Christmas Eve Traditions :-)

I'm in the process of making my own Christmas Eve box for my 2.5 year old and 6 month old, I could of bought one but wanted to put my hand to making it, it's big and sturdy and hopefully will stand the test of time, who knows, maybe in many years, my grandkids might be using it too!!

Christmas Eve is generally spent preparing for the next day - lots of peeling of veg & potatoes, getting the ham ready (though this is the exclusive preserve of my dad!) and doing some last-minute cleaning and shopping. The 'shopping' is usually food items rather than presents (though my dad has been known to dispatch me or my brother to the shops for a last-minute addition to the mother's gift!). Throughout we listen to Joe Duffy's Grafton Street broadcast and then Christmas FM, drink Bailey's coffee and generally have a nice time. In the evening we generally have a quick & easy meal (has often been a takeaway but not always), then it's time to wrap presents! We have a tradition that we wrap them in my parents' room, and the person whose gift it is is prohibited from coming in. So my dad, brother & I will wrap my mam's gift, then my dad will leave and my mam will come to help us wrap my dad's present, then both my brother & I will be kicked out while they wrap our presents. Even though my brother & I are both in our 20s we still get 'Santa' presents, and then a small gift from the parents.

After the present wrapping it's time for showers & then mass, preceded by carol-singing for half an hour in the church. At the mass, the local 'diva' always performs Oh Holy Night, which despite the giggles every time she gets up to perform it year after year is always a lovely performance. Then home to bed (with some picking at the ham first!).

On Christmas morning we always open our stockings first in my parents' room, then go downstairs to the 'Santa' presents - always laid out the same way, in front of the fireplace. Then we exchange the presents wrapped the day before. My mam always insists we sing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus in the crib (a tradition that started when we were small kids, as a way to remind us of the holiday's religious meaning, and which my feelings have swung wildly about over the years - from thinking it massively cringe to kind of sweet). Then a huge breakfast, out to see relatives, back for Christmas dinner, then more relatives arrive for Christmas tea. Overall it's always a really lovely day and I'm excited about this year!

Love reading all your traditions.

It's just me and my other half at home at Christmas.
Christmas Eve I will put the ham on to cook and then prep the veg; chop the carrots and peel and halve the spuds, then in the evening we'll watch Home Alone and I'll cook something quick, like pizza or curry or we might order an Indian takeaway.

I'll have some wine, my other half will have a beer or a few whiskies and we'll have some nibbles; Pringles or nuts or something and we might crack open the tins of sweets.

I really love spending Christmas with him but secretly I always hope someone will visit or we'd be invited to someone's house, just to feel part of a big party or something but that won't happen so we make our own enjoyment and we do enjoy it.

Working in retail myself so I'll be working until 1pm in the day which is not bad and then off for a few days, actually one of the days that's fun in work there's great excitement with everyone rushing in for there last few bits and seeing all the kids excited.

When I finish work then the whole family gathers in my grandparents house about 40 adults and kids ages raging from a few months to late 70s sounds crazy but it's great fun we all do a fun secret Santa have a bite to eat and then head home.

Once home myself & my Mam put all the Christmas bedding on the beds totally cheesy but it's Christmas

Our own immediate family then sit down to watch a Christmas film it's usually always end up being miracle on 34th street & then head to bed to wait for the arrival of the big man himself

Kdylass wrote: »

Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year...Excitement is high from the minute we wake up...We normally spend the day visiting my husbands dads house and my mother - with a trip to our local town in between, just to enjoy the atmosphere.. Then I bring my mother and my children to mass at 6.30. My husband says at home prepping for Christmas dinner. After mass, is the highlight of my Christmas eve - popping open a bottle of Brandy - Oh I love the sound of the pop.. Its the one time of the year that I enjoy a brandy..Then the excitement of putting Santa's food out & getting the kids to bed. I find Christmas day a bit of an anti climax - once Christmas dinner is over, its a bit of a slump

Agree entirely regarding your feelings on Christmas Eve compared to Christmas Day. I love Christmas Dinner but I think once the Santa presents are open the excitement is over for another year.

My christmas Eve has changed over the years, when I was a singleton it would have been a trip down to the local for a few beers with the mates, seeing friends back from abroad & belting out the crimbo songs till midnight, then home for a ham sambo & a mug of tea before bed.

Now being married with young children Christmas Eve will be getting the house ready for our Stephens Day get together (everyone comes to ours that evening for a bit of a party) pop out to get one or two last minute bits in the shops then usually getting a take away for dinner, get the kids bathed & into their new pyjamas (we always take a photo of them then & stick it into a 'special occasion' album we keep for the kids) watch a bit of TV & then get the kids to bed.... myself & herself will then watch a christmas movie (usually 'its a wonderful life' or suchlike) with a drink or two & then once we know the kids are fast asleep sort out the presents for the morning...

Love christmas eve... Christmas day we're always out at relatives & only get back in time to put the kids to bed & relax for a little bit, Stephens Day then we send getting the house prepped for that evening/night & then its all over for another year...

Really looking forward to it this year! Though I say that every year :-)

I've never done it either. I hate packed pubs. Christmas Eve for me is all about pyjamas! I can have a few drinks on the couch if I want and it's much more comfortable.