We normally enjoy our live tree shopping with grands. We are staying close to home , plus few tree lots near us. Watching Martha Stewart she was showing idea of putting limbs in a bucket and adding Christmas lights. It was beautiful. I started looking for an idea to have light display. So instead of live tree with lights . I used a glass antique vase, it’s about 20 inches tall, three palm leaves from our yard, limbs with red berries, strings of white lights. Placed on table in front of window. From outside it looks like a Christmas tree. We love the look, and very simple with everything I needed at hand. This may become our new tradition as it was very simple yet beautiful.

Not strange or unusual, but my son (now 23) and I put up the Christmas tree and listen to our first Christmas music of the season the day after Thanksgiving. This is our official start of the season for us and we both look forward to it. But over the years I've become less steeped in traditions - first as a military wife, then as a single mom, then losing my parents. I look for different ways to enjoy the season so as not to get mired in a "failed holiday" that would make me feel like the season was ruined. Even the tradition with my son will change when he graduates college and moves on to his next stage in life. I'm already planning ways to celebrate the season on my own, giving myself something different to look forward to and not mope if he isn't close by.

Most "absolutely must haves" are pretty normal -- a favorite family cookie, singing a few favorite Christmas hymns. (This year I might have to do the singing by myself due to Covid -- yikes.) A somewhat unusual "must have" is the little stuffed Elmo toy that sits near the top of the tree, ever since the year DD was born.

We have some traditions, but missing one or more of them wouldn't affect Christmas negatively. None of them are unusual. This year will be tradition-less.

My son and nieces used to play 'hide the Grinch' all day long on Christmas. The Grinch was a little give-a-way doll that McDonalds or Burger King gave out in kid's meals back when the Jim Carrey version came out in 2000. We had about 10 of them at one time. I'd bet there are still one or two somewhere in the house that never were found.

I still hide one somewhere when putting out decorations but it's not the same as when the younglings were still young.

With immediate family: Fish on Christmas Eve, Midnight Mass, open gifts. Christmas Day: sleep, have coffee and lovely food all day with friends/families.

I spend much time getting all the decorations up--I spend an entire weekend baking--we will attend Mass as a family, have brunch then open gifts Christmas morning. Surf and turf for dinner then play games...What we eat isn't vital, Mass and family time is.

A tree. Whether we cut it down (for years) or buy it at a neighborhood lot (her own private lot, behind her house), gotta have a tree. A couple of times we visited family and stayed in a hotel, and we brought a small artificial tree with us.

A lot of traditions, we have modified over the years. And they continue to evolve. That‘s how traditions develop!

Other than my huge decoration display at work,not really. My siblings repeat some of the traditions we had growing up with their children. I dont have children and SO doesn't really care about christmas. Rituals and such dont really interest me. But I enjoy hearing about my nieces and nephews enjoyment of them. The elf on the shelf thing they all do creeps me out. We did not have that growing up. Our MAMA told on us DIRECTLY to Santa. He didn't need little elf minions in the 80s and 90s I guess....

The only must haves/dos are my christmas music and certain christmas movies. I MUST watch The Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooge the Musical with Albert Finney, a Christmas Carol with George C Scott, Elf, ,The Grinch (the Jim Carrey version),and a Charlie Brown Christmas. And I watch them over and over and over. I love them. I play others on my projector at work by popular demand, Christmas Vacation, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman and others. Those I have found are very important traditions to other people. I get such a kick out of gruff, travel worn old truck drivers lighting up at the sight of Rudolph playing on the screen. Last year one of them was moved to tears by it. Very touching.

I have only started having a Christmas tree in my home the last 3 years. We simply didn't have room for it in our last house, and the first year we were here we were still unpacking at Christmas. It's a tradition that we will likely carry on. I love its cheerful twinkling on a cold dark night. And I prefer a REAL TREE. Maybe that counts as a tradition,even though we had a fake one growing up. I'm aaaaaalll natural baby!

Amylou, I think I would love your office, and you. Your tradition of sharing “glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all people” through your decorations and movies with the drivers makes me smile!

For us it's a little casual. We have a tree every year but it takes us a while to get one. We put up outside lights every year but maybe a week or two after everyone else has theirs up.

DH hates paying the full price for lights so we always go at the end of the year and pick our lights out for next year if we need more then.

Usually we buy everyone in the family chocolate filled Advent calendars but we haven't for the last two or three years so I guess that has gone by the wayside.

We still fill stockings with goodies for everyone in Santa's name. We don't really buy Christmas presents anymore. We sort of more or less buy what we want when we want it. We do give a few dollars to our adult kids.

Do Advent calendars count? I didn’t grow up with them, but now we have at least one every year. DMIL sends beautiful ones; this year she sent a digital one! Not bad for 94. We have also had Lego, Playmobile, chocolate (surprisingly, not a favorite!). This year we also have a Bonne Maman jam calendar. DH is suddenly into baking bread, so the jams are a fun addition. I was thinking he would use some for cooking, but when you have fresh bread around, and you have just watched The Sound of Music, well, jam and bread, with or without tea, sure sounds good.