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Across the Fence:  Christmas Traditions  |
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Shirlaroo
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Shirley
Australia
297 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 4:02:44 PM
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Do you have a tradition that you do at Christmas time, I would love to know. My daughter and I made our first gingerbread house last year. We had so much fun I am going to do it every year from now on.
Friends are the best collectables. |
Edited by - Shirlaroo on Nov 29 2007 4:04:49 PM |
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levisgrammy
True Blue Farmgirl
9339 Posts
Denise
Beavercreek
Ohio
USA
9339 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 5:35:50 PM
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Our youngest son's birthday is December 2nd and ever since the day I had him we have always picked out our tree on his birthday and decorated it 3 days later. We do the three days later because that was how long it was before we brought him home from the hospital. When my girls were little they thought every year after that we had to do it that way and it has become a tradition. Now I know this is not something you can do but I just thought I'd share it.
We have a sugar cookie recipe that we like to make and we frost the cookies. We do that right after Thanksgiving and again the middle of December. we give them as gifts to neighbors and friends. We also give out jar mixes.
Something that we did with our church and continued is making up fruit baskets or centerpieces and taking them to the nursing home. They love to get things like that to make the dining room more festive at holiday time for the residents.
www.torismimi.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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kitchensqueen
True Blue Farmgirl
521 Posts
521 Posts |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 8:00:47 PM
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Growing up our house bordered a clysdale farm and the farmers gave my family a special christmas eve sleigh ride every year complete with sleigh bells and all! While we were gone "the elves" dropped off a special early present for santa that we were allowed to open that night. It was always PJ's and a new game we could play as a family. Instead of a meal we had "snacks" for dinner. This was usually shrimp cocktail, mini pigs in a blanket, hot wings and dill dip with pumpernickle bread and my moms famous christmas punch (the recipe was in the Farmgirl Connection Cookbook). Amanda and I would go put on our pjs and then we would play a few rounds of the new game and then dad would read "Night before Christmas".
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
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www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2007 : 10:55:44 PM
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We always make cheeseballs and crackers to deliver to our neighbors and friends in town (we did more than 25 last year) on Christmas eve. The kids LOVE doing this. I make matching pajamas for the kids..and yep..it is the one gift they get to open on Christmas eve too.
My favorite thing (one I started when my oldest son was born 30 years ago) is that on Christmas day we don't leave home. Not ever. Everyone is welcome here for dinner, for cinnamon rolls in the morning or just to stop by, but we don't leave ever. It is so nice to have one day of the year where we have that rule. We always usually have a big crowd for dinner and last year did a big brunch for 34 instead.
We have a Christmas table cloth that I put on on Christmas day and anyone who comes to the house signs it with a ballpoint pen. I embroider all the names in a new color each year. I stared it our First Christmas together so this will be the 12th year...it is looking good. It is rare to have less than 20 names on it.I have posted about it before..and there are pictures somewhere on here..fun to do. I finished my names from last year yesterday..so now I can finally wash it and have it ready for this year!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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peggysue
True Blue Farmgirl
267 Posts
Peggy
Tulsa
Oklahoma
267 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 02:20:16 AM
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we always made some type of ornament after thanksgiving dinner.. and put up our tree the following saturday.
Life is too short to be narrow minded. |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 06:16:51 AM
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We were such a small family, (mom,daddy and me), but a few weeks before Christmas, Mom and I would dress up and go downtown Cincinnati to shop at the large department stores, and look at the Christmas lights and shop displays, and the UHL & P train display. We always stopped and had lunch at this little greek chili parlor, across from Lazarus Department Store. It was all so magical, and so "classy" for me as a little girl. Mom and I would also attend the Nutcracker every year (that is, until I started dancing in it and I've never wanted to see it again  ). My parents always gave a Christmas party for their closest friends, and Mom and Dad took out "all the stops" shining up the silver and crystal, making homemade egg nog, and gorgeous food. Since Daddy is gone, and Mom works retail now, the only holiday tradition we still insist on, is on Christmas Eve, we go to candlelight services, come home, have a small appetizer and some 'nog, and open ONE gift only, handpicked by mom. My husband and I open our gifts and our stockings early Christmas morning, before attending brunch at his mother's house. That's become a tradition that I look forward to now, also.
Wow. I'm looking forward to Christmas!!!!
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4738 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4738 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 07:26:27 AM
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I always bake up our first batch of Christmas cookies as we put up our tree. When we are all done with the tree everyone eats up the fresh baked cookies. I also try to make some type of Christmas decorations with my sons when they were younger. My older two boys are 25 and 22 now, so my 4 (yes 4) year old son and I have continued that tradition. We made up a tree for daddy's desk at work and we are busy decorating pine cones in different ways. These decorations are the ones that mean the most to me over the years. My older sons check every year to make sure the ones they made are up. They love seeing them year after year.
Dawn in IL |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 08:59:47 AM
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My family always spent christmas eve evening at my grandparent's house (just a few blocks from our house). We had a big dinner and opened the presents from them. Then my parents and the older kids would go to a christmas eve church service and leave the babies with grandma.
On christmas morning, we were allowed to get into our stockings as soon as we woke up. But opening the presents under the tree had to wait until after breakfast. Usually mom made pancakes or french toast, and dad would read the christmas story out of the new testament before we left the table. Some years we had an advent wreath on the breakfast table with all candles lit.
It was all fun. My husband has mixed feelings about christmas, so we're still trying to establish ways to celebrate at our house. I'm sure we'll come up with something if we have kids. |
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 11:05:07 AM
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When I was younger we always had Christmas eve at my mom's parents and Christmas Day we would get up and open presents then head to my father's parents. There are a couple of traditions around the holidays that my mom and I used to and still do. About a week or so before Christmas my mom and I get an eggnog shake and drive around the communities looking at the lights while listening to the music from the Nutcracker Suite. My husband joins us now when we do it. We also started another tradition by accident 20 years ago or so. Back then for 2 years in a row we had fixed chili to eat on the night of the 25th. The second year we did it we realized it was for the the second time. So my mom declared that was what we would do every time, and we've done it most every year since. I guess we did it the first time because we were tired of eating the heavier holiday food.
My husband is from Sweden so we have blended our traditions. We put up our tree right after Thanksgiving, which is earlier than he was used to. On December 13th (St. Lucia day) my husband makes Lussekatter (saffron buns) and we take them to our relatives and coworkers. He also has added a few things to our traditional Christmas dinner like pickled herring, red cabbage, and of course the Swedish meatballs. I have been collecting Santa figures and displaying them for years and he's added his Tomtes (gnomes) to my collection and we put his Julbock (Christmas Ram) under our tree every year.
http://countrygirldreams.blogspot.com/ |
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farmgirl blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
777 Posts
Lea
TN
777 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 5:03:54 PM
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A gingerbread house sounds like such fun! Such a lovely tradition to begin for you and your daughter.
We have a couple of traditions that have just evolved over the years with our three boys.
On Christmas Eve, the brothers open their gifts to each other. The boys are now 18, 13 & 10. When they were younger we always took them to a little dollar store where they would pick out a special gift for the other two brothers. They wrap the gifts themselves and on Christmas Eve we have "Brothers night" where they present and open their gifts of love for each other. It really is such a special time for them to bond as brothers and give each other special attention and love. The tradition continues even though the older boys now pick out their own special gifts. It is a tradition that I hope they'll continue even when we are gone.
Another thing that we do (and it is expected even though our oldest is 18), we leave one gift unwrapped under the tree from Santa. My husband starts up the Christmas train around the tree and let's it howl to wake the boys. No one gets up before they hear the train whistle! They still all run into the living like they did when they were wee tots. It is such fun!
And finally, the boys each get a Christmas ornament or two in their stocking. They now each have a nice personal little collection that they can take with them to start their own homes. We try to get an ornament that is signifcant to their interests that year. It is a lot fun and every year when they unpack them, you can hear all the stories retold about "the year I got this ornament...."
I have so enjoyed reading all of your traditions. I may even add one or two more to my plans this coming year. I would love to see your photos of your tablecloth, Jenny. What an heirloom that is!
Blessings, Lea
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
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sewgirlie
True Blue Farmgirl
1894 Posts
Sheryl-lyn
Calverton
NY
USA
1894 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2007 : 5:59:52 PM
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| I love that, Jenny! What a great keepsake. All of you have such nice traditions. We celebrate more on Christmas Eve. We open gifts late that night and then on Christmas Day we relax and have leftovers and watch tv, go for a walk and take naps. We make gifts during the fall and we do a lot of cooking as well. We have friends over for a fried chicken dinner a few days before Christmas, so it is like an extended celebration. |
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Lainey
True Blue Farmgirl
2401 Posts
Elaine
Waco
Kentucky
USA
2401 Posts |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2007 : 4:19:59 PM
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We used to make candy houses. Gingerbread took too long so Dad constructed the frame out of cardboard and left the decorating to us.
We continue the tradition whenever my brother and I get back together with his boys.
We also used to open one gift Christmas eve.
Mom still makes egg and sausage casserole for Christmas morning. I can't eat eggs, so I sit at the tabe and enjoy a bowl of Fruit Loops. As a kid we never really had sugared cereals in the house , so this one season I could splurge. Mom still wraps a box whenever we exchange gifts. Same goes for the book of lifesavers. Not much candy allowed in the house either, so brother and I requested a book of Lifesavers from Grandma. He and I send lifesavers in our packages and also exchange stockings we each open miles apart Christmas morning. We each cram stockings full and close to bursting the seams.
More recently, hubby and I spend Christmas eve at his folks. It's so much fun to drive home and watch all the lights on people's houses as we drive through the country. We used to do the same after Christmas Eve services when we were kids. Dad would take the long way home.
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Shirlaroo
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Shirley
Australia
297 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2007 : 7:33:33 PM
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Oh! you all have such lovely traditons! Jenny I love your table cloth, I am sure it will become a treasured family keepsake.
Friends are the best collectables. |
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Shirlaroo
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Shirley
Australia
297 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2007 : 7:37:35 PM
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Denise, what a sweet tradition you have. A reminder of the special christmas that your precious son was born.
Friends are the best collectables. |
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Shirlaroo
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Shirley
Australia
297 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2007 : 7:52:00 PM
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Lea, your house sounds like heaps of fun christmas morning! I like the idea of the brothers gifts and the personal ornament collection. How nice for them to take when they leave home to remind them of their childhood christmas'. Do you mind if I adopt these two traditions?
Friends are the best collectables. |
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Shirlaroo
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Shirley
Australia
297 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2007 : 8:04:48 PM
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On Thursday I am taking the kids to the shopping centre to have their Photograph taken with Santa. This is a tradition we have been doing since my first child was born. It is fun to line all the photos up and see how they have changed from year to year. It is also funny to see how the react to Santa from year to year. When my daughter was a toddler she was nervous around Santa and would not sit on his knee, so we have a couple of her standing beside santa with a pout on her face. LOL. My son has just turned 2 and is terrified of him, so this one should be interesting!
Friends are the best collectables. |
Edited by - Shirlaroo on Dec 02 2007 8:10:19 PM |
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myfairlady636
True Blue Farmgirl
226 Posts
Janice
Fort Bridger
WY
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2007 : 07:52:46 AM
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We have several "traditions", but you know how I love, love, love Christmas!
Probably the most notable is the three gifts. I started this when the kids were really little because I didn't have alot of money to spend on them. Santa generally brings a very simple "classic" gift such as a wooden toy, a new doll or a train. Now that they are older he brings a family gift such as board games, movies, or he sends us on mini vacations. He also fills the stockings with "old fashioned" candy.. like salt water taffy, ribbon candy,candy canes, peanuts and of course an orange in the toe. Then Mom and Dad give each of the children 3 special gifts. I spend a little extra for the wrapping to make it extra nice. The gifts represent the 3 gifts given by the Wise men... gold, frankinscense and myrhh. The first present elaborately wrapped in gold is something they want. The second gift wrapped in silver is something they need and the third gift wrapped in blue is a gift of the heart... generally something I have made for them by hand or something I think they might like that they haven't really mentioned. Over the years the kids have come to treasure this tradition even when money was so tight that they got a package of socks or bed sheets in the something they need catagory.
We usually open one gift on Christmas Eve.. Hand selected by mom so that they each get their new pajamas that I make.
We also try to do the 12 days of Christmas for a needy family in our neighborhood. We drop simple gifts on the doorstep and run. Over the years this tradition has become something the kids really love.
We travel to my Grandmother's house on Christmas Eve. Because of this tradition we didn't have time to read the Christmas Story from the Bible then, so we always do it the Sunday evening before Christmas. I generally serve things like olives, smoked fish, pita bread, figs, and grape juice. We call it the Bethlehem night. We talk about our "gift to Jesus" this coming year and set our goals.
We do tons of baking and I try to give each of the kids their own "day in the kitchen" with mom. Each of the kids sit down one on one with me and we decide what we will make, what ingredients we need and then work together while listening to Christmas Music, drinking warm cidar and just laughing and playing together. It is a special one on one time. With our family being so big that is something that is really hard to come by.
My Fair Lady
"Our lives have meaning, purpose and direction" |
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myfairlady636
True Blue Farmgirl
226 Posts
Janice
Fort Bridger
WY
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2007 : 07:57:09 AM
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I love your tradition Jenny... I want to start doing that!
My Fair Lady
"Our lives have meaning, purpose and direction" |
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paradiseplantation
True Blue Farmgirl
1277 Posts
julie
social springs community
Louisiana
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2007 : 3:27:40 PM
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Oh, yeah! I love Christmas! When we were growing up, there were so many kids that my aunts decided we would need a separate tree for Santa Claus, hence, 'The Santa Claus Tree'. The last year it was put up, I have to admit, it was the saddest sight -- it was an artificial tree that was over fifty years old, and had been subjected to many, many, many little hands as it got decorated. Talk about a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!!!! My sister now has the tree, and the ornaments are to be divided amongst us. Some of those ornaments are true antiques! Oh, I miss those days.
from the hearts of paradise... |
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bohemiangel
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Bridget
Ligonier
pa
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Dec 06 2007 : 05:24:29 AM
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We always do a stocking (I'm 25) and an orange in the toe. We have ornaments with stories and some are back to when I was born or when my mum was a child. I just bought a pickle ornament from our festival of lights, lots of christmas trees and decorations that people make and donate and then are sold to raise money for the local historic society, so we started talking about the pickle thing so I'm going to start that. I guess you hide it and whoever finds it gets a small present. SHOOT and I just remembered something we didn't do this year, an advent calendar. I saw a neat wooden box one in a catalogue so I'm looking for a cute box with lil drawers to paint and make my own:)
**~~Farmgirl Sister #60~~**
"... to thine ownself be true." |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2007 : 9:59:55 PM
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Wow Janice, I've never heard anyone else ever mention the three gifts before. I thought I was the only one who did that. It started when my kids were little.....30+ years ago. They each received only three gifts(excluding their stockings)....three well thought out gifts, but only three. When my oldest daughter first questioned why her friends all got so much more on Christmas I told her that baby Jesus only received three gifts, one from each of the wisemen. I didn't know how much that impressed her until three years ago when she got married. Her husband's family does Christmas so way over the top it's unbelievable. She said it takes them all day to open presents. Well she explained the three gifts to him and they decided that's what they would do with their kids too.
The other thing I did was to never put names on the gifts. My kids were so snoopy and always checking under the tree. So I just numbered them. Drove them crazy! They never knew which ones were theirs. They spent years trying to figure out what system I used to number the gifts and there was no system. I just numbered them as I wrapped them.
I started making ornaments with and for my kids when my first daughter was 2 and continued until they were all grown because we like mostly handmade ornaments on our trees. Each of my kids takes their ornament collection with them when they leave home. When my younger daughter and her husband brought home their first Christmas tree and were ready to decorate it, she brought out all of her ornaments and asked him where his were. She didn't realize not everybody does that 
"Nature always has the last laugh." Mrs. Greenthumbs
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Across the Fence: Christmas Traditions |
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Christmas Traditions
