[iamkc]

Do you and DH/SO have any special holiday traditions, from growing up or starting together? Will you pass them on to your kids or start new ones? Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, New Years, etc...if you don't celebrate holidays, do you think that will change with kids?

[ButterflyMommy]

Do you and DH/SO have any special holiday traditions, from growing up or starting together? Will you pass them on to your kids or start new ones? Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, New Years, etc...if you don't celebrate holidays, do you think that will change with kids?[/b]

As a kid, we always opened presents on Christmas Eve- that gave us an extra day to play with them....
I don't know if Kyle and I will do that, because it really doesn't let you believe in Santa for long, but I have always thought it would be fun, if on Christmas Eve we got to open one big package each, including a new paid of pjs and slippers to wear to bed and on Christmas morning, a special ornament for that year, and either a special DVD or special book to read.... Something like that .....

My family didn't have a lot of other traditions, and I would love to hear what everyone else did- maybe I will get some ideas!

[Blue Eyes 409]

My Step mom started a tradition with us that on Christmas Eve we have Chili. She felt that by the time that you have had Thnaksgiving with both sides of the family that on Christmas you wanted something diffrent. Now that she has passed away my Sister is doing it. I am hoping that Jessie does this when she gets older.

[iamkc]

Those both sound like great traditions! I, too, was thinking about the PJs and slippers and some different food or dessert. I feel like we can't start our own ON Christmas traditions just yet because of all the family obligations...we're going with one of mine since I was little--looking at lights on Christmas Eve, starting some new ones (Solstice/Saturnalia dinner), different decorating, continuing celebrating Hanukkah, etc. We'd like to open the home to different traditions, celebrate all miracles and just the nature of good will for the season.

I DO love our tree-hunting tradition we have going so far, the holiday activities that are held in the towns we'll live in, and so on.

I just made myself cry for the holidays again. Hehe.

[alpinedoe]

My step-mom always makes clam chowder and hot fresh bread mmm... wonderful on Christmas eve when it's like 10 degrees out. She always trims a little off the ham for Christmas day and puts it in the chowder for flavor. We always open one present on Christmas eve then go home for the night, open our presents from each other in the morning before going over to my folks' place, open the rest of the presents there and pitch in to make a big dinner.

New Year's Eve we make pork pies from a recipe handed down for generations in my DH's family, and serve them with catsup and sparkling apple cider.

Thanksgiving everyone pitches in to cook, I always make the pies, my father bakes bread, even my little niece gets a job to do. That's important for bringing the family together and not exhausting one cook - it's not very fair to have one person working her tail off and everyone else vegetating on the sofa watching TV! It's great for teaching the little ones cooking and responsibility too.

On Halloween everyone carves a jack-o-lantern and we compete to see whose is the best. After Halloween we feed them to the goats and chickens as a treat, but we always save one un-cut small pumpkin to roast and make creamy pumpkin soup out of.

On Easter we always dye eggs, and make at least a couple hollow ones that are very detailed using crayon or wax to cover areas and keep the next color from getting on them. These get saved in an egg carton and displayed next Easter.

haha.. almost all our family traditions are food!

[Jacquie]

We (my sister and I) always used to get to open 1 present from our parents on Christmas Eve. It was always pyjamas, but we were always excited. My mom always said, now the sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you get to open the rest of them. My sister was/is always the first person awake Christmas morning, and she would come and jump on everyone's beds to wake us up. Now she just calls us on the phone at some ungodly hour

Also, my parent's house backs onto a creek (fairly wide), and the whole neighborhood would go tobogganing and ice skating on Christmas Eve. My dad would put our outdoor speakers on, and light a fire in the fire pit, and we would all be out "partying" for hours. This is a tradition that I would like to start up again, because now I find Christmas Eve very boring

I like the whole tree hunting tradition too Jess, once DH and I stop travelling at Christmas and actually spend it at home, we'll definitely do that again!

[iamkc]

All of this is making me SO impatient for Christmas! I love food traditions and my family has them, but not DH's...we live near them, unfortunately (in this respect). Last year, we had cold cuts! They moved out of their AMAZING house (into another, but this was...*sigh* perfect), which was in the middle of the mountains. You could see the sky forever and ever, we had fires, built snow caves and igloos for them as well, and did the same thing, Jacquie--fire pits, drinking, talking, and even sledding by firelight! They have a much more formal house now, not as cozy. I imagine I'll be wanting to leave earlier than usual. Or, maybe we'll stay later and hang out with his sibs and SOs who will be there. I don't know. I'll make it fun for myself.

OH! And DH and I get an ornament each year (starting last year--the first year, we were living with his parents). I'd love to get one for a child each year. I'm due for AF on Christmas, or thereabouts, and even though we've been trying over 2 other Christmases unsuccessfully, I want to buy a 2005 Baby's First Christmas ornament...just in case. It's so silly and I'm so jinxing myself, especially since I haven't bought any baby or maternity stuff yet, but it's just welling up inside! And if it's going to be a tradition, I'd hate to miss his/her first Christmas!