Minis On The Edge Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 What is your Favorite Family Tradition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 One of the things my family did at holidays was cook up a storm for the hordes of people who had a way of dropping in. I still do it when any of the DSs show up with families/ SOs in tow. DH calls it "putting their knees under mama's table" The other thing our family always did that I still like to do is that we never went visiting without bringing a gift (usually food, but other things, too) for the hostess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameless1 Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 It turns out that we don't have very many family traditions! When we lived in Minneapolis, the big tradition was that on every holiday we went to the one used-book store that was open 365 days a year. It was such a relief to get out of the house, and sometimes by evening, there would be Ethiopian restaurants and such open too. These days, if we haven't gone away for a holiday, we walk up to Chinatown, where everything is still open. I'm hoping that the trip back East includes a walk along the Erie Canal at the small town with the roons, as we've done that on most winter visits to Phil's parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 my favorite Family tradition started when my mother was young. there were 8 children in the family and so my Grandparents started having a christmas eve party. it used to include a big traditional sit down meal and my aunts and uncles who still go to my Grandmothers still do. when my mother started hosting Christmas eve at her house saving all of us a 3 hour drive to Granny's we switched it to finger foods and desserts. we gather around 7pm and visit till all are there we have a blessing and than food. when the food is done we all gather for the singing. yes I said singing. we poor tone deaf people hack all the loveliest Christmas songs with great joy and enthusiasm. over the yrs we have made song books trying to include all of them. the last 3 yrs we have saved the last 3 songs for outside. we all bundle up and go outside to sing We wish you a merry Christmas. away in the manger and our carrols always end with Silent night. and than it is time for presents!! we are not rich folks so we mostly buy for the kids. but we do have adult gift exchange. if you are a woman bring a womans gift a man brings a mans gift. they all go into big bags with ribbons so you cant see which present you pick when the presents are all unwrapped we all head to home....not bed coz yanno Santa gotta fill those stockins and get out the big guns for Christmas Morning. some yrs we fill the house...with as many as 25 people but I think this yr we will be down to 18 Christmas morning means Pumpkin bread and OJ while our kids open their gifts. and than hubby takes the kids to his moms house for dinner while I cook ours. not sure what we will be doing this yr in the morning as we do have a Grandbaby now. they dont want to sleep here so santa can visit baby at her own home. so I have no idea how we will do it. however you spend the next week. I hope you spend it with people you love and Have a Happy New Year! nutti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 since my marriage to Chris a few years ago, family traditions have changed. I used to go over to my grandmother's house with mom, but that has stopped since it takes most of the day, and so as the family members have grown older, our traditions have paired down.... We usually have people over for dinner, or open house, the family and a few friends. This year we will go over to my parents for Christmas eve, and dinner, christmas day will probably go over to our friends down the street.....this cuts down on alot of cooking, which I just don't enjoy very much! Another Christmas tradition that evolved with my stepdaughter Amanda, who was five or six when we married, was about the christmas presents. Since our home was small, we had limited room where we could hide the presents, so I made up the story of the rookie elf to explain why presents were under the tree early. ;) The story goes that one evening Amanda said, 'where did all of those presents come from?' and I said, well the rookie elf brought them... 'who is the rookie elf?' haven't you heard of the rookie elf? He's the elf who is in training to help Santa, and he's REAL clumsy, which is why he's covered in bumps and bruises carrying presents and falling down alot.. 'But why did he bring the presents early?' Well, see that's why he is still in training....he takes longer and Santa tries him out delivering presents to see if he can get the right ones to the homes...that's why the rookie elf drives the Big Brown Sleigh! We always get a kick out of the rookie elf at this time of year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 ROTFLMBO about the "rookie elf"! THAT reminded me of a purely personal family tradition with DS#1. Before he ever had younger brothers to blame, whenever there was a new mess to pick up in his room or some other major environmental alteration his response was a very guilty look & the reply that "Purple Chicken did it". To this day none of us (including him) has any idea where "Purple Chicken" came from or why chosen for the role of scapegoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted December 19, 2005 Share Posted December 19, 2005 My favorite family tradition, which is really just me and the kids and I started it when they were small, is that at dinner time we sat down at the dinner table and ate dinner together. We did not sit in front of the TV. The other favorite is that I always cook Christmas breakfast and we eat it on my Christmas dishes ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 While my mother was alive, on Christmas eve, we would get her to come to our house to have our private family gift exchange and munch on homemade goodies then on Christmas Day we all went to her house for dinner for gift exchange with my brothers and sisters and their families. Last year was our first year without her and I was completely lost, first Christmas in my life that I didn't see not only my mother but my brothers and sisters on Christmas Day. I lived next to her and the others live anywhere from 45 to 200 miles away and with Mama gone there was no pressing need for them to leave their own families. Christmas eve we always let the kids have a gift from us (usually new pjs so the xmas pictures would look cute) but now their grown and have children of their own so its just hubby and I and we've not come up with new ones to replace them. This year though my kids and grandkids will be here for supper (I'm from Ga we have breakfast, dinner and then supper LOL) so we'll see what evolves. One thing that hasn't changed though is it is the only time of year that I bake tons of homemade fudge, cakes, cookies, rice krispie treats etc. So I'm in the process of getting up my grocery list. Peggi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nameless1 Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 (hugs for Peggi) It must be tough coming up with a totally new set of traditions. We moved back to within 100 miles of my parents about the time that my younger sisters moved out, but we haven't had any luck at re-establishing any sorts of holiday traditions. What the parents did with the younger girls wasn't what they did with me, ad they don't want to do that any more anyway, so... I just realized, after cleaning out the craft closet, that doing that has become the annual holiday tradition! For someone who consciously tries not to horde, I sure own an awful lot of craft supplies. But my rolling cart is all stocked to finish the Westville after Christmas... which of course gives me the urge to work on anything BUT the Westville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatColorado Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 But my rolling cart is all stocked to finish the Westville after Christmas... which of course gives me the urge to work on anything BUT the Westville. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hmmm, that's how I feel about the McKinley. Everything else just seems to be more appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 When I was a kid we didn't have many traditions that I enjoyed. Christmas was a very formal time where from early in the afternoon till about 8 pm us kids had to dress uncomfortably, behave silently and wait for the old folks (my grandparents and great aunts and great uncles) to get done eating and talking and then we opened presents that night. As an adult the holiday was always split between families.. though it continued on much the same.. very formally where kids (and me) were scene and not heard, lots of polite but boring chit chat and a lot of waiting around and not much to do to break the monotony. Once I divorced the family moved back closer together and we were faced with re-inventing our traditions since all of the Greats had passed on. Now Christmas Eve is at my sisters house (she's also my closest neighbor) the nephews turn on the computer and we watch NORAD track Santa - all eat dinner together play games, watch christmas movies, and eat cookies and fudge - before bed I read The Night Before Christmas for my son - then Christmas morning we get up - go next door, my parents come over and we all open our presents together! Everyone is scene And heard! And it's purely a come as you are affair - pj's bathrobes and all! -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Can I do another one? OK. When all of our kids were little (and there's 21 grandkids [7 children in my family] and we all had them either within 2 months of each other or 10 months of each other!), all of our holidays were spent together, with all the kids running around. It was tremendous fun! But, another thing that we did, is that we would show up at one another's house, sit down, bake brownies, have coffee, whatever, and just "chat" while the kids all played together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 oh Linda me and a couple of my friends did that also we moms would do the cookies or whatever and yak while the kids played when the boys were small we never had less than 6 boys and the 2 girls all in the same 2 yr combo. some of them are still very close today. like brother and sisters almost. that was a good tradition! ((warm fuzzies)) nutti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 When I was a kid we spent Christmas eve at home together as a family with treats and what-not. Then we'd get to bed early and wait for Santa to come. After 5:00 a.m. mornings, my parents decided it was time to let us open our gifts during the middle of the night! So, we'd go to bed and fall asleep and then they'd come wake us up to open presents. That way they could sleep in in the morning. Then on Christmas day it was off to Grandma's house where all the relatives would be. The adults would sit around and visit and us kids would go find some trouble to get into. Mostly we played or did crafts or some such thing. Those were the good old days. Oh, I forgot, we always had perogies and cabbage rolls! Yum!! This Christmas it's just me and hubby. We'll probably eat dinner, play scrabble, watch a Christmas Carol (that's one of my traditions every year), open gifts and go to bed. We have friends coming over on Monday for dinner and will probably play games. Oh what joy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 I love reading what other families do for Christmas and the Holidays. My husband is a shift worker and has worked most Christmases and Holidays. I wasn't able to have any children, so I've always mostly spent Christmas and holidays by myself. I'd always wanted to have a big family. I grew up in a home where my parents liked to drink ... a lot. Even though I have three brothers and a sister, Christmases were kind of hard. When my two eldest brothers each turned 17, they were sent away ... one to University in Ottawa (across the country), and the other joined the navy. The next Christmas my younger brother and I spent Christmas Eve in a Chinese restaurant drinking coffee ... that was all that was open in those years. I was 14 and he was 11. I think my younger sister must have had a friend who's family let her stay with them on Christmas. For my brother, Kevin, and I .... I guess that was our holiday tradition ... drinking coffee at Mae Ling's. It's funny, but now I'm just used to being alone. My brothers, sister and I do phone each other on Christmas Day. My brother, Kevin, and I are especially close. Good News! My husband will be retiring early in 2007, so I'll have him home for Christmas every year!! Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenlaine Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 It is true that alot of us didn't have the great memories that most of you have surrounding Christmas. I too spent Christmas as you did, Susanne. Although we were always home and always presents for us kids but the drinking and fighting between my parents didn't make it very heartwarming. My memories were of my mother crying in the basement after Dad had stormed out which looking back seemed commonplace. But thank goodness, I've broken from that mold and have enjoyed many a wonderful Christmas with my husband and kids as they were growing up. For the past 5 years we have celebrated Christmas at my daughter's home with her husband and her in-laws and now with the baby who is 10 months old, it will be just the greatest time. I'm so looking forward to it. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Susanne, that's so sad! Well, just so you know, I'll be thinking especially of you this Christmas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 It is true that alot of us didn't have the great memories that most of you have surrounding Christmas. I too spent Christmas as you did, Susanne. Although we were always home and always presents for us kids but the drinking and fighting between my parents didn't make it very heartwarming. My memories were of my mother crying in the basement after Dad had stormed out which looking back seemed commonplace. Wendy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I too had the alcoholic father, and many (or most) of my childhood memories are not good. That may be why I created so many traditions with the kids, because I really had none when my siblings and I were young. I was a single parent for the majority of my kids' growing up years, and they were heavily involved in extra-curricular activities, for which I was always present. In addition, we had date night, skate night, and each Sunday after church we always went to McDonald's for lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenlaine Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 What's better than creating new memories?? I'm not one to stick to traditions, I love change and anything different or new always excites me and I'm forever telling my daughter now that she has her own family that it's more important for her to create her own memories with her family than to continue with ones she grew up with. Life is ever changing, isn't it? I also want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 I'd always wanted to have children so that I could "break the mold". I do have 2 beautiful "adopted" granddaughters, through an arrangement with a younger lady. I love the children dearly and love it when we're able to get together. My parents and I have a reasonably good relationship now. My dad will be 80 next summer. He is a very talented artist and craftsman, and built me my BH dollhouse in 1994. He also built a dollhouse for my niece. He built it from plans, not a kit. It's called The Farmhouse and is a two story with a wide staircase that rises up and splits into two. When I get photos, I'll scan them. I'd love if somebody could identify this dollhouse. I've not seen another one like it. Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymew Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Susanne, that's so sad! Well, just so you know, I'll be thinking especially of you this Christmas!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sorry, I didn't tell my story to make anyone feel sad. I have a wonderful husband who is so kind and thoughtful. I enjoy my pets, home, books, chocolate .... and Christmas Day is all that and more. And did I say peace....(not that I wouldn't trade that peace for children)!! When ever any of you guys get upset with your children, remember what a huge blessing they are. I'd take any of them (sight unseen, no warranty) in a second!! LOL Speaking of chocolate ... anyone else out there that's already feeling their pants a little snugger? That darn washer and dryer always seems to shrink my clothes this time of year!! Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 That darn washer and dryer always seems to shrink my clothes this time of year!! That's got to be it!! I thought it was the two chocolate oranges I snarfed down . . . yes all of it myself thank you very much!! Can anyone say 'Miss Piggy'? Actually, I'm beginning to feel like a hog!! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 That darn washer and dryer always seems to shrink my clothes this time of year!! Susanne <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Naw. For me, the closet does it to me. My clothes are one size when I hang them in the closet, and another size when I take them out ... it does a switcheroo on me, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I have eaten way too much sugar already. Which leads me to one of our family traditions. Every year the kids and I end up making about 10 batches of cookies ( 5 diffent kinds 2 of each) on the 23rd and 24th to give as gifts to family and friends. It is the only time dh's uncle gets oatmeal cookies because his wife says it would make him fat! Need less to say he gets a tin full every year. One year we made ginger bread men and women. That was interesting! I may try it again this year we will have to see. Now I just need to finish my food shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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