fun and definitely something to remember. AWing a pic from that day.

I grew up Catholic (I'm not religious anymore, but I've kept some of the traditions). So December 6th "St Nicholas" comes to fill stockings. Little things like candy, nuts, an orange in the toe and a small toy.

Christmas Eve evening we spend at MIL's and exchange gifts. Once we get home we put the kids in their Christmas pajamas and put them to bed, then DH and I turn on TBS for their "Christmas Story" marathon and wrap gifts. That was kind of my mom & my tradition. I am 11 years older than my brothers so when I was a teenager I'd help my mom wrap gifts late Christmas Eve night and watch that movie over and over again. I loved doing it. I also make a breakfast casserole thing in the crock pot that night so it's ready for morning and get the coffee maker ready. That way we can wake up and just relax, open gifts and eat breakfast. We watch the Christmas parade, the boys play for a bit and then we get ready to go over to my mom's family Christmas dinner (between my grandma, my mom, and her 4 sisters the host/location changes every year). It ends up being about 30 people total, we eat an early dinner, then hang out in the evening and play games. I love Christmas.

Also around Christmas time my mom's family gets together to make pierogi. It lasts all day and we end up with over 1,000 pierogi. Then in the evening we do a white elephant gift exchange for the adults and a gift exchange for the kids (names were drawn at thanksgiving).

yella726 · July 2014

savicke2009 said:

We always spend christmas eve with my family as it is my dads birthday and we watch national lampoons christmas vacation (very sentimental right? ) we all go to the late night service at church and then get up & eat breakfast/open presents christmas morning and my mom mom made dinner... we still do it pretty much the same- except we open our stuff at home first and then go over to my parents.. we all have the same stockings, my great aunt has knitted them all for every person in our family (so all of her kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great great nephews) guess we'd better figure out a name so she can start little lady's last year we took the kids to cut down a tree (first time ever!!) Which was so fun.. we also dressed them in their pjs one evening and got wendys and drove around and looked at lights in the 'fancy neighborhoods' we do an advent calendar that my mom made when I was little..

Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a family tradition for us as well! Although, it happens on Thanksgiving night, after all the food has been eaten. Sort of an official kick-off to the Christmas season. After all, 'tis the season to be merry! (That's my name!) No shit!

lct2008 · July 2014

We do a lot of the same traditions my family did. I will say up front that we don't do Santa Claus. We watch Santa movies etc but he's just pretend/not who brings gifts. Etc.

We do Christmas pjs. Read the Christmas story and twas the night before Christmas before bed.

In the morning I make a breakfast with orange rolls, eggs, bacon etc and we eat before we open gifts.

We do "game night" Christmas night. My family always invited over family friends but for now it's just us since ds is so little. We play a new game that we get for Christmas. Have appetizers, meat ball subs etc.

We always drive around to see Christmas lights before Christmas.

We do the cheap chocolate advent calanders.

Bake Christmas cookies for neighbors and the leftovers we use that night and eat while we decorate the tree and listen to Christmas music.

I also always try to get a new year ornament each year or a special ornament.

I love Christmas and love being able to share it with ds. Last year was the first year he was old enough to get into some of the things and this year I think he'll really be able to do more of the things. Help make the cookies etc.

Id also like to start getting a person/family from the angel tree project. Have ds and soon dd pick out a family on the tree and then take them out to help pick gifts for them.

I had a friend also say before Christmas they would have their child pick some of their toys they would like to donate to a little boy/girl who didn't have any. So I'm not sure what all we will do but I know I want to foster that sort of thing in my child. My parents would take us to a local homeless shelter to serve Christmas lunch and hand out gifts. So lots of ideas running through my head of what to start doing.

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