Let’s chat about Christmas traditions~
The holidays always seem to evoke feelings of nostalgia, don’t they? We remember past Christmases, favorite gifts, unique traditions, holiday foods, and the like, and we have a sentimental longing for those times. We recall that year we surprised someone with a special gift that we couldn’t wait to see them unwrap. These remembrances make us smile.
Typically, people bring favored traditions that they had as children into their adulthood, and then into the families of their own. With fondness, I recall how after all the Christmas decorations had been brought down from the attic; my mom would get out this beautiful, aged creche. It belonged to my grandmother when she was young and was very special to her; therefore, was dear to my mother. My siblings and I would argue about who would get to arrange all the figures inside. Even as we grew older and less interested in decorating, we still made sure that creche always came out for display. I loved looking at it and thinking about how humble the birth of Jesus was. Our Christmas tree always had the same twinkly star on top, familiar ornaments hanging on the tree, and tinsel covering the branches. The more sparkle on the tree, the better.
For years, my mother baked the same delicious cinnamon coffee cake for Christmas breakfast. When I see coffee cake now, I always think of Christmas morning. Our holiday dinner was always the same, too. We had ham, potatoes, many side dishes (always ambrosia salad,) and rolls. While the grown-ups drank wine, the children sipped on sparkling cider. That was always such a treat! For dessert, my grandmother always made this amazing apple pie with a caramel-like thick glaze. Oh my word, it was delicious!
My Traditions
When my husband and I began our family, we decided to incorporate some of both side’s traditions as well as create some new rituals. Just about every year, we decorate our home for Christmas the first Saturday in December. We play Christmas music while making our house festive. We have a tree with an angel on top, two nativities, and some other decor around the house. We have never been that house which had a zillion decorations all over. I found it to be too cluttered and too stressful. In fact, as the years have gone by, we have pared down even more. We have tried to keep our decor more minimal so we can spend time together doing other things.
One of my husband’s family traditions was to eat pizza on Christmas Eve. We do that as well. It is a simple meal to eat before heading the church. Our children expect pizza every year, and they are never disappointed that we don’t have a fancy Christmas Eve meal. We dress up and attend Christmas Eve service together. We love singing carols and songs together that remind us of our Savior’s birth and hearing a Christmas message preached. After the service, we enjoy driving around to see all the beautiful Christmas lights in surrounding neighborhoods. When we return home, we gather around the tree, and everyone is permitted to open one gift from under the tree. Later on, my husband and I fill our children’s stockings (they still get them even though two of the three are adults.)
Christmas morning begins with coffee and hot chocolate, and all of us gathered around the tree. Our children first dump out their stockings, and then we move onto the gifts. We open our gifts in a round-robin fashion starting with the youngest person and ending with the oldest. We began this when they were young because we did not want the opening of presents to be a mad frenzy. We wanted them to appreciate each gift. This ritual has served our family well. We can see exactly what each person received, the unwrapping is more interactive, and the time lasts longer.
A filling breakfast always follows the gift opening. After our morning meal, we have several hours of relaxing, revisiting gifts we have received, and getting ready for the day. Later on, we lounge around watching Christmas movies and eating appetizers while snuggling under blankets. We eat a more formal Christmas dinner complete with china and crystal. Although the main course may vary, I always make pot de creme for dessert.
How about you?
What traditions have you started with your family?
What family traditions have you carried over from your childhood?
It is always interesting to hear how differently others celebrate the holiday in their homes. Please comment below and share your traditions and favorite parts about Christmas. I would love to read them!
Thanks for sharing your day with us! What is pots de cream?
L.
You are welcome! Pots de Creme is pots of chocolate custard, similar to pudding but doesn’t have the same texture.
We, too, open gifts one at a time for the same reasons. One of the traditions that we had in my family of origin was to choose names. We would each select a name from the dish and get that person one special present and the rest of our family members a “stocking stuffer.” We decided to choose names in our family as well, in order to shift the focus from the material aspects of Christmas to more of one of worship and celebration of the birth of Christ. It also takes the financial pressure off of young families with a lot of financial obligations. The secrecy of “who had our name and whose name we had” was always fun in my family of origin and continues to be a fun aspect of Christmas now. Another tradition that we had in my family was to open one “little” gift each on Christmas Eve. We do in our family now as well.
I LOVE this idea! We did this one year with Tony’s family, but we didn’t adopt it as a tradition. I will keep this in mind for when our family grows 🙂 Thank you for commenting and for sharing your family traditions.
Your personality really shines through in your writing even about such a generic topic. Gifted.
Thank you so much, Susie, for your kind words. I can’t wait to see you and give you a big hug 🙂
Pizza was also my family’s Christmas Eve tradition!
I enjoy the blankets and movies on Christmas day the best but I have to say – I do miss the orthodox box of Cadbury’s Rose’s chocolates, a UK tradition… divine.. . https://www.cadbury.co.uk/products/Roses-2411?p=2411
I didn’t know that! Too bad we can’t find any decent Cadbury here :/
Love all of this! Growing up my family usually went to my grandparent’s house for Christmas Eve and we would open one gift. We don’t do this in our little family though. We decided that we wanted Christmas to be about Jesus and so each child only receives three gifts; from us. If they opened one early they would only have two to open the next day. However, since all of our extended family lives far away, they send gifts and the kids always get too much. As they have grown though, those three gifts have certainly gotten more expensive!! We also sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.
I know other families that do three gifts as well. That is a fantastic idea! I have seen other families do four presents: want, need, wear, and read. The gifts certainly are more expensive as they get older! Merry Christmas!
Natalie, thank you for sharing your family traditions. You write beautifully and from the heart. I celebrate on Christmas Eve with my father’s side, and we have a tradition of buffet-style potluck which makes for a great variety of food and surprises each year. Presents are opened and we visit for hours talking. Christmas Day is a traditional dinner at mom’s table, usually earlier in the day so we have time to work it off. lol Mom is an excellent cook so when she makes homemade, it’s a great meal. Sometimes, she does Costco. ha ha! After, we typically take a walk to the beach, and then open presents. Feeling blessed.
Thank you so much, Darlene! I love the notion of a potluck on Christmas Eve! I also love that you take a walk on the beach Christmas Day 🙂 Isn’t it fun reading about how differently everyone celebrates?