We do traditional American for Thanksgiving and then traditional Puertorican for Navidad. That is: arroz con gandules(spanish rice w/pigeon peas), roast pork, pasteles(the carribean version of tamales---instead of corn, the dough/masa is made out of finely grated Yucca or finely grated green bananas and some other tubers that aren't common here(yautia---aka Malanga, aka Taro root). They are then wrapped in banana leaves after they are filled with a meat mixture(usually pork). You thought tamles were a pain in the butt to make!!! Even with the food processor I spend 4 hours just making the masa---ever peel green bananas??? The other sides are usually potato salad, pan con ajo(garlic bread), and for dessert arroz con dulce (a concoction similar to rice pudding---very sweet and made with coconut cream), and tembleque---a custard made out of coconut milk, sugar, and cornstarch that is cooked on the stove and then poored into a dish to chill and sprinkled w/cinnamon. In Puerto Rico they drink coquito(like egg nog, only has coconut milk in it and usually rum). Yummy---unless you don't care for coconut. It is a lot of fun for my kids to learn about the Christmas traditions there. They get gifts from relatives here on Christmas, and more gifts from relatives in Puerto Rico on January 6th---Three Kings Day. Sorry I wrote a novel about our Christmas traditions. Tyffanie

Those are great ideas. I did not see this before Christmas (haven't been here in awhile), but I did do some of that buy purchasing gift certificates for locally owned restaurants. I'll have to remember the idea for the oil change thing next time I need to get a gift for someone and it doesn't have to be just for Christmas. Think about birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Really now, wouldn't you just love getting an oil change for your birthday? LOL! :D Probably!

Christmas gift-giving within our family is minimal so our first tradition starts a couple of days before Thanksgiving, when all of our family members go out and buy $20 worth of $1 holiday or winter themed scratch-off lottery tickets. Our gift to ourselves is seeing surprised and then mostly smiling faces when we give them away to a clerk at the supermarket, a woman with a whining child, or whenever the mood strikes us. We usually have refill our pocket as the month progresses and itÂs amazing to see the power that a dollar can still have. On Christmas Eve, we usually have beef or cheese fondue or both and then attend a church service. Most years, DH was singing in the choir. Starting when our children were young, Santa never put presents under the tree. Instead, theyÂd open their Christmas stockings and in the bottom was a clue to find the first gift. TheyÂd bring it into the living room and open it. On the back was another clue to find the next gift. As they got older, the clues got harder, sometimes involving going outside. It slowed down the pace of Christmas morning and seemed to make them stop and appreciate the gifts they received, instead of having a frenzy of unwrapping. This tradition continued when grandchildren came along and what they all remember and talk about most was the scavenger hunts themselves instead of the gifts. I think thatÂs why we just do small or handmade gifts now. Another family tradition is NOT to cook a sit-down Christmas dinner. When I was growing up, my parents always had an extended Open House on Christmas Eve and added a few hot items to the buffet for Christmas Day. Most things were made ahead of time so it was always a relaxing day with people dropping in as their schedules permitted. Soon after we were married, DH and I began hosting a Christmas Day brunch from about 10 to 3 and a buffet of homemade soups, breads and cookies on Christmas evening. Chicken-rice-leek is the one that always has to be on the menu. Both DH and my parents are now deceased, as are all of our aunts and uncles except for the two we visited at Thanksgiving. Our children and GCs are scattered about the country so sometimes even when they were at home, weÂve done different things on Christmas, like serving Christmas dinner trays to hospital patients so more of the food service workers could spend Christmas with their families or shuttling truckers who had to spend the holiday at a truck drop to a Christmas dinner. Last year, we went to FL and spent the holiday at SD & SILÂs, cooking a Dickensonian goose on Christmas Eve and learning salsa dancing at their South American neighborÂs holiday celebration next door. This year, DD will be here for her last Christmas before reporting to the Army and her only requests were no gifts, saving a tree for her to decorate and chicken-rice-leek soup on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

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