Christmas Traditions?

[Melinda]

Keeping with the Christmas theme for another few days (9 more days until Christmas!) What are your guys' holiday traditions?

When do you open presents? Do you travel anywhere? Do you have big family get togethers or a big party for all your friends? What makes your christmas special and unique for your family?



We have different family and friends to our house for christmas eve for a mini party, then spend christmas day just the close family and then we head out to my grandparent's ranch for a full day family get together with a big dinner and games and what not on boxing day.

Other than that it's pretty normal, we do get to open one gift on christmas eve though :)

What are all of yours??? :)

[GTS Jeff]

well one christmas i sat in my 400sq ft apartment by myself and paced around in circles...

then i got bored and shot at beer bottles with a bb gun. the bottles smashed and got broken glass everywhere. the cleanup took up some time too, so that was an added bonus.

[~Leah~]

I always go to my mom's parents place in Kamsack, SK (small town by the Manitoba border) a day or 2 before Christmas Eve... chill with them cuz I don't see them much. On Christmas Eve it's usually just the immediate fam... Like my uncle and his kids are there too, and so is my Great Grandma so just the 10 of us. Then Christmas Eve we have a hardcore Ukranian meal and go to church. Then when we get home from church, we chill out then open our gifts. Then on Christmas Day, more family comes and we have a turkey dinner and stuff.

Boxing Day I usually try to spend with my dad either on his farm just outside of Regina, or in Bengough (another small SK town, by the US border). Nothing traditional really happens there though.

[ZorroAMG]

:cry: @ jeff's sad story...

I am going to Montreal to see my Mom and that side of the family dec 20-30. We will go to the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, then we open presents on the 25th(none of that Christmas Eve crap :D) and the Grandmother cooks a fabulous meal complete with 4 or 5 different desserts :drool:



I also plan to do 10 days of snowboarding too ;) W00t!

[finboy]

family comes over for brunch, leaves, i get sleep, then go to the family dinner that night

in other words, lots of family in one day

[1badPT]

We always have a family get together, usually at my parents. My parents have a 1500 acre bush lot that we get our Christmas tree from, and we spend most of the time buzzing through the trails on snowmobiles or quads. Christmas day starts off (VERY EARLY) with the kids waking up and opening their stockings (the big presents have to wait until the adults are up).

After presents, its a big breakfast followed by various activities including snowball fights, snowmen, goring through the trails, tobogganing, etc.

Lunch is snuck in there somewhere along with hot drinks throughtout the day, and then the day is finished off with a huge dinner, and the kids absolutely destroying a gingerbread house that my sister makes every year.

The evening is usually spent playing cards and drinking.

:thumbsup:

[Shaolin]

we always go to our aunt and uncle's place for dinner.. and another dinner at my parent's old mahjong friend's house as well.. my sister's the only one that tries to bring the christmas spirit.. she sets up the tree and wraps the presents and throws them under the tree. The rest of us just buy the present, give it to you unwrapped and say merry christmas..

[Skylinelover]

On Christmas eve we go to my Grandparent's for a no meat dinner (shrimp):drool:. Then on Christmas day we go to my other Grandparents to have turkey and we get the big presents there.

[abyss]

Going to my parent's on the 23rd, having chocolate fondue (every year) and opening presents with them on the 24th...then Minh's parents and "all of calgary" comes over to our house on the 25th ;) and we'll have a big dinner to which the cooking of has been designated to myself and a friend. :( But I'd rather that cause that means I get to dump all the dishes on Minh. :D

[MenteL]

Christmas eve , everyone comes to our house to party with booze and sweet sweeet home made nanaimo bars my mom makes. We all get to open one present before bed.

christmas morning, we wait until ma and pa wake up and have their coffee and smoke, then we open presents. after we clean up the wrapping paper, eat breakfast. in the afternoon we head over to nanas for more presents and a big turkey/chicken dinner.

boxing day, if we have money to spend, we go buy stuff all day long. :)

[sputnik]

Dec 22nd - having friends over for a wine and cheese cocktail party.

Dec 24th - having the "in-laws" over for appetizers and drinks after church.

Dec 25th - going over to the "in-laws" for Christmas day, which will be filled with eating, eating and more eating.

Next year I will be going to Winnipeg with the wife and spend Christmas with my family.

[vietdood]

gamble.

[QuasarCav]

Get so stoned so I can actually sleep on christmas eve.


All in the name of the lord of course.

[izzoblitzo]

Get up early, and watch Yogi Bear Christmas Special on TV. hahaha

[Kobe]

We open presents on the 24th when the first star comes out.. i know its pretty gay :) but we open them before you guys :D

then dinner 24th and 25th

[max_boost]

Originally posted by vietdood
gamble. All the regulars, including me will be at the Poker room :D

Anyway, dinner on the 25th with the family, the only day we are closed the entire year! :nut: :clap:

[ex1z7]

24th go to my grandma's, my dad comes into town from Alberta, we all sit at my moms-side's parents house singing and doing a "family do-random-shit-to-make-the-grandparents-happy" i.e. a magic show.. a performance.. Something you don't want pictures of, or on tape. Ever.

Eat dinner, open gifts from extended family, go home, sleep.

25th - wake up and open presents, have breakfast as the immediate family - then go to my dad's side and get those 1 dollar gloves for x-mas, every yeay, from my grandparents. I got black ones last year..blue ones the year before..I think my sisters got green ones or we might have all got black ones. Either way I'd really prefer my grandparents to save the gay gifts and just forget about the whole thing. "the thought is what counts.." wheres the thought in cheap ass gloves when I have whool lined leather gloves ? Sigh. We have dinner there, too.

My x-mas my second time living in Aus was diff, ate sandwhiches on the beach cus the turkey we ordered 3 months in advance .... decided to bring a bad omen and the power cut out - raw un-frozen turkey + 35 degree heat.... Nah that isn't safe :(.

Heh that's all I got as far as whacky family traditions :|

Oh, on my moms side we have a name draw, I buy for one of my uncles this year :| Should be easy enough I guess..?

[badseed]

My family goes for dim sum every christmas cuz were to lazy to cook anything and China town is obviously open. That's about all nothing special.