December 23 QOTD

hey everyone! it's almost christmas eve - so i want to know if you have any special traditions for the 24th!

here at my house - we always spend the day hanging out with family - then in the evening the kids (my own daughters plus their cousins) wear matching PJs and we let them open up one present ... they also get to watch a movie of their choice and have some popcorn and hot chocolate (yum!) ... we also have our big holiday dinner - it changes every year - this year it's a special pasta that my dad makes ...

so what do you all do ?

We go to my husband's uncle's house every year to spend time with that side of the family and all the kiddos get to open gifts. We do mainly appetizery foods.

Then we try and keep L.J. awake on the ride home so he can put out the milk and cookies for Santa.

I love christmas eve, the smell of the house is amazing!...

We start off with breakfast, the whole family gathered at the table...:thumbup:.....then we clean up and start making everything needed for the tamales. We then stand around the table and each one has a job to do to finish up the tamales. While they cook, we get ready... The rest of our humongous family gets here with more food. Dinner is awesome! We then have the kids decorate cookies for Santa . After all is clean and done we play games such as sharades(sp?) or any question/answer game...by 9pm we have the kids go to sleep and we set up cookies and gifts. 12am we slowly start waking the kids up...well, atleast the ones that can and will. They get to open all their gifts since its already the 25th. We uuhhh and aahhh at everything and go to bed.

The next morning we all get up and clean up the mess a lil and just relax the rest of the day. Or visit with other family.

Since we moved this summer and are now in my hometown, all traditions we had since having Kristen 7 years ago are out the window! This year we're just staying home, my parents and grandmother are visiting in the afternoon sometime and we're ordering in pizza for supper I think.

It depends on which side of the family we are spending Christmas with. Jordan's family doesn't do anything on Christmas eve.

When we spend Christmas in NY, my family gets together with our best friends and we have a huge 7 fish dinner feast. Salmon, mussels, clams, crab cakes, pasta, bread bread and more bread. And oodles of desserts. There are usually 20-25 people and it's SO much fun. We sing-a-long to Christmas songs, and just laugh and drink and enjoy each others company. It's one of my favorite parts of the season and I always miss it SO MUCH when I'm not there for it. After dinner I go to Midnight Mass at my church with my brother and best friend, and then it's home and to bed.

We lead worship at our church, so we're always responsible for leading one of the services (usu. fairly early; @ 5:30 this year). It's a really nice tradition, has been that way my entire life. After church, we go to my Dad's side of the family (his siblings and parents, cousins, etc.) Christmas gathering. We eat, read the Christmas story from Luke 2 (or a children's book version of the Biblical story), then open presents.

In my country, 24th is the main day of the holiday. We don't usually eat much during the day (there is a tale that if you don't eat anything during the day, you will see a little golden pig in the evening - haven't tried it yet, but believe after the whole day of being hungry one could possibly see various animals ... goats or llamas are possible too, maybe...... golden...), just a soup or something and then the dinner is the main dish of the whole holidays. We spend time with the family during the day, prepare everything for the evening and watch fairy tales. The dinner consists of a fish (traditional is carp, but more and more people are doing other fish) with potato salad, in some families there's a fish soup, too. Then the children go somewhere like upstairs to watch, if the Baby Jesus, who brings the gifts here, is coming. They look out of the window, look for the star and then a bell tinkles, so they run into the room where the tree is and wow! There are gifts under the tree, lights and everything. This is always a big moment in every family with kids, the expression in their eyes and faces when they first see the lightened tree with the gifts. Then the gifts are opened and it's time to play a bit with new toys or read a new book with a cup of cocoa and cookies...ahhhh. Looking forward to tomorrow coming.

We have a tradition of going out for dinner usually teppan yaki or Chinese buffet, sometimes Italian, get some hot chocolate and then drive around looking at the holiday lights on Xmas eve. When I was little we would also go to Mass, sometimes Midnight, sometimes the evening service depending on what time it was

We'll watch Christmas Cartoons tomorrow through out the day, I'll get the kids rooms cleaned up and the livingroom. Bake & decorate sugar cookies for Santa.

We're going to my inlaws for dinner.

This is the first time we've ever been with family for Christmas since our kids were born. After dinner we'll watch Charlie Brown's Christmas & How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Go looking at Chrismtas lights & listen to Christmas music.

Then home, open Christmas PJ's and the kids open their gifts from each other.

Then milk, cookies & a note for Santa. Then we'll read the Night Before Christmas.

Then the kids are in bed, DH has to get the Train Table put together and I start getting everything else under the tree.

We always watch It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas while eating assorted homemade tamales and enchiladas.

During the day I will be baking cookies for Santa at night, and making a nice family dinner for just us. Kids will probably watch Christmas movies during the day well I prepare dinner.

In the evening, the kids will get new Christmas jammies and open one present. We read the Night Before Christmas and set up the cookies and milk for Santa. I also will be printing off a letter that Santa leaves them thanking them for the cookies.

No real traditions other than Candlelight Service at church.

We always put out a mince pie and milk for Father Christmas plus water and a carrot for Rudolf - but other than that we don't do that much. I do insist on having a Christmassy family movie night though (I love Its a Wonderful Life or the original Miracle on 34th) with naughty nibbles.

Alex is going into work with DH this morning - they are having Santa visit, plus there will be games etc, and on the way home Alex and DH are collecting our new car - so that very exciting, or would be if Alex wasn't so upset at our old car going 'somewhere' other than home!

Merry Christmas girls!! <3

We are going to the IL's tonight. We will come home and open one present and then get up on Christmas and spend the whole day here just us! Should be nice and uneventful! lol