Holiday Traditions
 

This year will be my first year "hosting" Christmas at home. The past seven years we've spent Christmas with my in-laws, and all of the good Christmases before that were at my grandmother's, who passed away several years ago. (The Bad Christmases are another story all together, but that's for another thread.)

It's also my first year as a mom, and although Beans will only be 4 months old at Christmas and will be more than content to bat at ornaments and stare at the shiny lights, I'm hoping to start putting down the roots of having our own family traditions that will grow with us as our daughter grows.

One tradition Kitsune and I have started is that each year, we've bought a new ornament for our tree to represent something that's happened. We have ornaments celebrating our marriage, our new house, the birth of our daughter, and even the adoption of each of our dogs. (Except I haven't had time to dig up a picture of Pepper, so for right now it looks like we are commemorating some exceptionally good looking Golden Retriever.)

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Festivus, or anything else... what traditions does your family have this time of year?

Either this weekend or next we'll buy a real Christmas tree, because they are fresher now and the selection is better. But we don't put it up until it gets closer to Christmas. Instead, we'll put it in a bucket of water in the back yard to try to keep it fresh. We'll decorateit together as a family with some nice music and cheese and crackers or something like that. The ornaments all have a story. That part is pretty cool.

The only traditions we have are food ones. Fish chowder on Christmas Eve and crab imperial on Christmas day. Yum!

We're probably looking at some adjustment in our holiday patterns as the boyfriend of my eldest is still hanging around. :cool:

Mr Limey and I have an advent calendar each, the sort with pockets, and each year at the end of November we indulgently buy 48 of the filled chocolates from our local chocolate shop to fill the pockets.
Then we eat one a day til Christmas!

Interesting shop... I've never heard of "Spanish Drinking Chocolate". :confused:
They apparently don't ship to the USA.

I think its one step from hot chocolate. The Spanish sweetened the traditional South American cocoa drink.

It's in bar form, maybe you break off a piece and drop it in your drink.
If so, it would probably have to be a hot drink.

Edit: Just got an email from a friend in Canada saying they stir a piece into warm milk, and it's very rich.

The "December" cd by George Winston. As many luminarios as humanly possible on both the solstice and Christmas Eve. Star Christmas lights. I buy more strings of star lights each year with the goal of one day having as many of my own stars as the ones in the night sky. Of course, the resulting electric bill might prove a tad expensive, but I'll worry about that when I achieve my goal around Christmas 5012.

2012 marks 50 years of raising and selling Christmas trees. We have folks now coming with their grandkids (!!??) that came with their parents as children. I think I like being out there with the people, watching the kids run around, more than the actual holiday itself.

When my kids were growing up we always set an extra place at the table on Christmas Eve (a Ukrainian/Russian tradition), both to be ready to offer dinner to anyone needing it, and to honor/remember relatives no longer with us. We used to do the 12-dish traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve meal but the kids aren't into it so much anymore. This year it won't be practical anyway. I used to love doing it, though.

I think that's one of the nicest traditions, for Christmas or any other special time.

I agree with Lamplighter. This sounds absolutely wonderful!

That sounds like it could be fun if the weather cooperates. Cold is fine, 3 feet of snow, not so much. :D

An extra plate is great. Load it up with goodies and if nobody shows up, it's mine. Mine, you hear me, all mine. Muhahahahaha.

Okay, you have dibs. ;)

My favourite tradition is our massive family party on Christmas night. I've talked about it before (probably mention it here at least once every christmas). There's more than 80 there usually these days. It's getting big.

I love it. Always the best party of the year for me. Nothing else compares. Nothing even comes close.