|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 9:01 am
arrow Ah, the busiest time of year has arrived once more. People are scattering around to decorate, buy gifts, finish school for the coming break...but you've noticed something. Every year you and/or your family does the same thing to celebrate. Liked or not, your actions have become a tradition.
So I ask, what's your holiday traditions?
My holiday traditions are simple but well loved. When it comes to decorating, we usually do it a few weeks before Christmas. It used to be that my family would set aside a whole weekend to do nothing but decorate because, yes, it took the whole time to do so. All the TVs would be turned off and Christmas music would play all day. My dad and brother would do most of the outside decorating while me and my mom decorated inside. Course, my brother would also help with the tree. Now-a-days, because of my dad's weird work schedule and my mom's bad legs/back, my brother and I do most of the decorating (complete with the music, of course). We do a hellaofalot of decorating. I -love- the outside stuff because we use lots of lights, plain and colored, and just go all out, but not in a tacky sorta way. We're, litterally, the most colorful and well decorated house in the neighborhood. *shakes fist at all the spotlight people*
For Christmas Eve, my mom is the busiest one. She spends just about all day making lots of fudge (with and without pecans) for the whole family later on. Around 4 or so in the afternoon, we all get dressed nicely and go out to my grandma's house. That's when the whole side on my mom's family gathers...26 people crammed into a littler house...and most of us have grown up and take up space. @-@ Once everyone arrives, it's dinner time. Dinner consists of chicken pastry, rice soup, chicken-salad sandwichs, and maybe other random things. After -everything- is cleaned up and put away, we all cram into the livingroom and exchange gifts. Grandma goes first then all the grandkids/great-grandkids (though, that changes this year; I'll get it that) then all the adults. Now we just sit around and talk, eating our desserts which always consist of mini pecan pies, chocolate pie, and my mom's fudge. My mom's gotten to the point of splitting the fudge up evenly into little baggies to give to everyone because everyone would fight over the tins my mom brought...especially one of my cousins and one of my uncles. My mom also hands out tubes of M&Ms to all the kids every year. Around 9:30-10, everyone goes home.
Growing up, Christmas was the best. My parents told my brother and I from the start that we were -not- to go into the livingroom until they were up and moving. Meaning, my brother and I would wake up early with excitement...only to be stuck in one of our bedrooms talking 'til mom and dad got up. Course, he and I would be all sneaky-like and skitter into the living room anyways to see what Santa left us. ninja It changes some as we grow up, though, cuz my parents woke up before we did last year. xp Well, after they're awake and all's set, we'll all rummage through our stockings. My brother and I then open our gifts and then my parents. All the while, my kittehs slink through the wrapping paper trying to avoid us putting bows on them. xd After brunch, my mom spends most of the day fixing dinner and the living room becomes a disaster area with all the new stuff to play with. My grandma's brought over for dinner that night and all's well.
I heart my Christmas traditions.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:33 am
My family is kind of obsessed with Christmas.It's everyone's favorite holiday,every year we say the same thing. "We won't go overboard this year!" Yeah,and we do anyway. xp
We usually decorate the first weekend of December. We start outside with my parents putting up the lights on the house,while my sisters and I put up the elves and reindeer in the yard,and string the lights over the smaller trees and bushes. After that we come in and sit in the livingroom with the hot chocolate my mom made us and talk about how my sister tripped and fell again while putting up decorations,or about Holidays passed. Once it gets a bit darker outside,my sister's and I decorate the tree with all the ornaments,and each put on our special ones that we've had since we were little. All the while our pets staring at us oddly while we pick up ornaments with their pictures on them and say "Aww look! It's you!" My mum has the pleasure of putting the star on the tree because she's too short to reach and my dad has to lift her. After all these years we still get a kick out of that.
After all that is said and done,we each put up our stocking. *cough*Mine's the biggest*cough* While the cat's swat at the lower ornaments on the tree and the dogs try to figure out why there's an entire bag of goodies for them hanging there that they can't have.
Before we moves Christmas Eve was always spent at my aunt's house. It was few and far between that we ever got to see them (personal thing because of eblish gramma) so eating dinner there was always a happy occasion. We'd eat dinner then sit in the living room with all our baked goodies and talk by the fireplace about the shopping we did,all the gifts we bought and forgot about until the last minute,and all the other times we spent together since we can remember. When all the food is gone,it's time for presents! Wheee!! We exchange gifts and give each other big hugs and talk about what the others had gotten. Then..the dreaded..kareoke. gonk My uncle is obsessed with having us make asses out of ourselves,but it's all in fun.
Around 11-ish we head home with tummies stuffed and our arms filled with presents. Now that I'm old enough,I stay up after the kids go to bed and help my parents with the surprise presents for my sisters. Which basically means they have a few gifts under the tree and once they pass out,we bring out the big guns and put out the bigger gifts. whee
It's a bit different now. The same general idea,only we have my dad's whole side of the family come over for x-mas eve dinner at our house. Everyone opens their presents,and the kids venture off into my computer room to play with their new toys while the adults drink eggnog and talk about various things. By 11 everyone is gone,and usually my mom and I just want to sleep since we do most of the work. xp
surprised Christmas Day! My parents always say "Wait 'til we get up!" My sisters and I are impatient little buggers so after about 10 minutes we usually start talking really loud to wake them up. >.>
We sit around the living room near the tree,and are gifts are distributed to each person. Last to open first,first to open last. We get our stockings and dump them happily,and are quick to have candy for breakfast,while the pets enjoy their stockings of bones,catnip,and toys.
Since we all (my sisters and I) get the same amount of gifts we each open one at the same time,and my parents go last so they can see the looks on our faces with each box we open. The cats,completely stones on catnip usually start rolling around in the wrapping paper,or jump in the boxes and spaz until they knock themselves over. the mess gets cleaned up and off to the kitchen go me and my mum to make breakfast,and then get started on dinner.
Dinner is usually a turkey or ham,and way back when my grampa started a tradition of ALWAYS having to make lasagna. It's an Italian thing to do. XP So we do that as well as making all the side dishes and desserts. Once dinner comes and goes we snuggle up in the living room once again to enjoy the rest of the evening and watch Christmas videos. heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:49 am
i sit around and smoke a fat blunt with my family on christmas eve! JK!
but seriously, one tradition that kicks a** is goin over to my grandparents house the weekend before christmas. my moms side of the family is huge, about 40 or so (catholic family xd ), and we all live in the Seattle area, so we get together at my grandma and grampa's house. its a lot of fun because my cousins and i are all around the same age, so we sit around playin vids and talkin about girls lol
my grandparents house has a huge ceiling in the living room, so they have a gigantic fake tree they put up every year, and there are a shitload of presents under it. us youngest generation gets to open our presents first, so we take 10 minutes or so to pass them out, and then all let loose and rip and tear at the same time. we spend the rest of the night marveling over the things we got...its hella cool
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:51 am
After reading Chally's, I realized I left out a few details. Our tree is a really personal thing. For several years, a hand-made crocheted angel sat atop the tree, made by my grandma (mom's side). In fear of having it fall apart or something, we stopped using it. However, we continue to use crocheted tree skirt my grandma made as well. Last year for Christmas, my grandma gave both me and my brother a crocheted tree skirt to use in the future. Because she can't see well enough to ever make any crocheted stuff again, these will be passed through the generations. It was one of the -best- gifts I've every recieved. heart On the tree itself, we have a wide variety of ornaments, several being many many years old. There are a select few that belong to each of us and one that person can put those up on the tree. My special ones include a single carousel horse given to me when I was born from my grandma (dad's side), another full carousel with teddy bears on the horses that lights up, and a Presious Moments angel with my birthstone. The mistletoe ball is also homemade! I forgot who made it but it's a styrofoam ball covered in little clear cups (the ones you see at church) and the rims of the cups are covered with red glitter. In the center of the cups are small red flat bead things. The mistletoe hangs down from that.
During the time that the tree is up, my kittehs claim the tree-skirt as their temperary bed. They look so adorable under there. I should show yall piccies. We're also training them to leave the lower ornaments alone. domokun
Ah yes, and my single wish for Christmas, a wish that I ask for every year, is snow. I've only had one white Christmas before but I was too young to remember it. Ever since then, I've wanted another.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:09 am
I have a mistletoe ball like that too! My uncle made it..wow like 10 years ago. I think it's the cutest thing. whee
If you end up getting them to stop,lemme know how you did it. My cats just kind of stare at us like "Yeah sure,keep dreamin'" xd
eek Really,only one? Well then I'll just have to wish for you too. 3nodding heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:21 am
Chalisty Winchester I have a mistletoe ball like that too! My uncle made it..wow like 10 years ago. I think it's the cutest thing. whee
If you end up getting them to stop,lemme know how you did it. My cats just kind of stare at us like "Yeah sure,keep dreamin'" xd
eek Really,only one? Well then I'll just have to wish for you too. 3nodding heart
To make the kittehs leave the tree alone, just squirt them with a squirt bottle or bat at their paws. Once they get annoyed enough then they'll leave or fall asleep. xd
Aw, thankies. ^-^ heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:14 pm
Whee! Holiday Spirit! whee 3nodding
Ok, this is how my family usually runs our Christmas schedule: 3nodding
Usually every year we buy ornamints for out pets. We started it when we got our kitty, Arthur, then kinda stopped for a while after out first dog, Bucky, died. sad Then when we got our cute hyper-active dachshund, Obi-Wan, we began again. Usually for arthur, we'll try to find some type of orange-tan tabby looking cat ornament and for Obi, we usually get a dog bone ornament every year. whee
On Christmas eve, we're spazzing to hurry up and finish all the decorations. We don't commonly put christmas lights on our house, because Mum always nags about Dad falling right off the roof, and we're too greedy to pay someone to. So, we just put up our home-made Santa, reindeer, elves (newly added), and sleigh wooden cut-outs. We'll usually just string some christmas lights around the trunk of the tree, and claim out decorations are done. xp
Also, on Christmas eve (nightime) we attend to out church service. It concludes christmas caroling, and stuff about lighting candles. It usually freaks me out 'cause I don't trust my other sisters with candles... X.x >.>;
Also, the night before X-mas, around noon we begin making sugar cookies. After eating 9/10s of 'em, we lay the rest by the christmas tree. Yet, my FAVORITE holiday tradition recipe would have to be our sugar-plum-fairy cake. 3nodding You roll up a ball of dough, dunk it in butter, roll it around in brown sugar, then begin stacking each ball on each other in a circle to make a ring shape. Its really tasty. whee heart
Right before going to bed, my sisters and I begin shouting downstairs to Mom, "6:00! REMEMBER!!" Becasue she's always forgetting to wake up, we we have to wait to get our "santa presents".
On christmas day, Dad runs to turn on christmas music before we get to open our presents. Since half of our relatives are in N.Y, and the others in F.L, they never really come to spend Christmas down here. So its just the 5 of us opening our presents. We don't have a specific "order" to open presents in. Sometimes when we get presents from relatives that are wrapped very extremly simular, and are the same size, that usually means they're a "related/set present". So when one of us gets one and opens it, we all know what the others are getting. xp (One year we all got matching Pj shirts. >.>; Mine was "santa paws" my sister's was "Santa claws" and my other sister's was "Merry Christmoose". sweatdrop xp )
Thats usually how our christmas goes. 3nodding Oh, also our kitty Arthur is always trying to eat the tree. gonk
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 4:36 pm
Feh, decided to do this too. I lurve spreading teh cheer!
Christmas eve
Good times! All day we go to this cool old fashioned village of stores and get our pictures taken for the new years newsletter my mom sends out. I, of course, have the best pictures. ( xd yeah right!) Yeah, and once we get home, we each get to open ONE present. My mom chooses, so we don't take our majorly big presents from under the tree. (It's always new pajamas. last year I ones with kitties!) and after that, we pile back into the van and set off to see the christmas lights downtown. (always crowded, but always fun.) We come home around 11. My lil' bro goes to bed, so do my parents, but my lil' sister ( she's 11) and I stay on the bottom bunk (I share a room with her. It totally sucks.) with her and we stay up until around 1.
Christmas day
'Tis the season!
My sister and I wake up at 3 in the morning. Sneaking dowstairs, we open our stocking stuffers (They're usually flashlights, make up, candy, small little toys, candy, and more candy.) and play stupid little games. (the only time I'll do this sort of thing. I don't do "playing pretend" usually.) Around six we wake up my brother and wait...and wait....until finally seven comes! we all rush up the stairs and shout really loud. "tis the season to be jolly! Falalalala lalalala!" and scare my mom out of her wits everytime. (it's hilarious to see my mom wake up looking like "It's world war three! run for your lives!")
then we each gather our presents in a pile in our own corners. from youngest to oldest, we take turns opening one present at a time. later on, me and my mom make cinnamon rolls with extra frosting. (yummy!)
After eating, we all go to the movies. last year we went to LOTR: ROTK it was awesome.
TADA!!! My Christmas!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:39 pm
i have a basic christmas we get gifts, send gifts, and open them on christmas.. no early opening... but i always have to go to midnight mass at church which i dont like that much...
exept that my family makes lots (and i mean LOTS) of cookies and candy stuff... especaly our form or the penute butter cup... i get sick almost every christmas from eating so much sugery stuff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 4:00 pm
Go to grandparents house, get food, presents, leave. A tradition going on throughout my whole life every christmas. That's all that happens for me. sweatdrop
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 4:03 pm
During christmas, we get the family together. Drink. Drink. Drink. Drink. Drink. Drink. Rob the liquor store because we run out of money to buy alcoholic products. Drink. Drink. Drink. Dress up in stupid costumes. Last christmas, my dad dressed up as Michael Jackson and I was a viking. Also, we eat...Drink it all down. Drink some more. Drink again. Drink one last time. Pass out from so much alcohol, drink in our sleep, drink in the morning to treat our hangovers, drink to make peace, drink until New York runs out of liquor to sell. Wait a week for new shipment to arrive and drink again, open presents!...Drink again and again and again and again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
