Christmas Traditions...
I’m back and if you’re not afraid, you probably should be. lol I decided some time late last night that I wanted to blog about Christmas and our individual traditions. I’m hoping it’ll get me in the holiday spirit because I tell ya, this year I feel like Scrooge.
Last night I listened to holiday music while putting the tree up with the lil ones and believe it or not, that didn’t even do it although I believe it helped crack the Scrooge shell just a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing anyone else a horrid Christmas and I’ve done all the shopping and such. I’m just not feeling it this year. I know where my bahumbugedness stems so maybe reading about your plans and traditions will get me back into being jolly. But first I’ll tell you a few of our Christmas traditions.
Since the birth of my oldest daughter I have bought one ornament a year for her as well as her three sisters to follow. Each get named and dated. You should see our tree this year, it’s about ready to topple over with the menagerie of dohickies hanging from it. The plan is that when each daughter marries and moves out she will take her set of ornaments with her and therefore, be able to start her own Christmas tree as well as feel like she’s got a bit of home with her. Of course, when all four are gone, my tree will be bare. I hadn’t quite thought that far ahead when I started this tradition sixteen years ago.
We normally have a big prime rib supper at our house on Christmas Eve with family and everyone opens their gifts and then on Christmas morning, we would go to MIL and FIL house and open gifts then do a traditional turkey dinner at noon. The day was spent talking, watching TV and just in general enjoying ourselves.
This is where things change. I need to find a new Christmas Day tradition. My MIL crossed over a year and a half ago and FIL has since remarried and moved so… I am now in a lurch as to how do I make a new tradition for my girls so late in the game?
That is where you all come in. Tell me about your traditions. I have a friend who has a special breakfast every Christmas morning. If your tradition includes food, and you don’t mind, please share your recipe(s) with us as well.
WAKE UP!! Hehehe, that was for those of you who had gone to snoring and drooling while trying to make it through my little story here. Take mercy upon me and please leave me a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment containing a tradition and/or recipe will be added into a drawing for a naughty Christmas bag of goodies.
Happy Holidays!
Maggie
www.maggiecasper.com
Last night I listened to holiday music while putting the tree up with the lil ones and believe it or not, that didn’t even do it although I believe it helped crack the Scrooge shell just a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing anyone else a horrid Christmas and I’ve done all the shopping and such. I’m just not feeling it this year. I know where my bahumbugedness stems so maybe reading about your plans and traditions will get me back into being jolly. But first I’ll tell you a few of our Christmas traditions.
Since the birth of my oldest daughter I have bought one ornament a year for her as well as her three sisters to follow. Each get named and dated. You should see our tree this year, it’s about ready to topple over with the menagerie of dohickies hanging from it. The plan is that when each daughter marries and moves out she will take her set of ornaments with her and therefore, be able to start her own Christmas tree as well as feel like she’s got a bit of home with her. Of course, when all four are gone, my tree will be bare. I hadn’t quite thought that far ahead when I started this tradition sixteen years ago.
We normally have a big prime rib supper at our house on Christmas Eve with family and everyone opens their gifts and then on Christmas morning, we would go to MIL and FIL house and open gifts then do a traditional turkey dinner at noon. The day was spent talking, watching TV and just in general enjoying ourselves.
This is where things change. I need to find a new Christmas Day tradition. My MIL crossed over a year and a half ago and FIL has since remarried and moved so… I am now in a lurch as to how do I make a new tradition for my girls so late in the game?
That is where you all come in. Tell me about your traditions. I have a friend who has a special breakfast every Christmas morning. If your tradition includes food, and you don’t mind, please share your recipe(s) with us as well.
WAKE UP!! Hehehe, that was for those of you who had gone to snoring and drooling while trying to make it through my little story here. Take mercy upon me and please leave me a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment containing a tradition and/or recipe will be added into a drawing for a naughty Christmas bag of goodies.
Happy Holidays!
Maggie
www.maggiecasper.com
SExed by Anonymous at 11:48 AM
15 Comments:
Does picking the ugliest Christmas tree count as a tradition?
My mom loves real trees. Loves the scent and apparently loves to vacuum up all the pine needles that fall to the floor. I still remember finding a needle in March when it slipped under my toe nail. At least she got rid of the carpet and moved to hardwood so the vacuum will get the little bastards.
So as a family we'd pile into the Suburban and off we'd go to...the rifle range. Yes. The rifle range. My dad target shoots and there are plenty of free trees there for the pickings. Unfortunately it's on a road that hasn't been driven on since the fall and it's packed in snow.
Dad would curse and bitch as he plowed through pristine snow. My brother and I would beat each other up in the back until Dad whirled around and snarled that he would leave us in snowdrifts if we didn't shut the hell up. We resorted to silent punches and deadly scowls but would smile innocently when Mom turned around. The Brady Bunch we are not. Dad would then fight the lock that was frozen shut, creak open the gate that was trapped between two feet of snow and tah-dah, we'd be in the range. We'd tumble out and so would begin the Great Green Hunt.
Mom would investigate every tree looking for specific requirements: a nice needles, good scent, and a minimum amount of branches. Know Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree? Oh yeah, that's us.
One year there were so few branches that I (who always decorated the tree because it annoyed me to see it sitting outside, not doing anything) didn't know what to do. I hung a few ornaments and thought "Holy freakin' Dinah, this is sad." I then wrapped the trunk with Christmas lights (there weren't enough branches to string it. There were gaps that were so big a small country could roost there.
I sat back to admire The World's Most Pathetic Christmas Tree. "Oh man," I thought. "This ain't pretty." A friend I've known my entire life came over to drop off presents and we both sat on the couch, staring at TWMPCT.
She looked at me. I looked at her. And we laughed for two hours. Mom came home and was highly insulted about our giggle fest. "It's a beautiful tree," she declared. We looked at the tree, we looked at her, we looked at each other and howled. Mom huffed and marched off, still defending her beeeeeautiful Christmas tree.
The trees are still scrawny although they've stopped going to rifle range to get them. My mom has the natural ability to pick a tree with no branches, and I don't mean the traditional bare spot. I mean like 10 branches...max. They pay good money for the rare branchless pine.
My brother and his wife went one year (I have a fake tree as I live in a condo and the board is a dictatorship on greenery) and found the most beautiful tree. Full on all sides. "Wow," said Bro. "This is our tree." He squatted in the snow and began to saw away. Tiiiimber.
Down it came. Half a tree. Two pines had grown side by side so the greenery was really think - on one side. They stared at each other, at their sad tree then put it up, right against the wall.
The Howard Christmas Tree gene can, apparently, be passed along - through adopted children. Go Mom!
I'm highly anticipating this year's entry into the Most Pathetic Christmas Tree contest (last year was pretty good but it wasn't like the one when I was 16 or 17) I expect it will be a doozy. This is the Howard annual tradition. I think only once in my life have we had a truly beautiful tree. Christmas sucked that year. I mean, it just wasn't the same. This beautiful lush tree filled with branches. Wasn't the same at all. I find myself wanting to snip branches from the 3' artificial tree just to continue the Howard Christmas Tree tradition at my place because it's looking pretty stupid. And wrong.
Merry Christmas and Happy Tree hunting!
When we were growing up, we got to open one present on Christmas Eve, then the rest on Christmas Day. We weren't allowed to get up before Mom and Dad, though, so we'd sit on the stairs waiting for them, one ear to the wall listening for the slightest hint of movement. (The staircase was enclosed, with a door that opened onto a large hall area, about the size of a dining room.) There we'd sit, all 4 of us, lined up the stairs, waiting.
As we got older and some got married and started families of their own, the Christmas Eve tradition continued. My brothers would bring their families over and we'd open gifts. Well, it was mostly watch the little ones tear through their gifts, but it was fun. Then on Christmas Day it would be my parents and sister and I (the two remaining single ones--I swear, we're gonna be like the Baldwin sisters on The Waltons and, if I have anything to say about it, complete with a still in the basement) who would open the rest of our gifts.
Now, I spend Christmas morning with my brother and his family, and Christmas afternoon with friends. Traditions change as we change.
It's all good.
Robin's Kawaii, I love your tradition of making cards. I would've been pleased and touched to have been the recipient of one of your early efforts!
A handmade gift is something I cherish, whether it's a potholder, a card, or a jar of preserves. We used to have a family tradion that all gifts (except for the children's) had to be homemade and inexpensive. Through the years, as we prospered a little and seemed to have a bit more time than money, we got away from that tradition. Our loss. I now realize that the challenge of making the handmade gifts was part of the joy of our Christmas. It's too late for this year, but I'm suggesting we go back to that tradition starting next year.
Nessie
Sad..I'm not sure what I'd consider tradition.
Well...growing up, we'd always get to open one gift on Christmas Eve. It was always a pair of pajamas. And every year on Christmas Day, we'd wear those pajamas as we opened up our gifts.
Oh..and the late Christmas wrapping session with my mother. She hardly ever wrapped things ahead of time. Even after I'd go to bed, she'd stay up late decorating more. It was always so wonderful to wake up Christmas morning and see the living room glowing just by the light of the Christmas lights.
We have so many, but my favorite started after my children were born. Every year at Christmas, my kids and I bake tons of cookies. We use some old recipes, and some new. Then we make cookie trays to take to our local nursing homes. It is a special time together as a family, and we have the added benefit of seeing the smiles on the resident's faces. Seeing how happy such a simple gesture makes them, reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for. I'll add one of my easiest recipes below. This one is good if you are in a hurry, or are just generally impatient lol.
It also makes yummy cookies!
Quick Cookies
Ingredients:
1 box any flavor cake mix (I find chocolate variations work best, but that's just me lol)
1/2 cup of Crisco oil (other oils don't do as well, but will work)
2 eggs
Mix thoroughly. Dough will be stiff. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
Note: If you use a chocolate mix, of course they are already brown lol. Normally they need to bake about 10-15 minutes.
Happy holidays, Zara
Nessie wrote: ...Through the years, as we prospered a little and seemed to have a bit more time than money, we got away from that tradition.
What I meant to say was Through the years, as we prospered a little and seemed to have a bit more money than time, we got away from that tradition.
I should've proof-read!
Mamabelle, great recipe. Thanks! I think I'll try it tonight but I don't have Crisco. Would butter work or should I wait and buy the Crisco? I need a cookie fix.**g**
Nessie
lol - well living in the Australia, DH and I decided Christmas was too hot for a big turkey sit down. We stick a hunk of lamb on the spit and BBQ steaks. We have yummy new potatoes and a heap of salads.
The kids run around the yard naked and jump in the paddling pool. THeir pretty Christmas clothes are normally discarded by 10am lol.
Jaynie, lamb on the barby sounds terrific to me. I love lamb!
Nessie
Hi everyone.
Maggie, I too did the one ornament a year for each for my kids and like your's the tree became very heavy as the children grew.
About ten years ago, I realized at some point they'd all move and take their treasures with them and I'd be left with an empty tree.
I decided to start a new collection. Antique/old fashion glass ornaments. Each year I'd add two or three and when visiting antique or thrift stores, if I found any, I'd buy them.
My children also go into the act, buying me special ornaments each year to add to my collection.
These ornaments did not go on the tree, they were displayed in baskets, or hung on the bannister, but not on the tree. The tree was for the childrens ornaments.
Both of my daughters have moved to their own homes, taking their treasures with them and this year my son decided he wanted my ornaments on the tree ~smiles~.
He has his ornaments on a pine garland he strung around his room and is enjoying my delight at having my collection displayed on a tree for the first time.
Michelle
www.michellehoppe.com
I would say trimming the tree would be our biggest tradition.
The whole family (dh, me, 2 sons and now their girlfriends) trims the tree. Our tree is mainly decorated with ornaments made by my sons over the years.
After decorating the tree, we have Christmas movie time. We get our pillows and blankets, popcorn and snacks and spend the rest of the evening watching the movie. The only lights on are the Christmas tree lights. Of course when the boys were younger the movie would be Charlie Brown Christmas, Muppet Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, etc. :)
Ah, Christmas movie time. When our younger daughter was still at home, we did that. I remember watching A CHRISTMAS STORY. To this day I love that movie and cheer when Ralphie gets his BB gun!
Anybody see the old ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS? That's a favorite of mine. Honestly!
Nessie
Nessie,
If you have any kind of cooking oil (vegetable oil, canola, or whatever kind you like) works fine. I'm not sure about butter, but you could try it. I hope you get your cookie fix! I think the kids are trying to con me and hubby into McDonald's tonight lol.
Maggie, I think it's easier to start traditions when you have children. DH and I do pretty much whatever, except we do open all gifts on Christmas morning, then have a little something to eat and later, a big meal at mid-day.
His family often traveled for Christmas, so they had a hard time following any kind of tradition. The first year we spent at his parents house, I got up at my usual Christmas time--very early--made coffee and thought DH and his parents would join me. No, they slept in. Then we had to wait for BIL and SIL to come out from Richmond... It was late in the day before we opened gifts and sat around the tree visiting.
The moral of the story is, one you have a tradition, it's sometimes hard to adjust to someone else's. :)
Dee
My family is from Denmark so our tradition is to open presents Dec 24th in the evening. Our neighborhood has a great tradition also...one of the firefighters dresses up like Santa and a fire engine drives him around the neighborhood every Christmas Eve so all the kids can wave to him
BamaBelle, come back tomorrow and re-post your cookie recipe for our impromptu cookbook!
Nessie
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