Favorite Christmas Tradition

ciara007

Hi all I was wondering what your favorite traditions are at xmas time?
I love to wrap up 12 Christmas books and read one every night to my daughter we always read the night before Christmas on Xmas Eve.

Buying the RTE guide.

Sitting down with all the family to watch the late late toy show.

I also have a Christmas journal that I started last year and I record what we did and what we watched and the presents that santa brought it covers about 20 years.

branie2

Opening the presents from under the tree after Mass on Christmas Eve

Glitzgirl

Oh I love this thread !

I have so many. I love taking out my Christmas folder before Christmas and flicking through all the prep we need to do etc.

I love our elf on the shelf antics!

I love that Mr glitz and I take our annual Christmas trip minus the minis to Dublin for some food and drink and just soaking up the atmosphere.

I love getting our Christmas Eve boxes ready

Oh and the toy show night with our goody bags and new pjs and take out.

I love Christmas Eve! A big fry up for breakie and something light for lunch the kids have their own special Christmas eve delph sets. And we do some prep for tomorrow watch a movie make some treats for Santa. Do our Santa and rudolph poem at night time in the garden. We go for a lovely drive around to see the house lights in the neighbouring estates etc. Then Christmas Eve boxes are opened,and bath and bed time,while Mr glitz and I chill and prep for tomorrow !

I'm actually very fond of the big Christmas clean up too :pac:

Jude13

I will be keeping a close eye on this one. I love other peoples but have few myself.

My Mum makes me stir the pudding each year. If I am not going to be home for Christmas I have stirred some ingredients when I am home for the summer so they can be included in the pudding.

I don't listen to fairytale of New York until the plane is descending in to Dublin.

Glitzgirl

Omg I forgot the traditional ham sandwich which is sneakily consumed late Christmas eve :pac: followed by my giving out and complaining that Mr glitz is ruining my Christmas ham hahaha

frag420

Fighting with my siblings...

ciara007

I love reading all these reply's. I also have a Christmas eve box and we do elf on the shelf too this year I would love to drive around and look at the lights on the houses I just need to convince the hubby!

Glitzgirl

ciara007 wrote: »

I love reading all these reply's. I also have a Christmas eve box and we do elf on the shelf too this year I would love to drive around and look at the lights on the houses I just need to convince the hubby!

Do it ... tell him you have to go get inspiration for your next year's light display. Get some festive flavoured pop corn in little bags for the kids and off you go

ciara007

Glitzgirl wrote: »

Do it ... tell him you have to go get inspiration for your next year's light display. Get some festive flavoured pop corn in little bags for the kids and off you go

omg thats a brilliant idea I love it. With xmas songs on the radio would be ideal!

Glitzgirl

ciara007 wrote: »

omg thats a brilliant idea I love it. With xmas songs on the radio would be ideal!

Don't forget Christmas jumpers and hats or antler ears ! Then your all set !

Jude13

I think elf on the shelf is creepy, and could stress out a kid so we don't have it in our house. I find that Santa is watching is enough. Please don't take that as I am having a go at anyone who does, each to their own.

There used to be a house in Rathfarham kind of area, narrow round as if you were going to roundwood direction which we were brought to as kids. There was a gnome house on that road too.

Baybay

Looking for inspiration so following thread closely!! A lot of our traditions have changed in the last couple of years but they used to be:

Cook ham Christmas Eve
Drinks at a friend's house
After mass at 9pm, back to ours with my mother, ham sandwich, glass of Disaronno (after years of trying various drinks with her that didn't appeal!), piece of Christmas cake then drive mum home through local town to see the lights
Drinks in another friend's house
Back to ours, another ham sandwich, drinks & everyone gets to open the present of their choice from under the tree. (Caused upset though one year when the children were younger & one got an iPod & the other thought they hadn't!)

baby and crumble

Love threads like this, I'm hoping this year to start some new traditions that we can do together, since Christmas Day itself is a bit meh for me these days.

Some of the stuff we do for traditions;

- Go to the Gloria Christmas Concert in St. Patricks Cathedral
- Cook the ham in the slow cooker on Christmas Eve and have a warm ham sambo in the evening
- Watch A Muppet Christmas Carol while putting up the tree
- Stockings on the fireplace for us and the two cats, with a new toy for each of the cats for Christmas Day :rolleyes:
- Get to some kind of Christmas market (whether in Ireland or abroad)
- French toast for breakfast on Christmas Day

Aww, with the fact it's raining here now and it's not horribly hot I'm feeling all festive

Heroditas

Jude13 wrote: »

I think elf on the shelf is creepy, and could stress out a kid so we don't have it in our house.

I'd just find it far too much trouble to constantly remember to move the bloody thing around the house each day!!!

DvB

Just back to reality after our summer holidays away & am looking forward to adding to this thread... just not today though, struggling under a backlog of emails & work that hasnt been touched while I was away.
Only 5 short months until we're well into the build up though, that'll fly in.

Bainneban

Its the eating for me. Either the christmas eve hot ham sandwich or the dinner itself, best dinner of the year. Salivating just thinking about it.

razorblunt

The wife and I have started doing something "festive" here (we live in the UK) before we head back to Ireland for Xmas.

3 years ago: Xmas Market (we go every year but deliberately put it off until the very end this year)
2 years ago: theatre production of A Christmas Carol
Last Year: The Snowman with a live orchestra and narrated by Podge from Game of Thrones (the second half was Xmas Carols but we left at the interval having seen what we wanted to see).


Pressure is on this year to find something. I'm hoping for a classic movie being shown in one of the smaller, older cinemas.

r3nu4l

Each year I buy a 1000 piece Christmas themed jigsaw puzzle that myself and my wife complete over the holidays. That has become far more difficult now that we have young kids!

We also have a tradition of having a small Sherry before bed on Christmas Eve, Christmas night and St Stephens night. Just us, on the couch together with the TV on and wood burning in the stove.

The past for years we've had the remaining parents, siblings and nieces and nephews over for Christmas day dinner which is great fun. A bittersweet tradition over the past couple of years is to make sure we have a photo of my mum and another of my father in law in the dining room while we all eat the dinner.

I have a Hornby Santa Express train set that I set up around the tree and run for a few hours each day.

HappySerious

Used to be waking up on Christms morning and watching black and white movies like tarzan et al but nowadays its listening to the Christmas music as the whole family helps out with dinner.

Belle E. Flops

One of my absolute favourite days of the year is the day that I put up the Christmas decorations. I have the same routine every year- the Christmas choons playing, there's always a tin of Roses that I'm picking at and when the decorations are done I light the fire, have a few glasses of mulled wine and watch It's a Wonderful Life.

HappySerious

Christmas eve watching Scrooged is a big one for me too.

Loughc

Not a tradition I've done yet but one I want to start this year as I got the idea online.

Buy a Christmas Village House/Scene and add to it one item each year. So in 20 years time you'd have a beautiful village scene and something to pass down to kids,etc.

RentDayBlues

We do lunch out Christmas Eve every year since we married. In recent years since the kids arrived we’ve done Christmas Eve afternoon tea, it’s the official start to Christmas. We come home and the kids open their Christmas Eve box followed by Arthur Christmas and then we leave something out for santa

Day Lewin

Loughc wrote: »

Not a tradition I've done yet but one I want to start this year as I got the idea online.

Buy a Christmas Village House/Scene and add to it one item each year. So in 20 years time you'd have a beautiful village scene and something to pass down to kids,etc.

I've done that, sort of accidentally - with some home-made houses and some from toy sets, etc.
They look very nice on a shelf inside the front door with little lights inside some of 'em, and a painted back-drop on the wall behind, etc: but really I'm running out of space for them! Nowhere to put any new houses! This Christmas village now has planning restrictions and zoning issues!

Day Lewin

A favourite activity every year is the day that Lewin and me go into town for Christmas shopping: the atmosphere around town, look at the Christmas scene figures in the GPO, stroll along Henry St.
We always have lunch at the upstairs café in Eason's.
Eason's, by the way, is a great place for Christmas shopping: Books, calendars, posters, toys, maps, jigsaws, craft supplies....it all makes for a good day in December.

368100

Going to my neices and nephews on Christmas Eve and spreading Reindeer Dust so they know where to land.

Been at it for over 10 years at this stage

Sundew

We buy a Lego Winter Village set every year, to add to our collection, which goes under the tree! Building it, really gets me in the Christmas mood!
They release a new one every year, and retire it after 2 years. Their 2018 set is released this week, for lego members only, and I am besides myself with excitement!
https://www.brothers-brick.com/2018/09/09/lego-reveals-10263-winter-village-fire-station-as-their-next-holiday-set-news/

chuckles30

That's fab Sundew

Sundew

chuckles30 wrote: »

That's fab Sundew

Chuckles look what happens when you have a build up of ten sets!
My idea of heaven but could be a Christmas nightmare for some :-D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lRMYJzjSvjg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r_9EXxQ8h6I#

DvB

Sundew wrote: »

Chuckles look what happens when you have a build up of ten sets!
My idea of heaven but could be a Christmas nightmare for some :-D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lRMYJzjSvjg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r_9EXxQ8h6I#

That is absolutely brilliant.
Love building lego with the kids but can only imagine the work that went into something as detailed as that. Taking it apart would be such a shame. I'd have to box it as it is & keep it for ech year.

Sundew

DvB wrote: »

That is absolutely brilliant.
Love building lego with the kids but can only imagine the work that went into something as detailed as that. Taking it apart would be such a shame. I'd have to box it as it is & keep it for ech year.

I have a few of the bigger winter village sets boxed like the Winter Cottage (use a plastic lidded box and put em in the attic). A few small ones I rebuild but it’s still much easier to store then solid Christmas village sets like the Lemax houses.....and you can alway break them up and make your own non- official Christmas buildings.
For future ref if anybody is reading: The retired sets are going for way over their original price sometimes 4 times what they were. Lego re-released a retired Winter Village Toy Shop was 2/3 years ago to the consternation of 2nd hand sellers. My advise is not to pay the inflated 2nd hand prices as I am pretty sure demand for the Winter/ Christmas Village sets, will ensure re-releases of retired buildings. I’m waiting to get my hands on the 2011 set as it has just got too expensive to buy second hand! :-(

branie2

Eating turkey sandwiches for tea on Christmas night.

Loughc

branie2 wrote: »

Eating turkey sandwiches for tea on Christmas night.

That’s a good one.

And a ham sambo on Christmas Eve night.

DvB

branie2 wrote: »

Eating turkey sandwiches for tea on Christmas night.

Is that debateable!!! I took it as a given!!:D That or a Turkey Curry the day after Stephens Day;)

DvB

Loughc wrote: »

And a ham sambo on Christmas Eve night.

Ah come on, thats practically enshrined in the constitution

chuckles30

Loughc wrote: »

That’s a good one.

And a ham sambo on Christmas Eve night.

I never knew about this Christmas Eve Ham Sambo thing - the ham was always cooked Christmas Day at home and since my mother still does the cooking, it's still not a thing for me

Posy

Loughc wrote: »

And a ham sambo on Christmas Eve night.

Yes.

DvB wrote: »

Turkey Curry the day after Stephens Day

Double yes.

368100

Loughc wrote: »

That’s a good one.

And a ham sambo on Christmas Eve night.

Warm Ham in a sandwich just after being cooked....eugh.

Loughc

368100 wrote: »

Warm Ham in a sandwich just after being cooked....eugh.

Next you’ll be saying you don’t like a chip sambo!

branie2

A glass of Baileys every night at Christmas

Going out for a meal on New Years Eve with my parents and ringing in the New Year at home.

368100

Loughc wrote: »

Next you’ll be saying you don’t like a chip sambo!

Ah no...all in for chip sambo now! As well as crisps...but only salt and vinegar, I know thats controversial :-)

Mam of 4

368100 wrote: »

Ah no...all in for chip sambo now! As well as crisps...but only salt and vinegar, I know thats controversial :-)

Salt and vinegar crisp sandwiches are the best !
I've been trying to convert people to them for years but no joy
Ah well, they don't know what they're missing

firstlight

Box set of only fools and horses and a tray of beer with all the anthracite that is supposedly your Xmas dinner,can't wait! All the rags I get aswell!

rom

Leaving Ireland a day or two after the 25th for 10 days of Sun. Every year without fail.

DoctorEdgeWild

Coming back to Ireland and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my brother in our family home is my favourite part (excluding seeing family as a whole!)

the_syco

Hanging up the lights. I'd hang them off various trees & bushes, and take pride in them brightening up the front or back of the house.