13 Family Christmas Traditions
1. Oranges in the bottoms of our Christmas stockings. The kids love this tradition. I love it because it keeps that "stocking" shape and they eat it for breakfast!
2. Using the same wrapping paper for each child. This eliminates the need for name tags (hate those things!) on gifts from mom and dad, because each child has his own wrapping paper and knows which gift is his.
3. Setting out the Santa cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. Doesn't everyone do this?
4. Leaving carrots for the reindeer. In the morning, there's always one left with a "reindeer bite" out of it!
5. Santa's boot-prints by the fireplace. More proof that Santa really exists!
6. A letter from Santa. He leaves one every year for the kids, right by the milk and cookies. Nice of him to take the time, considering all he's got to do on Christmas Eve, isn't it?
7. Reading "T'Was The Night Before Christmas" before the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve.
8. Opening one present on Christmas Eve - it's always Christmas pajamas for them to wear to bed so pictures on Christmas morning won't reveal that we normally put them to bed in old t-shirts with moth holes.
9. Going to see Santa - to get the "Santa picture" and to ask Santa for what we want for Christmas.
10. Santa always leaves "Lifesaver Storybooks" in the stockings
11. Stockings have to be opened first, before we start presents
12. Presents are opened one at a time, and we take turns, so we can all appreciate each gift.
13. Finding the "Christmas Pickle" ornament - every year Santa leaves a small gift for the child who finds the Christmas pickle hidden in the tree.
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47 comments:
These are some very nice traditions. Good things that remind me of when Christmas was fun and there were no "Black Fridays" and other such nonsense. Fantastic list. Happy TT.
Fun things. I love #2. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours...
I like the rationale in number 8. Haha. Got to be picture ready for Xmas day! :)
These are a nice set of things to do...
Have a great TT and a very Merry Christmas!
When my daughter was very young we used to leave out a carrot for the reindeer (an for the Easter Bunny too in spring) and the excitement on her face when she saw that it had been half eaten was the biggest kick of the day for me!
Great traditions, I love the one about each child having thier own paper...I might have to try that one.
We share some of these traditions with you. The Lifesaver books were always a favorite with me. And the oranges...
We met Donner one year, and he told us to put peanut butter on the end of the carrots for the reindeer. Talk about disgusting. But we had no choice. We lived, the reindeer lived, and Christmas came!
God bless your holiday.
We always get oranges in the bottom of our stockings as well! :-)
And yes, the Saturn return is a hell of a year. I like the "putting you through the meat grinder" analogy.
How wonderful. I love the Christmas pickle too. Just learned about that this year. Your house must be such fun during the holidays. Have a great TT. :)
Those are nice traditions, especially the oranges ones and the reindeer one, I have a soft spot for that type of things...
Merry Christmas!!!! :-)
What great traditions. Ive never heard of #2. That is an awesome idea!! Happy TT and thanks for stopping by.
Those are fun. We used to always have an orange and an apple, some nuts and lifesavers in our stockings. They were always opened first, and you could open them without waiting. We never did the santa thing, but the rest sounds a lot like our Christmas traditions!
TM
We do some of those same things too, carrots, Santa sandwich, but the one I love best is the opening one gift at a time. It makes us enjoy everyone else's gifts too.
Great list of traditions. We've always done the different paper for each kid thing. It works out great!
Happy TT!
www.nicoleaustin.net
Very nice traditions. We do the pickle as well. Not many do it any more. Have a great Christmas
Those are awesome -- especially the pajamas. I can imagine how cozy they must feel. But... what's a Christmas pickle? I've never heard of such a thing.
Have a great Christmas this year, and happy TT!
You do Christmas in style! I may have to borrow some of your traditions. I just started the "wrap each person's gift in the same paper" bit. Don't know why I never thought to do it before (smile).
Nice traditions. We don't do the Santa ones because we're always traveling between Christmas Eve and Day. Happy TT and thanks for stopping by.
What awesome traditions! We do many of these too but some years I remember better than others.
It's sweet that your kids are glad about getting oranges, and I think the tradition of opening one gift at a time is a good one - puts the focus more on sharing and less on just receiving. Happy TT!
Yep, I'm a firm believer in opening one gift at a time. I enjoy watching everyone opening their presents.
Using the same wrapping paper for each child...great idea. By the time the reindeer get all the way over here to the East Coast they are wanting raisins so that is what we leave for them and OF course we get to open one present Christmas Eve!!!! Happy holidays I came on over from fondofphotography.com
I think I set cookies and milk out once when I was a kid until two of my friends told me they did the same thing. Then I started thinking (oh, no!) that Santa couldn't possibly eat all those cookies. LOL
Happy TT!
My Thursday Thirteen #5
We have one of those pickle ornaments but we've never followed up with it! How cool that you do!
Happy TT.
My TT: 13 ways my life sucks is up!
What a great list, full of wonderful family traditions.. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
http://www.secretagentmama.com
My goodness, did you grow up in my house? We did all of these things.
Cindi
I love number 2. What a great idea.
Have a happy Christmas and a healthy 2008!
Journeywoman
Word of caution - be careful on the handwriting on Santa's note - that's how I figured out my dad was Santa at the age of four!!! Of course, I played dumb and milked it until like 11!!! Happy Holidays!
Yep, done the wrapping paper thing and everyone seemed to like it.
Cookies,yep, carrots, yep. We read the Christmas story for the second chapter of Luke just prior to opening the presents. It helps us focus on the meaning of Christmas.
It must be nice to have family traditions. We have none other than trying to get my father to unwrap his stuff before company arrives. He's always the last person to finish.
The Pink Flamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog
oh yes oranges in every toe
We used to leave a note for Santa (stay warm, take a rest, say hi to the reindeer, see you next year) and then I would write something back to the kids. It worked until they got older and knew it was my handwriting!!!
thanks for the memories and happy holidays!
Great TT!
Christmas sounds like a warm lovely holiday at your house. What special memories you are creating for your children.
YES!!!!! For years, decades, I've done the same thing...same wrapping paper for each individual. The tags are very tacky.
Happy 13ing.
Boot prints? Love that idea.
We also do stockings first, but only because my mom comes over Christmas morning to watch the kids open gifts, and doing the stockings occupies the kids til she gets here.
Christmas pickle? That's just too funny!
Happy tt and merry Christmas!
That's lovely - your traditions are much like ours.
You're list softened my hard grinchie poo heart just a bit. I remember getting oranges in my stocking. Le sigh. Happy Holidays. And Happy TT!
Those are some very lucky kids.
Lifesaver Books Rock!
I LIKE having traditions! I miss that since I am away from my son and my parents just don't get into it any more. I love the idea about having each child have their own wrapping paper - smart move.
Happy TT-13, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!
Smiles,
Holly
http://theabundanceplace.com
my parents did the oranges-in-the-stocking thing too... and on Christmas eve we opened one gift - mom picked it out and every year it was a new PJs - usually something Christmassy. :) Happy TT!
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Beautiful Traditions. Papa Bear reads The Polar Express and I read Twas' The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve, and we have to leave out cookies and whatever other snacks the kids decide Santa and the reindeer and the elves need each year....and my kids aren't young anymore.
Nice to know we aren't the only ones to have Santa write a letter to the children back.
I want a Christmas pickle!
Great traditions especially the wrapping paper one I just learned about the Christmas Pickle ornament this yr Happy TT & Happy Holidays
oh my goodness, THANK YOU for reminding me about oranges in the Christmas stockings!!! My mother used to do this...and I totally forgot about it. And the Lifesaver Storybooks, too. Thank you!
I loved #8, too, great idea.
Those are wonderful traditions!
We do a few of the same ones, but I think we may adopt the wrapping paper idea! That would make things much simpler!
Happy Holidays!
#8 - LOL!! Yes, most of the Christmas jammies are bought for that very reason!
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