| Dec 10, 2008 @ 11:29 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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signme
Posts: 12,586
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Ok dig deep into your memories and pull out those traditions your family followed when you were a kid. Maybe you still have the same traditions now?
We had several traditions but my favorite was this goofy little ornament that I always thought looked like a squashed gold golfball. It had been in my dad's family forever but was the ugliest little thing! My dad always had to put it in the very front of the tree. Every day, one of us kids would move it to the back of the tree. Dad would come home from work, check the tree, move the ornament back to the front. Then one of us would hide it again in the back. And this went on for the 3 weeks before Christmas!
Another fun tradition was started by my cousin. She loved to tease my dad. He would get a huge wrapped box from her. Inside was a smaller wrapped box. Inside that an even smaller box. And another smaller box! It kept going until he got to his gift, a stick of gum! We loved it! 
Now share some of your precious memories with our MD family. 
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| Dec 10, 2008 @ 11:50 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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Snappygoddess
Posts: 5,100
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Awesome thread Sign 
My mother made homemade Christmas cut out cookies with homemade frosting and that was one of the few times she allowed us in the kitchen to help decorate them... I did the same thing with my kids.. they loved helping and eating them.. and now they do it with their kids...I love tradition 
I still hang all of my kids school and homemade ornaments on my tree every year.. makes me feel closer to them.
Merry Christmas Sign 
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| Dec 10, 2008 @ 11:53 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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meanjolene
Posts: 480
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Weirdly enough, we eat candy out of our socks for breakfast.
Don't you? (Christmas stocking treats)
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 12:08 AM |
Holiday Traditions |
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signme
Posts: 12,586
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Merry Christmas, Snappy!
Jolene,as long as the socks are clean!
Another tradition which ended when my mom passed away: She knit stockings for everyone in the family (Christmas stockings). Let me tell you, those knit stockings can hold a heck of a lot more than the store bought ones of today--the yarn stretches! LOL Each of us, my brother, sister, spouses and grandkids, all had a stocking with their name on it. I have mine and it's hanging up on my wall right now where the cats can't get at it!
No one else in our family ever took up knitting. So no more handmade stockings. 
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 8:28 AM |
Holiday Traditions
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Loreli
Posts: 25,408
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Every year sonce the boys were old enough to help, we went to our local tree farm. We (I  ) had to have the tallest, fattest tree to be found (already cut) One year it took up half my Living room...a couple years ago, it took up my entire dining room.
This year, it's small 
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 2:04 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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fayblack
Posts: 2,828
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awww Loreli ...
When I was a child Christmas was magical for me (can you believe my mother still labeled one of my gifts as being from Santa until I was 18!)
On Christmas Eve my parents would split up the delivery of gifts (they had loads of god-children between the two of them) and we would spend the afternoon driving around the country delivering gifts and visiting with people, some of whom we would not have seen since the previous year.
The house would be filled with the smell of baking ham. We would be expected to go to church on Christmas morning and would be allowed to open one gift each before we left home. Then once we got home, my brothers and I would head to the tree and rip the wrapping off of our gifts, heave them up to our rooms and then get ready for the rest of the family to come over. Kids at the kids table, adults at the 'big' table. So much food, so much laughter.
Then the year my parents separated that ground to a screeching halt and there hasn't been a 'tradition' since then ...
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 2:29 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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KAOS2007
Posts: 8,201
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When I was a kid, Ma always wanted to go to Xmas mass, but not Dad. I really didn't want to go either, so Dad would say me and him stay home and get "things" ready. "Things", consisted of his "xmas punch", which consisted of 4-5 bottles of booze and a 2 Litre of seven up.
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 2:38 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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beckyiv42000
Posts: 14,576
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In my house me and the bratlets always opened one little pressie on Christmas eve and then the rest on Christmas morning.. I usually make Tamales and fudge for the holidays and the kids make cookies and we have a Christmas day dinner with the whole family... now this year ... its gonna be a bit nuts . some family is not gonna be there and we are going to Macs family for Christmas eve but it will be wonderful  I get to share it with my love and his children and share them with my family YAY!! and then dinner at my house .. Im cooking !!  MMMMMMM ham with pineapple or as Mac says Pineapple with ham
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 2:50 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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Merchitown
Posts: 6,130
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When my parents were first married, they're budget was a tad bit tight that first Christmas. They decorated the tree with ornaments made of paper cranes and garlands of popcorn. After they looked at the beautiful creation before them, the young lovers gazed at the tree, took a scene out of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and became the Who's,singing before their Christmas tree, even though there was no roastbeast.
They began to sing...
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree...
They looked at each other as both realized that neither could remember the words!
But bravely, on they continued...
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
O christmas Treeeeeeee, O Christmas Tree,
O Christmas Treeeeeeee, O Christmas Tree.
This has since become our own family tradition. After the tree is lit, we will sing our own rendition of O Christmas Tree, and remember that although life can sometimes be hard, there is fun and love that can be had if one allows oneself to be open.
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 9:46 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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signme
Posts: 12,586
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Aren't these memories great?
Another tradition in my family was Christmas Eve dinner--meat pies. I never can remember if it's a German or Swedish or French thing! But Mom and eventually my sister and I, would make 6-8 meat pies the week end before Christmas. Mom would put them outside in her car to keep them frozen. (We lived in Minnesota!) We kept 2-3 and gave the rest away. I can still remember Mom looking at the potatoes I was mashing with a fork and telling me, "It has to be finer. Keep working!" We had a veggie tray and a fruit salad with cool whip as "dessert". If my sister and I are together at Christmas, we always make a few meat pies.
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 10:12 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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meanjolene
Posts: 480
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There is a moss that grows here called ground pine, it was the stuff we used to make our wreaths for the door. We had a really rude name that we called it, I won't reveal that..
but, we had the best time going to get it out of the woods, my big brother would pull and it would come ripping up through the snow, all frosted and lovely.
We'd wind it around and around and secure it with twine dyed green and add holly sprigs and berries from Pop's hollies, we'd light it up and tie on a red ribbon and some bells so it would jingle whenever the door opened..
There is a field close by where we'd sled on sleds or cardboard, even, if the weather conditions allowed ice to form over the snow.
I had to be tough, sledding with those boys! Tree-limb grabbing on the edge of the field was part of our game and limbs would lash us if we weren't very quick.
Once I got super-chilled, my brother sat me down on our sled, pulled off my boots and socks and kneaded my frozen feet until I was warmed back up to a tolerable level.
What a guy he was, my big brother!
Once, I pulled the Christmas tree down, I just remembered that! I was a mere tot and it crashed down on me!
Oh, Sign, thanks for this thread and happy Christmas to you and to all MD'ers
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| Dec 11, 2008 @ 11:28 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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redhairNfreckles
Posts: 4,694
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My childhood years (until age 13) were spent in Upstate NY, where we lived until moving to FL, but we spent just as much time at our grandparent's house in Pennsylvania. A few days before Christmas, we'd make the 6 hour trip to their house, and my sister and I would count off every mile until we got there. When we got to Altoona (where I was born) we knew we only had 14 more miles to go until we were there. As soon as we walked in the door, there stood our grandparents waiting to wrap their loving arms around us! I still can still smell the Pennsylvania Dutch meal cooking on her stove, no matter what time we arrived.......Ham Pot Pie! She made the best, even if she wasn't "Dutch"...lol. I can reproduce her kitchen smells whenever I try hard enough because I have her handwritten recipes or as she called them, "receipts". We would always make and decorate Christmas cookies together in her warm and cozy kitchen, snitching one or two just as they came out of the warm oven. She'd just pretend she didn't see us, but we knew she did. Grandma's are like that. We never argued when it was bedtime either. Upstairs we had those wonderful feather beds, with her homemade quilts piled on top of them, just waiting for us to snuggle into. I think I slept my best sleeps whenever I was in those beds. All too soon, those days flew by, if only we could stop time. In a way, I am reliving those days with my own grandkids. Although we all live in the same town and see each other often, a couple of years ago I rekindled the Christmas cookie tradition. On that day I have all 5 of them, ranging from 6-11 years old, 4 girls and 1 boy, and we roll out the sugar cookie dough and I let them do whatever they want to make their cookies special. I even get them chef's hats...lol. I'll set out all colors of sugar crystals, lots of red cinnamon candies, multi-colored sprinkles, and several containers of different colored buttercream frosting. We have fun all day long and they get to take home all of their proudly decorated cookies. Countdown has begun......
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| Dec 12, 2008 @ 11:20 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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meanjolene
Posts: 480
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Yep, it's getting down to cookie time! That's a kid thing for sure, one that I plan to indulge in with my two grandkids, gotta take time off from work for it, but the trade-off is worth it.
Kids and cookies, Christmas, Yay!
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 4:05 AM |
Holiday Traditions |
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luvmycats
Posts: 10,208
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I get to start that cookie tradition this year!  They "kids" aren't able to come until the 3rd of January, but thats OK, Granny will be ready and waiting!
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 12:23 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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Luckygem
Posts: 3,531
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We would wake are parents up very early and my Mom would say no one can come downstairs until she played music, then we would have to go down the stairs youngest to oldest to see what santa had brought for us.................My Dad always passed out the gifts, we couldnt open our first gift til everyone had at least one. I have continued that tradition with my kids and now my daughter does this with my grandson.
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 10:14 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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signme
Posts: 12,586
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On Christmas Eve, Dad would cock his head and say,"Shhhhh! Do you hear that? I hear sleigh bells. Quick! Hide in the bedroom!" And off the kids would race to the bedroom. We would huddle near the door, shaking and giggling. We could hear our back door open (no fireplace, so no chimney), hear bells, hear footsteps going down to the basement. Then footsteps coming back up, sleigh bells again and "ho ho ho!" The door would slam and dad would yell for us to come out.
We'd rush down the basement steps to the tree we kids had decorated and there were our gifts from Santa. Of course, he always made another stop on his return to fill the stocking too!
We opened gifts on Christmas Eve, then went to church. On Christmas morning, we opened stockings (nearly as much fun as the gifts!) then had a special breakfast.
I miss those days! I have no one to pass on the traditions to.
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 10:35 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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missliss78
Posts: 5,192
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Reading all of these traditions is very nice, sign. I've enjoyed it.
I got to thinking about one of our Christmas traditions yesterday as I was having a conversation with my great-niece. I asked her if Santa wraps her presents. She says he does.
I recall when I was growing up, Santa didn't have time to wrap gifts. Everything was all laid out under the tree spilling into the middle of the living room floor, displayed so beautifully!...it was so exciting.
I was just wondering about others....did Santa wrap your presents?
Oh yeah....fayblack said (can you believe my mother still labeled one of my gifts as being from Santa until I was 18!) Santa came to see my sister until she was 18, too! I was only 12 then...so quess what? Santa had to come see ME until I was 18 as well! 
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 10:39 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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Winnie4010
Posts: 2,641
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Santa never wrapped my presents....they would all be separated. Mine would be in one place and my two brothers would be in other places. Santa wraps my sons presents and leaves them right in the middle of the floor 
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| Dec 13, 2008 @ 11:19 PM |
Holiday Traditions
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signme
Posts: 12,586
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Santa wrapped all of ours, as I recall, even the stocking stuffers. I can top the 18 yr old thing tho, I got at least one gift from Santa until I was 50 and my mom passed away. But I still believe (if you're listening out there, Santa!) 
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| Dec 18, 2008 @ 8:42 PM |
Holiday Traditions |
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missliss78
Posts: 5,192
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Oh, sign! I still believe, too!
I just know, one day Santa is going to come see me again!
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