your christmas traditions

Does your family have any christmas traditions? Was just reading the article about it on here. We dont do anything but would like to start some...

Here is one we're continuing from my childhood.. I've told Ella that Santa will be coming on Christmas Eve and leaving presents under our tree..so we will leave biscuits and milk under the tree for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.

Before we go to bed, we'll take a bite from the biscuits and the carrot, and drink most of the milk.

Edited by meow

meow, we had the same tradition when i was a kid but instead of milk we left beer. DH and i were talking about it the other night and he said about putting milk and cookies out for santa...i said no, santa likes beer better!
we always had our santa sacks at the end of our beds waiting for santa to fill and that's what we'll do for jack too. i now look back and realise why my parents got grumpy at 4am when 3kids came barging into their bedroom wanting to open presents   hehehehe   

oh i remember my parents doing the stocking at the end of the bed (though i think it was a decorated pillow case, still did the job) might do that one too.
So when does everyone thing is a good age to start things like leaving out cookies. When do they really start to understand all that? Must go and buy a christmassy book we can read

We are doing the cookies and beer (only because DH told Andrew thats what Santa wants) this year. Andrew seems to be quite into xmas this year which surprises me as I thought he was still a bit too young to understand it all. I still have my stocking at my parents place and my mum still puts stuff in it for me, i'm 25 and still get my stocking from Santa . Andrew is very ucky and gets 2 stockings one from us and one at my parents place.

One thing that has now had to stop with lunch due to my father, is we all had $1 instant kiwi's at our seat. Whoever won the most money got a little prize (usually chocolates) as well as the money. Its going to be a little sad see that one go as for the past 2 years I have been the winner.

hhm we never had the stocking at the end of the bed, our mum used to makeus get up and have brekkie, get dressed and do the housework first before opening pressies(that sounds bad.. lol.. but there were enough of us that if we hauled butt then it got done) but i do see, why, cos otherwise we looked terrible in photos, and none of us could be bothered once the pressies were open, it makes sense now lol. I usually let the girls open their stockings and 2 pressies (try and make one of them their xmas clothes) then they get dressed and have some brekkie and we do the rest... stuff the housework though, it's one day, it can wait. lol    

We had been going to do the santa and cookies and stocking at the end of the bed thing, but am unsure how paris will go with that, at this stage i have told her that Santa magics the presents down as he flies over.. she has a bit of a fear of most men, including santa, so i think telling her he comes into the house or her bedroom may be a bit of a fearful thing for her more than exciting.

We do plan to put something from us, at the end of each of their beds.. The first thing paris will see is her bike, have yet to decide what will go at the end of Ayja's.. hopefully might keep em quiet for a couple seconds longer so we can sleep a bit considering i won't get home till near midnight, let alone sticking the pressies out!

Our xmas traditions would be going out to look around all the xmas lights, we download the lists off the internet of all the homes in our area, and off we go. In fact we are going tonight and our neighbours are coming along with... Paris always loves them, and Ayja usually falls asleep halfway though so it's a nice quiet time after that!

Edited by mum2paris

LMAO Liz - Santa must get pretty drunk coz we leave beer out too And a carrot for the reindeer. And we leave the stocking in the living room - too scared to try and sneak pressies into it in her bedroom in case I wake her up! This year there will be 3 stockings in our house

We usually have Santa pressies first thing in the morning, then church (unless we go to midnight mass, but haven't since having kids) then open the tree presents once the rest of the family arrive. Coming from good old English stock we always have the big cooked lunch around 2pm and it usually goes on till dinner time by which time everyone is asleep on the couch.

Another tradition I have started this year is an Advent calendar. Mum and Dad bought Maya a gorgeous hand carved one in Vienna that has little drawers in it so I have put a tree decoration in each drawer and every day since Dec 1st she has opened a drawer and put her decoration on the tree. The twins have them too but I haven't had the time or energy to do theirs, and I figure they don't care yet.