Christmas Eve Traditions

[Darcy Baldwin]

Sometimes, I think our Christmas Eve is full of more traditions than the actual day of Christmas.

Tex-mex buffet (but I forgot to order the tamales in time :( )
Polar Express or A Wish for Wings that Work (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wish_for_Wings_That_Work)
Driving through neighborhoods to look at lights
Reindeer food (http://www.youthonline.ca/christmas/crafts/reindeerfood.shtml), santa snacks
Sleighbells and roof stomping around 11
Christmas Eve services if we're in town
Finish our Advent Devotional (http://www.jothamsjourney.com/) as we sip our Special bedtime hot cocoa (http://aslansavz.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/moms-secret-super-d-duper-sleepy-time-christmas-cocoa/) before bedtime.

Is there anything you do special for Christmas Eve?

[luckyme]

We do:

Chinese food dinner
Open one gift each -- but Mommy (aka me!) gets to pick the gift that everybody opens
Set out our stockings
Set out cookies and milk for Santa (on a special plate) and a carrot for Rudolph
Kids in Christmas pajamas
Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas together
Photograph the Christmas tree after Santa arrives

[mummytothree]

We usually eat a big dinner Turkey and fixings or an Italian feast.
Open presents we get the kids: always jammies and this year we added slippers.
Open the kid's gift exchange gifts: we put all the kids names in a hat and they draw a name to buy a present for that kid.
Pile in the car and head to our local state park to check out their light display (Festivel of Lights). They usually hand out candy canes so we let the kids eat those.
After we get home we set out cookies for Santa and then set out several carrots for Santa's reindeers. If we have snow then we also do reindeer food!!

[emmasmommy]

we let the kidlets open their jammies and put them on then we head out the door to our ILs house for dinner.
once all the festivities are over there, we'll drive around and look at some lights on the way home. once we're home we'll get our plate of cookies and juice for santa and sprinkle some reindeer food on the deck (or in front of the house)

[Darcy Baldwin]

Trish - reindeer food works w/o snow, too...we just use way more glitter ;)

[MissKim]

We're going to make homemade pizza and then do some prep work for meals on Christmas Day -- getting the monkey bread ready, cutting up cheese and sausage, baking cupcakes. After dinner, we're opening one gift, which is new PJs. My youngest is insisting that the kids be in bed by 8:30. That works for me.

[heathergw]

or traditions depend on which family we're with, although both sides always go to the Christmas Eve service...

since we're home this year, I think we'll try to go to the early Christmas Eve Service depending on whether or not we're healthy, and then come home to a nice dinner and maybe open one present... then on Christmas morning Mark is going to make pancakes and we'll open the rest of them and open the last door in our Advent book.

[SmallMoments]

Christmas Eve service & open Christmas PJs. Setting out cookies & milk. Clearing out all of the other family's gifts from under the tree to make room for Luke's gifts. I think that's it. Everything else changes from year to year. :)

[hollyxann]

We go to my grandmothers house to eat a small lite dinner, more like finger foods. And then we open gifts from the family. That's really about it.

[nesser1981]

Christmas Dinner, the last 2 year it's been steak & shrimp
have a cartoon christmas movie marathon
take a picture in front of the tree while we're dressed nicely
open christmas pj's
and the kids exchange their gift to each other
ride around to look at christmas lights
watch how the grinch stole christmas
sean reads the night before christmas
And I always take a pictures of the tree after Santa comes

[neenee]

We do the following:
Watch the Xmas movie of the year (we buy a new one to add to our collection each year)
DH reads the kids the original Twas The Night Before Christmas

We used to make reindeer food but the kids are too old for that now.

I am sad about this year though....it will be my first year with NO kids on Xmas Eve. I have cried so many tears over it. My two oldest are out of the house and "adults" now and the youngest is spending it with her real Dad. :(

[kscwgirl]

We are:
having Christmas with my MIL
going home, opening new pj's, making Santa's cookies, putting out reindeer food
I will make and refrigerate the next morning's breakfast casserole and then put out presents and go to bed.

[suze]

our Christmas Eve and day traditions use to involve a total of 10+ hrs in the car driving to families..... ugh

with Emma this year we will be starting new traditions

a lot less time in the car is a big one!!!

we just have a classic family dinner
hang out and catch up with family... usually have drinks
play with the kiddos while everyone relaxes.

[Paula]

We usually have homemade mexican food. I make tamales, and I actually need to get the pork roast on so I can roll them tomorrow. LOL I also make enchiladas, rice, and beans. After we eat, we open the standard pajamas, and then we watch Christmas movies. This year, we voted to watch White Christmas. I LOVE that movie.

[Megan Turnidge]

Yummy dinner (this year we're having steak kabobs)
Homemade hot chocolate
Read the Christmas story from the Bible
Open Christmas PJ's
Set out Santa's treats (this year no cookies... he's getting choc covered strawberries)
Then the little one will have to go to bed! :)

[ariesfl326]

This is our first official Christmas as a family so we are started from scratch (well sort of becuz my daughter and I already had a few)...

1. Put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.
2. Spread reindeer food on the front lawn.
3. Finish wrapping gifts (this is my own tradition and not usually by choice LOL).
4. Watching movies while drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies. I usually watch White Christmas one last time on Christmas Eve.
5. Drive around looking at Christmas lights and playing Christmas music in the car (complete with singing).
6. I think I might use the eating Chinese for dinner tradition...yum-O.

[eranslow]

A Yummy Dinner (no clue what my Mom is making this year)
Clean-up dinner
Dance around the house looking for all the presents
Open presents (My mom claims this is what the Swedes do (open presents Christmas Eve)....and she's a wanna be die hard Swede lol)
Put out Santa's goodies
Get the little man to bed!

[maryinaz]

Christmas Mass at 4pm (which means we need to get there closer to 3pm to get a seat)
Pics in front of the tree of the 4 boys while they are dressed up
Dinner of some sort (haven't decided what yet)
In past years they boys have opened one small gift, but this year each gift is pretty expensive and there aren't that many, so I don't think we'll do that.
Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"
After the kids go to bed we'll fill the stockings - too old for Santa, but we have a couple of things to set out.

[pewtertm]

Not much other than Candlelight service at 11pm. We might look at lights beforehand, and when we get home, we'll let Rachel open up one present (pajamas) before we all head for bed. I'm HOPING she'll sleep in...we haven't had any of those early morning wake-ups on Christmas yet....but I'm sure they are coming!

[aggiefamily]

We usually go to my grandmother's house but the past few years it hasn't worked out. So the past 3 years we have done:

-Christmas Eve service at church
-out to eat (I think Carrabba's this year)
-look at lights on the way home
-kids get ready for bed and put on new pjs
-pics in front of tree
eindeer food on the lawn
-set out the "house key" for Santa because our fireplace is blocked
-set out cookies for Santa and carrots for reindeer
ead The Night Before Christmas
-send boys to bed
-make breakfast casserole
-take a pic of the tree after Santa visits

[Jennilyn]

Before we had kids we'd go to the movies and out to supper then look at the lights on the way home. Before we moved here our tradition was to stay at home where my DHs family would come over and we'd have pizza. Now since this is only our second Christmas here, we don't really have any traditions yet, besides watching A Christmas Story which I've done since I was a kid.

[newfiemountiewife]

I always make ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner. The kids get their new Christmas jammies, but before they're allowed to put them on, they have to have a bath LOL. We watch the Polar Express and Spongebob Christmas, they hang their stockings then go to bed.

We don't do much else, and this year is the first year of my life I have to work on Christmas Eve. So that kinda sucks.

[Stacey42]

late morning we get together with another family or two and spend several hours making & decorating sugar cookies
go to a Chinese buffet for dinner or order pizza for take out
not many lights to see around here but we go by that one house that does it up nice
read Twas the Night before Christmas
set out cookies for Santa
say goodbye to our visiting elf
take a photo of the tree once Santa has arrived

***wrap any unwrapped presents

[Jengerbread88]

We do Christmas Eve services, and also we open one gift the night before (the kids do).

[nun69]

th eonly thing we do is open one gift on XMAS eve {and that is usually XMAS PJ's from grandma}...and this year is out 1st real XMAS home, so maybe we will start some new traditions!

[Sasha]

Its been a tradition of my moms since i could remember that we all help make tamales in the morning of christmas eve...let them cook a couple hours while we clean up and get ready...
we do dinner at someones house (each year we pick)
hang out, play games, watch tv...
drive back home and open presents...one or all...whatever mood we're in lol
christmas morning get up and open the rest or just hang out and play...
then get ready and go to in laws to hang out with the other side of the family

[MamaBee]

Morning - work at getting the house ready for company on Christmas Day (cleaning and cooking)
go to church (1:30 service)
dinner made my by mom, either at our house or at my great-step aunt and uncle's (my great-step-uncle has a fractured back so we aren't sure about what will happen and where)

The one problem we have is we don't know when to do gifts... last year there was bad weather so we had Christmas Day to ourselves... and that is when we opened our gifts. Now, we are busy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... no time with just the three of us... and when to do reindeer food and cookies for Santa? These are things we never did as kids (hubby either).. we ALWAYS opened gifts after church on Christmas Eve.

[switchwiz]

Used to be Christmas Eve was the day we opened our gifts,then when my sister and I got older, would take mom out for breakfast, then do a little shopping, then later in the day, gather at moms for xmas-since mom and dad passed away, trying to figure out what new traditions to come up with for me, my sister and brother-in-law, so we're keeping the breakfast tradition--playing this one by ear

[misfitinmn]

Christmas Eve is our big day!! Before I got married and started celebrating with my husband's family, we would just have a relaxed family dinner on Christmas Day.
So on Christmas Eve we always go to the 4pm service, then we go to my grandma's house where we pig out on chili and desserts, and then Santa brings the presents! Usually he is too busy to stop by so he drops his bag off on the front porch (and by bag, I mean like 4 bags because I have a huge family! :D). Then it is just mass chaos when we all open presents. Once the Santa gifts are opened, then we do our exchange gifts - we draw names on my mom's side of the family. THEN, we draw names for next year! :D