Christmas is the big deal family holiday in Canada. Thanksgiving is a much less of a deal here.

We have many traditions in our family so much so that we could just press replay.

Like Ann, and others, Christmas Eve dinner is always Tourtiere. Clive always reads "The Night Before Christmas" from the same book he had it read to him from.

We leave cookies and milk for Santa and throw carrots on the lawn for the reindeer. Clive used to make hoof marks in the snow and pick up all the carrots but that tradition seems to have gone south but we still do the cookies milk and carrots. LOL!

Santa only brings one gift per person and they are NEVER wrapped.

Christmas breakfast gets changed up but Christmas dinner is virtually the same every year.

This year is going to be different. Chris has always slept here Christmas Eve so he is here when we get up to see what Santa has left, open gifts and have breakfast. Now that he and Amity are a couple he will be staying at his place Christmas Eve and come over later Christmas morning. WAHHHHHHHHH !

Not only that they have asked that they host Christmas Eve at their place instead of coming here.....thankfully they still want me to bring the Tourtiere

Time for new traditions ..........

wow trsinc - those are some pretty interesting traditions. Cajun mixed with Native American and throw in some hispanic and Norwegian???! - I love your wonderful descriptions of the foods that you ate growing up. I don't even know what half of that stuff is!

Mine will not be nearly so interesting, I'm sure.

We had triscuits with a slice of cheese and some pepperoni under the broiler for a Christmas eve treat - LOL.

And a sip of cold duck.

Seriously, though. We repeated our Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas dinner - and I always loved that - as after Thanksgiving, I always hated to say goodbye to all the good stuff we had...otherwise, our meals were not all that inventive...As a kid my grandmother made hard candy - flavored with all the little concentrated flavors - anise, orange, root beer, peppermint, etc... - poured out onto a marble slab and cut with scissors into little pieces.

We always have a "fruit salad" with fresh grapes cut up ( used to be such a pain to cut up and get the seeds out) mixed with all kinds of canned fruits and their juices and some very watered down Jell-o mixed in. It doesn't jell (or is it gel?) but just gives the flavor...and top with fresh whipped cream.

My aunt always brings a green jello salad. With pineapples, and cream cheese and cherries. It's very good. And we get it so rarely, I once scooped some out after my DB's dog ate half of it...I just knew it would be a year before I had it again...(grin)

We always also have a quick bread - walnut bread. It's delicious and is soooo good with some may and turkey on it after.

Last year I hosted and we switched it up a bit. I tend to do this as Christmas is a kind of weird time of year for all of us as my father died on that morning several years ago...you kind of want to keep tradition, but to do so too strictly is a bit painful, so last lear we had a great beef tenderloin with some awesome sides presented by everyone here - I am about to ask for input from family members as to what they want this year!

I've always wanted to make ann's tortiere for Christmas Eve, but we tend to have Crab legs here. Just what DH and DS like...

Thanks for getting me thinking about it though.

Stacy

In my family the special treats of the season were cookies, candy, fruit and nuts. I don't recall any particular types of meals. The most special cookies were sugar cookies cut in iconic shapes (Christmas trees, etc.) and springerle. Ribbon candy was the traditional candy. Fruit was tangerines and Delicious apples. There was always a big bowlful of mixed nuts in the shell. We also had fruit cake, and I liked it. These treats were rarely, if ever, around at any other time of year.

Jim

I love threads like this!!

Growing up we were very poor...6 kids on a grocers salary however we kids never knew it. The holidays were jam packed with activity. One tradition was that my dad would get gift boxes from all the vendors who worked in his store. Each evening he would come home with something wonderful...fancy cookies and crackers, sodas and yes cold duck, fruit baskets, bread baskets and liquor galore!! Giant slabs of meat and ropes of sausages, every type of cheese tray you could imagine. It was the way the grocery business was 40 years ago. If a vendor wanted more shelf space you had to butter up the store manager LOL!!!
So we kids reaped the rewards and to our friends we seemed to have it all LOL!!

Our family was divided into upper kids-3 oldest brothers who were close in age and 3 lower kids which I was a part of. The older kids went their own way during the holidays but us lower kids always had matching pajamas-it was cute!
We all got maybe 3 gifts each. Mom and Dad never exchanged gifts. As us lower kids got older we were all allowed to open one gift after midnight mass. When I was maybe 11-12 we hosted an all night holiday bash after midnight mass...it went to the wee small hours but we were all up the next day and ready to go visiting.

You know we never had any one meal each year, it was mostly some sort of ham or pork roast.

Now with my own family we go to oldest brothers house simply because he has the largest house, Last year I really wanted to host it but my niece had her baby just a few days before Christmas so they all wanted to stay put which I completely understand, this year our house is up for sale and so I an trying to stay low key cuz once we get a reasonable offer we are out of here!! Next year I will prob host the family in my new house!!

Looking forward to hearing everyones traditions!!

Cheers!
Susie

Jim, I Like your simmple description...ribbon candy was an early memory of mine...at my Grandma's...here's my mom and my DB, DS and me(youngest)...around '66...in my Grandma's kitchen. I loved Grandma's kitchen...at the other end of it, she had an amazing salt and pepper shaker collection...:-)

we also always made sugar cookies with cookie cutters and decorated...

Stacy

We started this tradition about 20 years ago. Before that we were vegetarians. We follow DH's German tradition of sauerbraten, spaetzle, braised red cabbage and linzertorte. We have it only once a year so it is special. And I make gingerbread men & women cookies and my dad's fudge. That recipe goes back to the 1930's and he use to make it every Christmas.
Clare

When I was a kid, my mom used to make her Christmas fruitcake well in advance. She's brush it with Brandy several times. I think it was once a day for a week. We have tourtiere on Christmas Eve. Open our presents Christmas morning.

Once my siblings got married and had kids, the tradition changed. Everyone would come over to my parents' house Christmas Eve. We would open the presents and then eat tourtiere. Christmas Day dinner was always turkey and more tourtiere, two kinds of stuffing, etc.

Desserts have always played a big part too cuz it's the time of the year where everyone says it's okay to eat what you want cause it's Chritmas! LOL

Now, everyone comes to my house Christmas day. Dad still buys the turkey though, and mom brings her tourtieres! I change it now and then when I make perogies. I change the desserts every year too.

This year, however, will be a bit challenging cuz my niece is a vegan. Have no idea what dessert I'll make for her.

This is fun! Thanks to all who have posted so far. I'm looking forward to hearing more stories.

Chase, why do you not wrap presents? Or is it only the ones from Santa that aren't wrapped?

Stacy, I'm sorry about your Dad. Starting new traditions is a good idea. I love the old pic of your family. Feel like sharing your Walnut bread recipe? It sounds really good.

Tammy

Easy! There are just two of us, so on Christmas Eve I make cinnamon rolls and give them to friends. Of course we keep a few!

This year I purchased ribbon candy from a place in Denver that made that candy when I grew up there. Oh, wonderful! Beautiful red, green and white ribbons. Quite the memory!

It's only the Santa present that isn't wrapped...how could he possibly have time to wrap all those presents ! ?

We only each get ONE present from Santa and it is NEVER wrapped, that's how we know its from Santa. I love the look on the kids faces when they come into the family room Christmas morning and right away see what Santa left them.

Funnily even when we were little, four, five, six seven of us as time went on, we always knew which of the Santa presents was ours.

This year Santa is leaving 4 tires for Chris' car, a super dooper travel backpack for Meredith , a juicer for Amity and snow shoes for Clive and I.

It always amazes me how "he" knows exactly what to leave! LOL

Susie,

I come from a family of 6 kids and also had the 3 older and 3 younger kids grouping. But I am the oldest of all of them.

Our Christmas morning always starts out with Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce, sausage and scrambled eggs. For Lunch we have ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean caserole(grin), Krubs ( Swedish dish like giant potato dumplings with a middle of ham,onions, bacon and salt and pepper that are sliced and fried). I have made the Krubs the last few years. We get together with my grandma and all my aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses and siblings. We have done this every year and I am 33 so this is all I know. We usually pack the kids Santa gifts and take them down there to open since we are the farthest away at 60 miles away. Some of the funny presents that go out each year are chocolate coverd cherries and at least a couple of cans of Treat ( cheap spam). Plus I usually am the jokester and wrap up some supersized women's panties for my brother. Now with all the kids it does get a little crazy and next year there will be 10 grandkids under the age of 6 so should be a whole lot of crazy. Also it isn't officially the holidays until someone says a cuss word lol, usually preceded by losing a present or a stubbing of the toe.

Stacie
who isn't looking foreward to finish the Santa' shopping for 4 kids.

For many Icelanders December 23rd is counted as part of the Christmas season, as it is the feast day of St. rlákur, Iceland's patron saint (never mind that over 90% of us are Protestants). Many people still hold to the old Catholic tradition of eating fish on this day, especially salt fish or salted and fermented skate. In my parents' hometown, the crews of the local trawlers invite everyone for a fish lunch in the community hall. As the fish is fermented skate, the smell of ammonia radiates out from the building and cleans out people's sinuses as they enter, but the fish tastes relatively mild considering the smell. Less brave souls go for the salt fish.

In my family this is the day when we put the icing on the gingerbread sandwich cookies, and my mother cooks the smoked meat for Christmas Eve.

The big day is Christmas Eve - that's when we open the presents after dinner. We have always eaten cold smoked lamb on this day, with boiled or caramelised potatoes, peas and white sauce. Last year we added ham, as that's what my new sister-in-law and her daughter are used to having for Christmas dinner. We have a small bowl of rice pudding for starters, with an almond hidden in one of the bowls, and the winner gets the biggest size of Toblerone chocolate available.

On Christmas Day we eat leftovers. Afternoon "tea" is usually hot chocolate and cookies. On Boxing Day I usually cook a Danish-style rib roast for the family, served with caramelised potatoes, pickled red cabbage, redcurrant jelly and salad.

My mother has bowls of chocolates, nuts and mandarin oranges scattered around the house for those who like to nibble.

We have always had a very calm and relaxed family Christmas because we live (or lived, in the case of us siblings) on the other side of the country from the rest of the family, so there were never any invitations for dinner with family or friends.

We do church on Christmas Eve and just spend the day relaxing and cooking.

Santa arrives (still) during the night and leaves each of the boys (ages 27, 24, 23 and 19!) presents in "their" particular spot. One has the recliner, one the rocking chair, another a wing chair and another the end of the sofa and there is always a communal present or game on the coffee table.... always been that way! Santa fills the stockings and leaves them hanging and the presents he leaves in the chairs are never wrapped.

Each of the pets (horses, dogs, cats gets a present either in their own special pet stocking or under it. Well there was the year that one dog got "switches and ashes" because she had been bad.... you talk about some wide eyed little boys!!!!

DH Joe and I would give each son 2 wrapped presents under the tree and Santa brought the rest. About 2 years ago, I suggested swapping this to just a couple of presents from Santa and the rest wrapped from us and they thought that was a good idea.

The rule when the kids were little was that they could go out in the den and see their presents, but they couldn't wake us (DH and I) up before 6AM!! When DH Joe and I would come out at 6, they'd already have emptied their stockings and have been playing with their Santa toys. Now the rule is 7AM!!

After breakfast which can be anything from homemade cinnamon rolls, sausage coffee cake or even cookies, we start opening presents. Each of the boys buys a gift for each of the other three brothers, one for their dad and one for me. When they were little, we gave them a certain amount they could spend and it involved a day of shopping where Joe and I traded kids at lunch so the presents were all secret.

When we open the gifts we have a strict rule of opening one present at a time... they love it that way and I do too. We all want to see who gave what to who and the giver is always proud of his gift and wants everyone to see and often to explain why he picked that particular gift. We go in order from youngest to oldest and do one at a time. Drags it out for most of the morning!

When they were little, we'd pack up after the present opening and head in to open more gifts with my parents and siblings and have Christmas dinner at my parents 30 miles away. In later years, they came out to our house and I did all of the cooking and this year my mom has gone to join my dad in heaven so they'll be watching from afar (or near?!)

Jim, our Christmas always included a bowl full of mixed nuts in the shell, for some reason it was a big deal, we only had them at Christmas and my brother, sister and I always fought over the single nutcracker, LOL.

With Dad gone we're changing Christmas traditions. Christmas Eve was dinner for the whole family at my house, cooking for 40 or so. This year it'll be at the Town Hall, everyone brings a dish to pass. Santa (in the form of Elery and his new Santa suit) will come to the party and give gifts to all the kids. I think Mom and Stepmom might get something special too.

After that I'll go to Amanda's house, let the grandkids open their gifts and Elery and I will spend Christmas by ourselves, which will actually be kind of nice. Ashley will be at her boyfriend's family on Christmas.

No shopping for gifts for the girls either, they both just want cash.

Annie

Our unvarying tradition starts on December 13, the feast of St. Lucy, and an ancient festival of light in the dark north. I make Lucia Buns, the Swedish saffron buns, shaped as golden oxen, Lucia cats, and golden chariots.
There are some cookies that must be made,like Viennese Almond Crescents, and especially DH's favorite Victorian Currant Cakes. Usually but not always I make a fruitcake.
We make English Spiced Beef every year, rubbing spices into a brisket every day for almost two weeks, then cooking it to serve cold on Christmas Eve with breads and cheeses and other treats.
On the day before Christmas I bake Dresden Stollen, and too often am still working on it at night on Christmas Eve. That's what we always have for breakfast on Christmas morning, while we open presents.
For dinner we have a standing rib roast.
This year will be a big change, because my daughter and her husband want to have Christmas at their house in Connecticut. So we'll be traveling a few days before Christmas, with cookies, Stollen, and spiced beef. It will seem very strange, after all these years, not to be here, but fun to watch her making Christmas in her own home.

I forgot to say that one of our best family traditions is the Santa letters.

One dreadful year when my second son was in preschool, the teacher had the bright idea to help the kids write Santa letters about 5 days before Christmas. "Santa" had already finished shopping. If you see where I'm going, I had a cute 4 year old come home from pre-K all fired up about the garbage truck, typewriter and rubber snake that he hoped Santa would be bringing. Santa had none of the three items hidden in the closet. Being the mom that I am, I went out on a mission to get what he wanted... after all it isn't like he was asking for anything expensive.

The garbage truck took a little doing; I found an old used Royal manual typewriter somewhere; and I am here to tell you that pre-internet days if you were looking for a rubber snake in December they were pretty scarce!!!!

After that year, I vowed never again to be anywhere near a toy store the week before Christmas.

That next year, I announced in November that Santa would be flying around collecting letters the first Sunday of Advent. We are Episcopalians and we celebrate the four Sundays of Advent with an Advent wreath and lighting a new candle each week at the table. So for the past 21 years, they have either written with help or by themselves a letter and left it out on the front porch before bed that Saturday night. Santa picks them up (saves them) and leaves behind an Advent calendar.

There are unwritten "rules" about the letter writing. When we started that first year, it was "Dear Santa, I want....." and I quickly said "NO!! What kind of manners are those?? You don't just ask for things whammo!!" So they start out with a How are you? How are the reindeer? All very conversational...like a REAL letter. They usually comment on their gifts from last year and the ones who got pets (we had a Santa German Shepherd for 11 years and a Santa kitten who is now 13) ALWAYS had/have something kind to say to Santa about their pet who after all rode with Santa in the sleigh (and kept him up half the night trying to keep them quiet Christmas Eve!). The letters are usually pretty long and have gotten more humorous over the years... after all the only way a teenager can do this is to inject humor into it! Most years they have asked for one or two things and many times have never asked for anything specific instead leaving up to Santa to come up with an idea for something.

When they left for college and moved out of town, Santa changed with the times and began accepting emails... and still does even though the young men are now 26, 24, 23 and 19.

Grace

Oh Gosh ! Family Christmas traditions-- over my lifetime ( 68 yrs) I like to think they've evolved rather then changed.Couple things that were constant-- baking scads of Christmas cookies for the gift trays Mom gave out, lots of family ! As a child it was all about blending Polish ( Mom) & Irish ( Dad). Every Christmas was spent at Paternal Grandma's (until I was 7 or 8 , then Mom finally put her foot down & we started staying home for Christmes,)-- large old farm house without electricity or running water-- but warm wood stoves & sleigh rides behind a team of horses-- a meatless meal before Midnight Mass-- always oyster Stew , slews of cousins, hip deep snow and the smell of wet woolens & fresh cut pines drying everywhere.
Once we started staying home Christmas Eve & Christmas Day was just us-- with friends & a Aunt or Uncles family stopping by. Dad always took us to cut our tree a week before Christmas-- it sat in a bucket of water for 2 days before he'd let us decorate it--baking cookies with Mom & threats of dismemberment if we got into them before the trays were given out Christmas Day. Lordy I can still vividly remember our excitement when Dad bought a couple strings of the lights that looked like candles & bubbled . We were allowed to open one gift after Midnight Mass if our behavior was VERY good duing Mass ! Christmas dinner was always a ham , fresh roasted kielbasa, seeded sour rye bread, pierogies , creamed peas & pearl onions.During High School & when in Nursing School wandering thru town singing Christmas Carols with the HS chorus.

When I first had a family we'd pack up the 2 kids( ages 19 mns & 2 mns)-- drive 80 miles -- spend Christmas Eve with DH parents, Christmas Day with mine-- by the time our 3rd arrived-- 16 mns later-- I said no more-- Grandparents
could come to us . I continued with the giving of cookie trays-- the kids Dad took them to cut down a tree-- the Hubby at that time was not big on any traditions so I just kept mine going-- through the divorce & raising the 4 kids alone until they were all on their own except my youngest. One gift to open Christmas Eve , baking together, Polish dishes as part of our meals.

When Doc( Irish) & I married the family expanded big time-- 5 stepchildren & his 7 DBs & DSs family-- so what started then( except for the 3 Christmases when my boys were in the service & couldn't get home--sometime in Dec my 2 girls come home for a day of cookie baking & each grandchild's been included in that -- our 'family Christmas with the kids , grands & great grands is always the Sunday before Christmas at our house-- a gift exchange between just the grandkids; a buffet , nosh & gab fest-- I always have pierogies, sour seeded rye , baked fresh kielbasa , Irish coffee, Doc's smoked turkey & a zillion other dishes , give out cookie trays that the granddaughters have helped make , playing pinochle, sledding on the hills in the back yard & snowmobiling if there's enought snow, the guys arguing over the football game, there's always at least a couple that are in a snite with each other about some piddly little thing & the rest of them shame them out of it-- yep a family Christmas.in all it's glory !!

. Christmas Eve gathering is at his sister's before Midnight mass( always includes oyster stew & Irish whiskey), sometime in the week after Christmas DH's side of the family has a huge bring a dish-- meet the newest grandnieces etc gathering at KOC -- DH & I take a day run to my brother's to visit with his family .Christmas Day with just the two of us & a close couple of friends-- that way there's no hurt feelings 'cause we didn't show up at one of the nine, wildly scattered kids homes for dinner..

So my kids with their kids & the stepkids kids still do the going for & cutting a tree , doing home baked goodie trays , insist on having the family gahering here and tho things have changed a bit they stay the same-- Family is close, loving , blended together.
,

Diane, we always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve too. And it was always pajamas, so pictures could be taken on Christmas morning and we were "presentable".

I also gave my kids new pajamas on Christmas Eve, it didn't take them long to figure out that their Christmas Eve gift was going to be new pajamas. LOL

Then they didn't like it at all, now they ask if I'm going to get them new pajamas for Christmas Eve, and they're 20 and 25!

Annie

Clare, are you willing to share your dad's fudge recipe? I would totally call it "Clare's dad's fudge..." :-)

oh my gosh, Khandi - I am trying to get used to monovision contacts and my biggest challenge is the distance that the computer screen is...I read your post that this year will be challenging because your niece is a virgin...I'm sorry!!! It's not my fault!

trsinc I'm so glad you posted your name! Tammy is going to be WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY easier for me to type - I always type tirsnc - trisnc - whatever other combo you can think of...

- thank you - and the walnut bread? I probably like it so much becuase I never make it...ma Aunt Sharon does...if I get the recipe from it I"ll post i.:-)

We are an amazingly diverse group! see I always start typing to respond to many and since it takes more time than I have, I end up not responding alt all.

So I will post my reply in part now and finish later or Sunday as we are going to see Trans Siberian Orchestra tomorrow!

Great post!

Food wise, my mom was one of those people who did the big bowl of nuts in the shell, with a nutcraker, in the middle of the living room on the coffee table. I always knew it was Christmas because when mom decorated the house, the nut bowl came out. She also made a big batch of Chex mix and put it in a brandy snifter on the same table. I may make some of that mix this year for old times sake. I wasn't planning on going home for Christmas but mom has surgery Dec. 22 for gall bladder, and I have a job interview in Cleveland, and since I'll be almost home at that point I am going the rest of the way and trying to plan some fun things that mom will like during her recuperation. She's very sentimental about the holidays.

My parents have a mixed marriage, so my Christmas food traditions include latkes and borscht too! :)

We often had orange duck for Christmas, with wild rice. Cheesecake for dessert. Family legend had it that this was the meal mom snared dad with one year when he came out to see her for Christmas. At the time, she was living in SF and he in MI. Mom wasn't a cookie baker but occasionally would make fudge. We'd get fruit and cheese baskets from dad's business associates, and other goodies too--chocolates, etc. Now mom's diabetic and dad really shouldn't eat all those sweets and fats, and I cannot stomach them. My folks don't understand why they buy all this rich food and then my brother and I just don't eat it. We both eschew a lot of that kind of stuff. My folks get all excited about it and don't get that we just don't want to indulge that much!

I'm going to be so dang busy this year! I like to make quick breads for last minute gifts, but I dunno if I will be able to pull it off. I also like to make some kind of cookie, although nothing fancy. Nowdays my folks buy every kind of food imaginable for the holidays. They can't imagine making anything from scratch. I can't hardly beat my dad to the punch, he buys whatever I would normally make from scratch. Mom loves stollen so maybe I'll try some in the bread machine.

It's just going to be me and the 'rents this year so I'm going to have to struggle to come up with something festive. When they were younger, my folks often had a New Year's open house, those were some memorable feasts! One year they had frog legs--I was fascinated! Shrimp, and one year my dad made a trip into Detroit special to bring back bagels (an exotic foreign food in my hometown back in the day) and my mom made fresh blintzes. My folks got in a roaring fight that year too, lol! That party was "funny."

We have cheese fondue on Christmas eve with creme brulee for dessert. We started it when the kids were little--it's not from either of our families. Christmas morning is presents, Santa, and eating whatever I've baked. Christmas dinner is wild boar, which started when my son was little and loved the Asterix comic books.

Great thread. My family is Germen and Luxemburgian and so was my ex! We celebrated Xmas Eve. My sisters and I still do. My son, sadly, has made the move to Xmas Day.

As a kid Santa came while we kids went to get Grandma and look at the lights. Mom always stayed home to do dishes or wrap presents. (When oldest DB and I were younger we took naps.) Later I got to stay and help since the number of stockings to fill was growing. Our Santa presents were unwrapped in front of our filled stockings. Dinner was prime rib the next day.

My youngest sister is the only one out here with me. We are 19 yrs. apart so she has young girls. I switched to prime rib on Xmas Eve. Santa leaves the stockings in the bedroom where they are taken before dinner. Santa comes back to deliver presents for morning.! (We have special arrangements)

Norm's family is all out here so they come Xmas Eve for dinner, stockings and presents. Santa always gave us an candy, an apple and orange in our stocking maybe a jokey gift. Now the stockings are filled with fun stuff and a lady apple and the smallest tangerine I can find! My sister and I still use the felt stockings my mother made for us, but no way do they hold enough. Lots of spillover.

My mother always made lots of cookies, the favorite being Swedish cream wafers. I now make them for almost everyone in the family and my friends. I think by now I'm approaching 15,000 of them! Seriously. Be careful about starting traditions.

Funny Sharon, Santa's gifts are never wrapped at our house either. And when I was growing up, Santa never wrapped his gifts then either.

As mentioned before, our tradition is to have Tourtiere for dinner on Christmas Eve. Matthew will be coming up the day before and will be here for Christmas. His girlfriend is going home for Christmas so she won't be here.

It use to be tradition that I would wait until Matthew went to bed Christmas Eve before I would sit down and wrap all the gifts. This was a carry over from the way that my mom always did it. Now that he is older and stays up later than I do, I will have the gifts wrapped before he comes home.

Christmas morning we wait until Matt wakes up to open gifts. I always hang Matthew's stocking too. The one my friend Patty made for him when he was born. And each year I put out my collection of photo cards with Matthew on Santa's knee. It use to embarrass him when he was younger, but he got over that. LOL!

We usually have champagne and orange juice Christmas morning. And maybe something sweet, like Cinnamon Rolls or Cream cheese Danish. And a big breakfast after the gifts are open.

Christmas dinner is served in the evening and is usually a traditional turkey dinner, although that isn't written in stone. This year our neighbour will be joining us for Christmas dinner and I think that his son is going to be home so he will be joining us to.

Ann

Every year I make molded chocolates to give out to family and friends. This year I made peanut butter cups, butter cream, mocha cream, chocolate covered cherries, maple cream, coconut and more.
My sons have been making gifts also. It use to be Christmas decorations but in the past few years they've taken to making food gifts. This year it will be carmamel popcorn and orange pecans.

I make candy at Christmas and sometimes bake Christmas cookies, especially when my friend Eva had cookie baking parties. She moved to Marin County, however, now that her husband works in San Francisco, and so that won't be happening this year, but I'll still make cookies.

When I'm in Mexico, there is the tradition of the ring of bread (I can't remember the name of it) that has a plastic baby Jesus baked inside of it. This is served at a big party, and whoever gets a piece of bread with the baby Jesus has to give a party for the same people on the Three Kings Day, although I don't remember when that is either. Christmas lasts much longer in Mexico than it does here.

Lars

mst, those candies are beautiful!

Mst, those are some seriously beautiful chocolates!! Your friends are lucky to be on the receiving end of one of those tins!!

Lars, we have King Cake here in Louisiana and recently it has gotten popular all over the country. King cake "season" at least here is post Christmas: the same as Mardi Gras season and starts on January 6th or Epiphany (the end of the 12 days of Christmas and coinciding with the arrival of the three Kings).... hence the name King cake.

Mardi Gras season and the serving of King Cakes ends on Mardi Gras day with the start of Lent. Of course like so many holidays, people will jump the gun and start selling storebought king cakes early, but they shouldn't really be served til Jan 6!

It is a brioche type of bread dough and they are baked with either a bean or a plastic baby in the dough and whoever gets the baby is supposed to bring the next cake or host the next party, but again as this has gotten more popular, people ignore the "rules"!!!

Grace

Very interesting reading everyone's Christmas traditions! I don't remember having many when I was at home. Well, there was one... my stocking was on the door of my bedroom Christmas morning so I was entertained with that and not wake up my parents early! Family traditions started when I married onto a wonderful family.

SIL's family and mine stay with DH's parents. Christmas Eve is family time. Supper is always pizza. We open presents after the kitchen is clean-it's a good incentive for everyone to pitch-in and get the dishes done ;-) FIL hands out presents one at a time, which I love! It is all about family and less about the gift. We play cards after the gifts are open. It's fun because we are scattered around the mid-west and rarely get to have fun together.

Christmas morning breakfast MIL sets out sweet rolls (some sticky-pecan and some frosted) for whenever folks want to eat. There are also frosted cookies from an ancient family recipe (made with vinegar), fudge, carmel corn and peanut brittle we nibble on at will-yum!

DH, DS and I have Christmas brunch with my dad and his wife.

Judy

It is so nice to hear about everyone's traditions! How wonderful. As a kid we used to go the my grandma and grandpa's house (my mom's mom and dad) and wait for my uncles, aunts and cousins to arrive. Some had to come from a few hours away so it took awhile for everyone to get there. We had special food, always shrimp cocktail which is carried on today and lots of cold cuts and nuts etc. The grownups would dance and drink and it was a special time. Us kinds would wait to open presents and be very unpatient at times. But it was loads of fun and the grown-ups would dance and it was a very special time. There was a radio tower with a red light and we were told it was Rudolph! We believed it with all our hearts and were so ready to go home and get to sleep so santa would come and bring us presents. I hardly remember another time in my life that was so special as that. It was a magical time for sure. The next morning my sisters and I would get up early (sometimes 5am~~ and come down the stairs in our new jammies and witness the miracle of all those presents! My dad loved Christmas and always made it extra special for us kids.

Then on Christmas day my dad's mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa Schiller would come over with tons of presents!) How great Christmas was! No wonder we were so excited every year!

When I reached my twenties and didn't have a girlfriend I would come over to my mom and dad's house on Christmas morning, drink coffee and eat some special coffee cake and exchange gifts. Both my sisters were married and I really enjoyed time with my folks during this time. Christmas Eve was still special....I always brought the shrimp cocktail and usually augrautin potatoes and ham or deviled eggs.

Now that my mom is gone it is not the same and never will be. I have so many visits being in the pet sitting business that I can't spend much time at my dad's and sisters this year (they moved in together) but I sure do remember the great times of years past and I will go to my grave with those happy memories.

Duane

Stacy3 - oh my gosh, Khandi - I am trying to get used to monovision contacts and my biggest challenge is the distance that the computer screen is...I read your post that this year will be challenging because your niece is a virgin...I'm sorry!!! It's not my fault!

ROTFLMAO You made me laugh so much that I had tears!! Thank you!

I must have read it 10 times and still have a big laugh every time!

Cold Duck! I had forgotten all about that! I thought it was so fancy because my parents weren't wine drinkers. I do remember them drinking whisky sours with the foam on top and a maraschino cherry!

Stacy, great photo! Your Mom had style. Just like my photos of my mother - always with the cig but it looked cool!

We always went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, which was a candlelight service - even when we were little and we were dressed up. I always think I want to do that now with my kids but never make it for the midnight.

We always had Kielbasa and Sauerkraut in the crockpot Christmas Eve and "noshes" my Mom called it like cheese and crackers. We lived in the country but there was a Tavern down the road which always had hay rides and hot chocolate and dunkin dounuts on Christmas Eve day.

Desserts - hmmm Mom wasn't a big baker but her specialty was Lemon Meringue Pie. Sometimes Banana Crème or Chocolate Crème Pie and Mrs. Smith did the rest (coconut custard - ewe). She did make us kids Pudding in a cloud in wine glasses. I loved that!

Christmas Day varied. Mom was Bohemian and French and Dad is all Irish so they just boiled something and then added butter - LOL. Kidding! Sometimes she did a fresh Roast Pork with Brown Sauerkraut and Dumplings (my favorite) or more often a Roast Beef Dinner. It was tradition for mom to burn the dinner rolls which I have continued. Another tradition was for my sister and I to get everything the same but different colors which we promptly switched. Always pajamas, underwear and socks.

Now, my SIL and I switch off on hosting Christmas Eve for DH's family and Christmas we go to my sisters. I am actually having more of an open house this year so I am not sure of the menu. Actually I have an idea but need one more thing - will probably post about it. My sister usually caters Christmas Dinner - LOL - all Italian dishes. My son is so in to the holidays and loves to decorate. We are making new traditions. I love that even though he is only little he says things like "mom, we are going to do this or put this here because that is how we do it every year". I love doing little surprise things for him this time of year - even if it is just letting him have Reddi Whip squirted in his mouth for breakfast.

We also always had bowls of nuts in the shell and chocolate covered cherries and mints and Irish Coffees and Baileys.

With the packaging of toys these days requiring power tools to pry open the heavy duty plastic and then all those twisties ties - I think I will start another new tradition for myself this year - a mimosa first thing in the morning.

Thinking about the bowl of nuts reminded me of a very unusual nut cracker we had. I can't believe I just found it on ebay! I have to have a talk with my dad when I see him this Christmas - LOL.

Here is a link that might be useful: nutcracker