What are your Christmas traditions?

[baldidiot]

So with Christmas imminently upon us I thought it might be interesting to see what kind of traditions people here had?

[baldidiot]

Wen I was growing up it was a pretty standard british affair - presents, big christmas dinner and then fall asleep watching james bond.

But since I got married we've been spending christmas with the in-laws - so the past few years have involved some trans-atlantic travelling. Her family also open presents on christmas eve rather than christmas day (which I'm still not quite used to!) for which we go and buy a fresh growler of beer from the local brewery (although that's more of a tradition that the wife and I have instilled ) and eat a big bowl of chilli.

[universal4]

I haven't followed any of my old traditions in a number of years.

This year I am thinking I will put a second slice of bologna on the bread.

Rick
Universal4

[Topboss]

We have a traditional British Christmas which we celebrate on Christmas morning. Have the whole family around in the morning. Open Christmas presents, eat Christmas mince pies and drink old brown sherry or orange juice depending on how the heads are feeling from the night before.

A traditional Christmas lunch of turkey with all the usual trimmings and night time is spent watching Chirstmas movies like the Grinch, Home alone or National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.

[casinobonusguy]

Heather our xmas plans almost identical except we usually have the Turkey around 3pm as the xmas breakfast is huge and usually that time before we can attempt to eat again lol

[TheGooner]

None. Like most religious and social festivals - I'm completely non-plussed about it all.
And the fact that it's usually a scorching summer down-under means all the Northern hemisphere imagery about snow and cold is completely off.

We swap presents and have a big lunch of course - but there are no specific traditions at all.

[GPWA Aaron]

Growing up, my family always went to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, even when I was very young (4-5 years old). I'm pretty sure I slept through the service until I got to be about 8-9. Anyway, every year Santa would visit the house while we were at church and we'd open our presents when we got home, eventually going to bed around 3 a.m. When I got old enough to start having doubts, my mother actually got one of our neighbors to hide under our porch and ring jingle bells when we got home. I found half-eaten carrots in the yard for the reindeer, and there were hoof prints all over the back yard in the snow. (My father is a hunter and had gotten a deer that fall.)

I swear that I saw Santa's sleigh flying away up in the stars in the clear night sky that night. Now that was a magical Christmas.

[COPCapo]

we can go shopping till noon time on te 24th , than all companys and all markets are closed down.

We eat Duck on the 24th, stuffed with apples, raisins, onions and cinnamon rolls

Than mulled wine and a smashed potatoes, vegetables sauces ect.

After the meal childrens and grown up gets their present which are all under the christmas tree

So after dinner if u are a child you watch , sing or play games.

for grown ups and teenagers there are dozen of christmas parties in the disco's or pub's

25th and 26th i visiting relatives and eat much more

[Renee]

Christmas is usually spent at my folks place with lots of prawns.
This year we had prawns but my mum for some reason decided to cook a turkey.

Gotta say, for her first time it was the most delicious turkey I have ever tasted. And I go to an american thanksgiving every year. That says a lot.

We open our presents on Christmas morning. My dad complains in front of the tv for about an hour while the rest of us sit in the room waiting for him. He hates presents, Christmas, anything where people give him something really. So after an hour he finally comes in and opens his gifts, and is in a better mood because we always buy him the chocolates with the liqueur (they are his faves).

Then the rest of the day is usually spent laying in front of the tv with the top button undone eating chocolates we all got as gifts, swearing at each other for buying chocolates and saying the one in our hand will be the last one. Makes me sick just thinking about it.

If it's a hot day we hang out outside, sunbaking in the back yard. But the last couple of years has been shithouse weather on Christmas day.

[SlotsAff]

I take part in a traditional British Christmas with presents in the morning, turkey at about 3pm and then then pub for a couple of hours afterwards.

Then we all watch TV, play board games and stuff our faces

[Maria F]

In my house back in Chile the tradition is to drink lots of Champaign with pineapple ice cream (delicious) and cola de mono (a drink similar to baileys), we have a good meal, share gifts, and have neighbours coming round. When I was small we used to go to church, but that tradition died out as we grew up. In general we always try to have a peaceful time.

[banksylondon]

the only one i have is to not have any

[FruityJelena]

Orthodox Christmas is yet to come and Christmas Eve (6th January) is one of my favourite days!
That evening, children go from house to house, in their neighbourhood, for candies and fruits. They "earn" it by telling Christmas related recitation, which are very catchy and sometimes funny. They also get a lot of walnuts, because it's one of the symbols of Christmas here. Christmas Eve dinner usually contains walnuts in honey and plum compote.
People gathers on their neighbourhood corners to drink mulled vine, while the Yule (it's big oak branch) is burned. So everybody gathers around the fire.
I usually gather friends in my house and we also drink hot mulled black wine (sometimes with cinnamon and clove). Before midnight we go to church, to be there at midnight to light the candles in the church yard, which is at that time full of people came for the same reason or to listen to Christmas Liturgy, inside.
After this part, we go out Almost all night out places organise something (a band or party), so it's lively and crowded everywhere.
Christmas day is reserved for family and to stay at home.
Christmas table is very rich and various, but always contains a special cake made of puff pastry, raisin, walnuts and a coin!
Whoever finds a coin in his/her piece, will be happy during the whole year, they say

[Renee]

Christmas is usually spent at my folks place with lots of prawns.
This year we had prawns but my mum for some reason decided to cook a turkey.

Gotta say, for her first time it was the most delicious turkey I have ever tasted. And I go to an american thanksgiving every year. That says a lot.

We open our presents on Christmas morning. My dad complains in front of the tv for about an hour while the rest of us sit in the room waiting for him. He hates presents, Christmas, anything where people give him something really. So after an hour he finally comes in and opens his gifts, and is in a better mood because we always buy him the chocolates with the liqueur (they are his faves).

Then the rest of the day is usually spent laying in front of the tv with the top button undone eating chocolates we all got as gifts, swearing at each other for buying chocolates and saying the one in our hand will be the last one. Makes me sick just thinking about it.

If it's a hot day we hang out outside, sunbaking in the back yard. But the last couple of years has been shithouse weather on Christmas day.

Well it's nice to look back a few years and see that nothing changed this year :/

I think I'm getting boring in my old age because I managed to sleep most of the day.

Orthodox Christmas is yet to come and Christmas Eve (6th January) is one of my favourite days!
That evening, children go from house to house, in their neighbourhood, for candies and fruits. They "earn" it by telling Christmas related recitation, which are very catchy and sometimes funny. They also get a lot of walnuts, because it's one of the symbols of Christmas here. Christmas Eve dinner usually contains walnuts in honey and plum compote.
People gathers on their neighbourhood corners to drink mulled vine, while the Yule (it's big oak branch) is burned. So everybody gathers around the fire.
I usually gather friends in my house and we also drink hot mulled black wine (sometimes with cinnamon and clove). Before midnight we go to church, to be there at midnight to light the candles in the church yard, which is at that time full of people came for the same reason or to listen to Christmas Liturgy, inside.
After this part, we go out Almost all night out places organise something (a band or party), so it's lively and crowded everywhere.
Christmas day is reserved for family and to stay at home.
Christmas table is very rich and various, but always contains a special cake made of puff pastry, raisin, walnuts and a coin!
Whoever finds a coin in his/her piece, will be happy during the whole year, they say

This sounds like what our christmas used to be like when we went to my Baba's place every year. I miss those days.

[Miles_FTA]

Being Jewish its not something i think of often but i do have one tradition that we do tend to do as the rest of my extended family are not Jewish .. I put on a Lunch for them a do a Jamie Oliver style meal well its becoming a tradition I spend hours in the Kitchen love it but one day only..

[Triple7]

Christmas Eve I go to Church to attend the Midnight Mass, Christmas Day I also go to Church and have a family dinner. The day after a Pilgrimage.

[Casinorep]

Attend midnight mass and unwrap presents and seize causing troubles for a day...

[sweetbet]

We go to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Then I wait for the kids to fall asleep so I can drink half the glass of milk and eat a few of Santa's cookies, before I put Santa's presents under the tree. In the morning, I wait for the kids to wake up and run to the Christmas tree to see what Santa brought them. Then there's a big Christmas lunch in the afternoon, and I spend all day recovering from the lunch and learning how to walk again after eating so much food.

[thebookiesoffers]

go out black eye friday on the booze, then pub all day xmas eve with my friends, always the best day of the year but now im getting older stay in at night time now

up xmas morning for bucks fizz and present opening then pub at 12 on the dot for a couple of hours followed by a proper xmas dinner.

we have family all round the country so have to take turns where we all go for it though

[baldidiot]

go out black eye friday on the booze, then pub all day xmas eve with my friends, always the best day of the year but now im getting older stay in at night time now

up xmas morning for bucks fizz and present opening then pub at 12 on the dot for a couple of hours followed by a proper xmas dinner.

we have family all round the country so have to take turns where we all go for it though

I think I'd like to invest in your local pub!