Holiday Traditions? New/Old

As I prepare myself for the move to the UK I am thinking about old traditions I have always done and what new traditions we will be starting...

I would love to hear everyone's OLD and NEW traditions since the move or preparing to move...

My family never drank on Christmas, but Tim and I cracked open a bottle of wine while we watched all the cheesy BBC specials last year, and I think that's going to become a tradition for us.

I'm forcing my husband to adopt my family traditions. Since, obviously, mine are so much better than his. 

Seconded :lol: My husband didn't really get Christmas until we'd been together about 2 or 3 years. Now he's adopted all my traditions and he really enjoys it. I do think, however, that what he enjoys is seeing me get all excited about it. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think his xmas-love is about a 7, but mine goes all the way up to 11!

Our new tradition is taking our dog for a walk on Christmas day. I would never have dreamed of leaving the house before, but now we have a dog, it's great fun to take her to the park for a walk and see all the kiddiewinks playing with their new bikes/scooters/skates/footballs etc. Everyone is so cheerful and grinny, I just love it.

I had forced my dw to accept my Christmas thangs and idears. Well she ain't got none being a buddhist and all that. In saying that she does try, sometimes, and comes up with things that just must be overruled - such as she once bought a square stocking. A square stocking? eh? I couldn't have dreamt that one up in a thousand years and she goes and finds one!

I have carried on a thing we did when growing up and that is the kids get to open one small present on Christmas Eve. Another thing we try and do is limit the present openings. As the kids get lots and lots of little presents and a couple of big ones, we spread the openings throughout the day. Some people think this is sad but I feel every one took time to buy and wrap and give presents that we should at least enjoy them. How many small ones get opened and discarded so quickly? Anyway, the kids grew up with and therefore know no different.

Got a few more but must dash to school. What for it's only 3 hours??

We've compromised on a lot.  Stockings are put on the beds and not downstairs (boo).  TV is NOT turned on until the evening. (yay).  Boxing Day is second Christmas (yay). Mummy gets to have a glass of Bucks Fizz at breakfast in order to get through the day (new tradition but essentially for and by me).  Sweet potatoes at lunch (yay).  Games all bloody afternoon (boo).  And hats, crackers and indoor fireworks (his but yay).  
What I miss is my family tradition of a big breakfast but oh, well.  I have managed to make the slow handing out of the presents stick even at his mother's house although I've noticed that she gets around this by having them all stacked up individually - so I guess that one is another compromise.  And now I just take my coffee maker with me so there is coffee all day and not just the tiny 'now you can go home' cup late in the afternoon.

This is our first Christmas together (we were 'dating' last Christmas, but didn't spendthe day together), so I'm looking forward to seeing what traditions we create.  I've done a big, bulging stocking for him, which he will not be expecting... that will always be a tradition for me, regardless of whether he reciprocates.

Growing up, Christmas Eve was the big day.  Mom was Polish, so we'd have a big feast (complete with pickled herring--yuck!) and pass around the communion wafer before saying grace.  All pressies would be opened that night.  Which left Christmas day free for anyone to do as they wished.  A couple of years before I moved to the UK, my youngest brother and I started a tradition of seeing a film and then going to the pub on Christmas day.

Now that I'm here and with DH, I really miss that Christmas Eve dinner.  So we always phone just as the party's starting and try to speak to everyone.  DH even suggested we get some pickled herring this year.  No thanks! 

Since DH was raised Muslim and neither one of us is a 'believer', deciding what to do at Christmas was a bit tricky when we were first together.  Our second Christmas, however, he suprised the heck out of me by buying and decorating a tree!  He's even bought me CDs of Christmas music and has become devoted to 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'A Christmas Story'.

So this Christmas Day we're going to do a nice long walk, feed the birdies, make a roast, and snuggle up on the sofa next to the twinkling tree and watch films.  Heaven. 

feed the birdies 

that's nice... i want to do this too.  In fact, I think i will go and buy some birdseed or something today!

Mines more of a xmas week thing, baking cookies together. My husband has never really done this before but seeing that our Xmas day is traditionally British it's nice to do something nice leading up to the day. So today are thumbprint cookies, tomorrow are rumballs and then Thursday is gingerbread

I slid pretty happily into my husband's family 'traditions' when I moved here, since that really amounted to Christmas dinner and spending a goodly chunk of Christmas day together.  Really, as long as there is turkey (which, for all it not being the American norm, WAS my family norm!), I wasn't going to complain!   I'm sure traditions will change/be made once the sproggy one is born, but that's for next year to worry about...

Well, this is my 3rd Christmas in the UK in a row, despite the fact that I only moved here this year... I think we compromise quite well. There is an excellent blend of old and new traditions in our family!

Christmas Eve: I mentioned this in one of the food threads, but Christmas Eve was always a big day for my family. It's the Feast of 7 Fish. It's like a Friday in Lent - we "fast" by not eating meat, but instead gorge ourselves on seafood. Just go with it! I've done this dinner for the past 2 years for my hubby's family and it always goes over quite well. I don't do all 7 fish though, because I find many of them to be somewhat gross.    This year I'm doing it for just me and hubby, so we're having a much smaller meal and some wine, and then watching some Christmas specials. I think it's a great way to start off the holiday.

Christmas Day: I am bringing back my Mom's tradition of Christmas Breakfast this year! We never did it when I lived with the in-laws because they thought it was weird! But after we open our presents we will have a nice breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and bacon before heading over to the in-laws. I always loved the idea of Christmas breakfast - the environment was always so lovely. My mom would be happily cooking away and singing and we'd all gather round the table and eat together before going off to my grandmother's house. *ah, nostalgia...*

Then we go round the in-laws house for present opening. This part of Christmas is entirely different from what we used to do back home... We all start drinking around Noon    and then eat a meal so huge that you'd think they're feeding the entire block... And I make it huger by bringing sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing, and green bean casserole. We also have my homemade cheesecake in addition to christmas pudding.

Now, I think this is really strange, and it's a new tradition for DH's family too... After the meal we end up playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero until Stupid o clock in the morning while drinking heavily! It's fantastic.

On Boxing Day we do basically the same thing as Christmas day - without presents. (Though this year, the niece and nephew won't be round til Boxing day so there will still be presents for them to open!) This includes the Guitar Hero and booze.

I have carried on a thing we did when growing up and that is the kids get to open one small present on Christmas Eve. Another thing we try and do is limit the present openings. As the kids get lots and lots of little presents and a couple of big ones, we spread the openings throughout the day. Some people think this is sad but I feel every one took time to buy and wrap and give presents that we should at least enjoy them. How many small ones get opened and discarded so quickly? Anyway, the kids grew up with and therefore know no different.

I think that is a wonderful tradition, Bob! I know that my niece and nephew just open their presents and put them aside without a thought, anxious to open the next one. I bet it makes them appreciate each one a bit more!

I think that is a wonderful tradition, Bob! I know that my niece and nephew just open their presents and put them aside without a thought, anxious to open the next one. I bet it makes them appreciate each one a bit more!

It does. And they discover that sometimes that naff toy is actually pretty cool. Actually last year, the boy was opening presents days later. I, on the hand, grew up with the mad scramble and things got lost, thrown out or stepped on and broke. I think it is a tradition that can only be started at the kid's first Chrismas. But it works for us.

But I have to say Guitar Heros and booze till the wee hours sounds like fun! Nothing like a booze up with plenty of special nibbles.

But I have to say Guitar Heros and booze till the wee hours sounds like fun! Nothing like a booze up with plenty of special nibbles.

Yeah it's great! And my MIL really likes to get me drunk, and will top up my drink any time I'm not looking...

What makes it even better though - my FIL is the caretaker of a primary school and lives on the grounds. So we take all the equipment over there and set it up on one of those projector screens! It's amazing.

Christmas Eve we make the rounds - take little gifts to friends' kids, have a drink with other friends, then go home and have a light dinner and wine.

Christmas Day we have a nice breakfast, take a walk to the pub for a drink before they close early, then an early dinner and watch It's a Wonderful Life.

Boxing Day has recently changed - we used to see dh's family that day but that got cancelled last year so we'll have to make a new tradition this year!