Unique Christmas Traditions??

OMG OMG OMG. Ok, so DB has booked his flight to the States for Christmas! I'm flippin over the moon, because he's to meet my father for the first time! His flight comes into O'Hare on the evening of Dec 22, and he's here till the 30th...

So I've been daydreaming a lot lately, and it makes me wonder: Does anyone have any traditional or unique Christmas traditions, from either side of the pond?

For my own part, as a child, every Christmas we'd listen to the John Denver and The Muppets Christmas album, or The Chipmunks Christmas album, and bake about 40,000 batches of Toll House chocochip cookies. And candy canes, I can't even imagine how many dozen we'd go through between Thanksgiving and New Year's! LOL

Anyone else feeling festive?

I'm feeling festive!  I love Christmas!

I started my own tradition last year with my then DF and now DH! I made us each are ownChristmas Stocking! They turned out so nice and they were super easy to make. Mine was purple and his was blue, Not very X-masy I know but hey I made them cause all I could find in the shops were over the top with Santa, snowman, raindeer......ew, so not my style! I'm thinking this year I could make us both a new one or keep the old ones and just add something new to it each year. I haven't decided yet We also baked pumpkin pie on Christmas Eve and listened to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Hubby was not impressed by them. The Orchestra not the pies!  Last Christmas was also the first time I had Christmas Crackers. I got lucky and found some in Target. I looked online for ages and couldn't find any at a decent price. You should pick some up if you can find them!

This year will be the third Christmas we will be spending together, and we still don't have any traditions together yet.  Gotta work on that.  For just me, I have baked a medieval recipe shorbread every Christmas time for years--it's really yummy.  I also listen to Loreena McKennitt's winter music CD while I wrap presents every year. 

My mom started our family Christmas tradition. As we were growing up, each year one of our presents would be a new ornament for the tree. It was something that was specific to each of us. For example, I liked Woodstock and my sister liked Snoopy so one year those were the ornaments we got. My mom would write our initials and the year somewhere on them. Then when we grew up and moved out on our own and had our own Christmas trees, our ornaments came with us.

I've continued the tradition with my kids starting with their first Christmas. Every year when we decorate the tree, it's neat to look at each ornament and whose it is and from what year and hang them on the tree. I hope my sons continue the tradition with their kids. Actually, my mom has continued it with the grandkids too. So they really have 2 ornaments for each year.

My mom started our family Christmas tradition. As we were growing up, each year one of our presents would be a new ornament for the tree. It was something that was specific to each of us. For example, I liked Woodstock and my sister liked Snoopy so one year those were the ornaments we got. My mom would write our initials and the year somewhere on them. Then when we grew up and moved out on our own and had our own Christmas trees, our ornaments came with us.

I've continued the tradition with my kids starting with their first Christmas. Every year when we decorate the tree, it's neat to look at each ornament and whose it is and from what year and hang them on the tree. I hope my sons continue the tradition with their kids. Actually, my mom has continued it with the grandkids too. So they really have 2 ornaments for each year.

I like that! When I have children of my own I'll have to start doing this.

My mom started our family Christmas tradition. As we were growing up, each year one of our presents would be a new ornament for the tree. It was something that was specific to each of us. For example, I liked Woodstock and my sister liked Snoopy so one year those were the ornaments we got. My mom would write our initials and the year somewhere on them. Then when we grew up and moved out on our own and had our own Christmas trees, our ornaments came with us.

We did this in my family too.  My brother and I both have a fantastic collection of ornaments. 

My favourite Christmas tradition from my childhood was reading A Christmas Carol aloud.  Every year we would start reading it a few days before Christmas, read a chapter every evening, then read the final chapter on Christmas morning.  Also we had certain foods that we always ate on the night we decorated the tree, and on Christmas Eve, Christamas Day, and New Years morning.  DH's family has totally different traditions so I don't know how we'll work it out, but I would like to keep some of the things my family did, especially if we have children. 

Historyenne, your post reminds me that we usually had cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas. Nothing special but something to hold us over before the big feast.

I'm feeling festive!  I love Christmas!  Last Christmas was also the first time I had Christmas Crackers. I got lucky and found some in Target. I looked online for ages and couldn't find any at a decent price. You should pick some up if you can find them!

I was totally unaware Target carried crackers now! I was going to try to find them, but now I know just where to go! Thanks!!!

I have so many traditions! They're mostly my family ones, but I've made DH adopt them. Did I say I made him? I meant, I encouraged him to adopt them. 

- Eggnog while decorating the tree.
- Listening to 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' (as read by Dylan Thomas) on Christmas Eve.
- Eggs benedict and Irish coffee early on Christmas morning.
- Stockings opened at the crack of dawn!
- Stocking-opening followed by dressing up in best clothes.
- Tree presents saved for after dressing up.

... and so many others.

mmm Eggnog, can you buy this easily in the UK? Any recipes out there?

I've got a 5 and 2 year old, so we're still coming up with our own traditions. One that we've fallen into is milkshakes for dinner on Christmas night. Big old traditional meal mid afternoon, then shakes at night. It started the year I got a super fantastic blender for Christmas and we wanted to use it straight away, and it has just stuck. So now Christmas = Milkshake time!

I'm feeling super festive too!

People at work are grumbling because the background music got changed to Christmas carols (already), and I was the only one cheering the change. Mostly because Christmas equals another visit to go see my DF!

My Christmas traditions growing up (and that I still carry out to this day) are that in the evenings leading up to Christmas, everyone in the house gets to pick out their top Christmas movie. And then we all crowd into the living room and watch it together. There's some good ones out there! (A Christmas Story...Christmas Vacation...Elf....) We see a different one every night until everyone has had a turn to pick their favorite. (mine is usually Love Actually...I'm a total sucker for that film!)

Another tradition is: we always do a Christmas puzzle. The puzzle doesn't have to have a Christmas scene or anything....just the fact that we are all sitting around putting together a puzzle, listening to carols, eating Christmas cookies....good family time.   I love Christmas puzzles!

Oh....and Christmas eve ALWAYS equals taco night in my house. Always. 

We would always go to church on Christmas eve, then on the way home we would drive around looking at lights. On Christmas morning my dad would turn the Christmas music on and he'd make this big deal about turning on the tree lights, shaking the fire (we had a coal stove growing up), and basically dragging it all out while we sat at the top of the stairs. 

This is my first Christmas being married and I would LOVE to start our own traditions, but we're going to his parents. I was there last year for Christmas too and it seems they have no traditions at all. No light viewing, no Christmas music on while we open presents, nothing.    I wish we could go to their house on Christmas morning so we could have Christmas eve to do our own thing, but traveling across Ireland on Christmas morning is pretty impossible.

mmm Eggnog, can you buy this easily in the UK? Any recipes out there?

It's very easy to make! It's just eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and booze - with nutmeg grated on top!

One my family always does that I'm bummed I'll be missing out on this year is we always cut down our own Christmas tree.  We have a huge forest as our backyard (that we own, don't worry, we're not trespassers).  So we'd always go and search for the perfect tree.  Our tree is a mish mash of ornaments we made as kids, to ornaments from trips, to the Hallmark ones my Godmother always used to buy us as kids.  Our tree is totally cute.

Our favorite Christmas movie is Holiday Inn and we always watch that.

And still to this day, my family will sit together (ok, minus my Dad and brother because their "men") and read Twas the Night before Christmas on Christmas Eve.


Needless to say, I'm forcing my hubby to do these too- minus the tree cutting part.