Non-Traditional Holiday Traditions?

[LarryG]

How many of y'all have personal or family "traditions" that you observe during the holiday season that don't necessary have anything to do with holiday traditions?

For example, at our house, Christmas Eve dinner is always shrimp boil and about a thousand different kinds of finger foods ... various cheeses, spreads, crackers, bagel chips, dips, pickles, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, BBQ cocktail sausages, cold cuts, cold beer, good wine. We nosh in between rounds of opening presents, and vice-versa.

I also always use the holidays as an excuse to re-watch all the Star Wars movies, all the Indiana Jones movies, and as a recent addition, all the Lord Of The Rings movies. I used to do all these during Christmas but with six Star Wars movies and the three lonnnnnng entries in the LOTR trilogy, some of them get pushed to the New Year's break.

So what about you and yours?

[JoeyGee]

That's funny you mentioned the LOTR movies. I remember seeing all three movies (I think all 3, at least 2) in the theater with my best friend the week btw Christmas and New Years in successive years. Now, it has become somewhat of a tradition to watch them on DVD during that break. My wife really doesn't care for those movies, but she agrees it is part of tradition now. Of course, those have to wait until the kids go to bed so there are a few LATE nights...

Other than that, my Christmas and Christmas Eve traditions are pretty Norman Rockwellesque.

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Christmas Eve we go to my parents house and have Chili, finger foods, cold meats, rolls, veggie trays, and of course the recommended sweets. Open all the gifts and then go home and wait for "Santa" to come for the kids. We open all the gifts on Christmas eve because on the next day we are not at anyones house for dinner because no one has a house that is big enough for about 30 to 40 people depending on who all is going to show up.

Then Christmas morning we open what Santa brought and I make some thing different for breakfast and then its off to a church where the whole family will fit and we proceed to have the turkey and fixings.

[TheRic]

My parents have Christmas on Christmas Eve. We started that about 20 - 25 years ago. She normally cooks a 25 course dinner, Prime Rib is normally the main dish. Then about 2-3 hours after dinner, she gets out enough snack food, finger food, munchies, etc that would feed an Army battalion for a couple of days.

Then we each can have our own Christmas on Christmas morning with our kids, and visit the spouses family on Christmas day. This year will be the first Christmas without a rugrat at home. Will be different without having to stay up late getting things ready, put together, taken out of storage, etc. and then up early (seems like 2 hours later) to open the gifts.

Did someone say sleep in on Christmas Day!!!!!!!

The wife has already started putting gifts around the tree. Hmmmmm maybe I should start thinking about what to get her for Christmas, wonder if she left any clues on what she wants?? She has been leaving a frying pan and cookie roller out lately, wonder if that means anything??!!!

[JR]

Boys v Girls Trivial Pursuit Tournament.

Boys are way ahead overall, but the recent attainment of PhD and reaching adulthood among the Girl teammembers has resulted in success. One of them married a dentist, who we were sure would provide fresh winning blood for the Boys, but he has so far crumbled under the pressure.

Eric, if you're reading this, you need to bring your game up, buddy. "Trivial" does not mean trivial. This is serious.

JR

[Tom Miller]

Not sure how "non-traditional" this is, but after the kids are in bed on Christmas eve, I go upstairs to watch a little TV. Then, the LOML comes in and asks who the h3ll do I think is going to wrap all those G__ D___ presents, to which I reply that maybe if we stayed within budget just one year, maybe we wouldn't need a battalion of elves to....yeah, pretty "traditional", really.

But seriously, somehow the kids and I have become quite the Flight Simulator aviators over the last few holidays. There's nothing quite like emergency landing a 777 in extreme side winds, with the smell of fresh-baked sugar cookies permeating the cockpit....

Regards,
Tom

[gsmittle]

Not sure how "non-traditional" this is, but after the kids are in bed on Christmas eve, I go upstairs to watch a little TV. Then, the LOML comes in and asks who the h3ll do I think is going to wrap all those G__ D___ presents, to which I reply that maybe if we stayed within budget just one year, maybe we wouldn't need a battalion of elves to....yeah, pretty "traditional", really.

Oooooooh man, have you been spying on my house? We have pretty much the same tradition!

My wife and I stay up late on Christmas Eve to have a little alone time. After a couple of hours of movie-watching, I wake her up and after wrapping gifts we go off to bed....

g.

[justaguy]

I may not be a natural combination but my wife and I go out to dinner for Chinese food and then have cannoli and champagne in front of the tree around midnight.

We got married on Christmas Eve and in the small town where we were there was only one resturant open serving dinner. It was chinese... The cannoli and champagne were picked up at the local grocery before they closed.

We know it's not exactly a traditional way to spend Christmas Eve but then how many people do you know that got married on Dec 24th. Besides this year makes our 24th annual chinese dinner so "if it ain't broke....."

[Stick]

I dunno if you could call it a tradition, but i've worked 33 of the last 35 xmases. Somebody has to keep the big spinny things turnin' churnin' out the megawatts to keep the lights on for the rest of you folks! Workin' again this year, xmas and new year's.

[mschrank]

....but then how many people do you know that got married on Dec 24th.

Close, our anniversary is the 23rd. Your tradition could easily be ours....
On Christmas Eve on way back to Oregon from our wedding in Sandpoint ID, (eloped), we found ourselves quite hungry. Chinese was the only thing available so that was our first Christmas Eve as a married couple.

We might of kept up the tradition had the little ones not started coming along

Now, it's opening gifts on the 24th. Then Santa presents on Christmas morning. At our house SANTA DOESN'T WRAP! That's a carryover from my childhood...just something about walking out to the tree Christmas morning and seeing all that loot out in the open!

[billwmeyer]

We always have lasagna for supper then off to Church. We then come home and open presents. We usually play some type of card or board game after the presents are open, usually one that the kids got for Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Bill

[twistsol]

Some members of my wife's family have oyster stew on Christmas Eve while the more sane members, including me, order pizzas from Dudley's. Everyone then heads to church and we all go back to one house or another for where my mother in law destroys the entire family repeatedly at Scrabble while we all consume Bailey's & coffee or the adult beverage of your choice.

Only then do we try to assemble the toys for Christmas morning.

[Tom Miller]

At our house SANTA DOESN'T WRAP!

Your Santa is smart. Our's isn't.


[Homer Voice]
Stupid Santa!
[/Homer Voice]

Regards,
Tom

[sacherjj]

We have started having Thanksgiving and Christmas one week early with my Parents. This allows my girlfriend and I to come down and both my sisters' families to come over and really enjoy the time. It is nice not having to have 3-4 Thanksgiving dinners in one day. The only downside is you have to finish Christmas shopping one week early. But on the "real" holiday, I can go to my girlfriends Mom's family, then Dad's family and my sisters can go to their in laws. My parents use the week of vacation to go somewhere. It works out nice.

[mac_daddy]

Before we have an airing of our grievances at the dinner table, we have the Feats of Strength around the aluminum pole. It's a Festivus miracle!