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Silly Christmas Traditions

Lust4Life

I was having a conversation with my friend Eric the other day, discussing Christmas and things you can count on families / family members do every single year.

For me, it would be consuming large quantities of Eggnog on Christmas Day.
Oh how I adore Eggnog!

For my friend Eric, it has been tradition since he was like 14 to rearrange his Mother's Nativity Set so that the 3 wisemen are all in a comprimising position when she is not looking.

So what silly traditions do you / your family members do each year at Christmas that complete the whole experience for you?

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Hagar

That sounds like a good Christmas. I wish you many, many more of them. I missed one Christmas with my family. It's yours if you need it.

DublinWriter

Sleepy wrote:

Reading on the couch, stuffed as the turkey was only an hour earlier, sipping on a glass of my sisters West Coast Cooler and knowing the lads would rip the piss if they saw me with a glass of the stuff!

...especially if they knew that West Coast Cooler is basically Babycham rebranded. It's the same stuff. Honestly. You girl. You big girl. You big girl who's just got a Cindy Beach-House from Santy and needs a glass of Babycham to calm down.

smallpaws

We always have these half delightful, half excruciating family gatherings on Xm as Eve, where we all eat huge, I mean huge, amounts of shrimp, lobster,lobster stew, stuffed lobster, scallops, crab dip and sometimes a little steak (my family is from an island off the coast of Maine) along with every rich , gooey dessert the granny, mum and aging aunt brigade can create.
What's delightful about these things is seeing my uncle perpetually telling the coolest jokes and trying not to laugh food out my nose (While the teenaged members of the family try not to look conspicuous as they listen in), seeing my elderly relatives, and spending time talking with my brothers, it is rare to have them in the same room at the same time; what's excruciating is imagining the amount of work I'll have to do in the gym later to burn off the five trillion calories I consumed while listening to my uncle and shooting the breeze with my brothers. The rest of the excruciating bit is going home after and 'helping' my parents assemble gifts for the grandkids, all ten of the gadget-wanting little bastards. "Oh, sure, YOU' RE really handy with these things, let's ask you..." so I end up putting together bikes, play kitchens and anything else with way too many parts and then wrapping them afterwards. I hate that ****.

What may be potentially excruciating this year is watching my very beloved grandmother sit through all the dinner and such on Xmas Eve with her new Alzheimer's diagnosis--I worry that it may be over stimulating for her and that some of the younger greatgrandkids don't understand why she sometimes asks the same questions over and over, calls them by the wrong name then the right one a few seconds later, or why she looks lost sometimes and doesn't seem to know what's going on. Some of the members of my family are...economical in their feelings and respect for others at best, and seeing an adult snicker and laugh and then their small child join them when she does something AD related is not too fcuking funny, in my book. When she was well, there was nothing she wouldn't do for her family and now that she is unwell, some members think nothing of making a joke of her when she needs them to be understanding. They owe her better.
I think they should be ashamed.

My, what a depressing post this turned into.
lol!
Merry Christmas everyone!

CathyMoran

smallpaws wrote:

My, what a depressing post this turned into.
lol!
Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope that you enjoy your time with your grandmother - mine was depressing, being 32 and having oesophageal cancer with an 8% survival rate and having an operation in February which has a 20-40% chance of killing me is sad, I want to live, sorry, just had to tell my brother today about the risk of dying as a result of the operation and a bit upset over that. Sorry, having a bad day.

CathyMoran

Sorry for the depressing earlier post, I just ocassionally find it hard to deal with my cancer, normally I am fine, I just really do not want to die as I have so much to live for.

Back on topic - watching Dr Who.

smallpaws

Our movie traditions include watching A Christmas Story ( "you'll shoot your eye out") and watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Every year, watching Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie pump raw sewage from his tincan Winnebago into the storm drain on Clark's street in his longjohns, while waving a cheery greeting to Chevy Chase," 'Morning, Clark! shltter was full!" puts me in the holiday spirit.

smallpaws

CathyMoran wrote:

I hope that you enjoy your time with your grandmother - mine was depressing, being 32 and having oesophageal cancer with an 8% survival rate and having an operation in February which has a 20-40% chance of killing me is sad, I want to live, sorry, just had to tell my brother today about the risk of dying as a result of the operation and a bit upset over that. Sorry, having a bad day.

Don't worry about it, everyone's entitled to a bad day from time to time, especially when life treats them unfairly.
Cancer is the suckiest, as you know. But cancer can be gotten rid of, and you know that, too. Hang in and let the sad days pass, there's more good days to come.

I like Dr Who! We have been getting it over here for a while now, though we are ( I think) a year behind you.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Charades.

At some point, someone will always suggest, with a surprising attempt at originality, playing charades.

**** charades. Sharades is a horribly **** unimaginative game that should be banned. I make this point EVERY year and EVERY year, people look surprised and point out that it's not like me to be moody....

I can practically recite the conversation verbatim at this stage....

Mr Magnolia

I love watching comedy dvd's, last year it was Tommy Tiernan, I nearly p!ssed myself laughing.

Best of luck Cathy, myself and the missus will be thinking about ye.

ninebeanrows

Yes Cathy it's really sad and unfair what you have to go through..

But we all know your going to pull through:)

tk123

CathyMoran wrote:

Sorry for the depressing earlier post, I just ocassionally find it hard to deal with my cancer, normally I am fine, I just really do not want to die as I have so much to live for.

Back on topic - watching Dr Who.

FYIs - when you have the op and get discharged - make sure you tell everybody. My nana had the same type of cancer around christmas a few years back(shes grand now) and got discharged early. One evening my mum and aunt went to visit her to find an empty bed and all her stuff gone and hysterics followed!:D - its funny now!
Back on topic - it wouldn't be xmas without Indiana Jones!!!

Fraggle Rocks

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Charades.

At some point, someone will always suggest, with a surprising attempt at originality, playing charades.

**** charades. Sharades is a horribly **** unimaginative game that should be banned. I make this point EVERY year and EVERY year, people look surprised and point out that it's not like me to be moody....

I can practically recite the conversation verbatim at this stage....

Play The Game

savage when you're hammered

thelordofcheese

By the looks of it, i'll be bringing a nintendo Wii into the house for christmas. Quite how the energetic antics of playing Wii Sports and a belly full of christmas dinner will go together, is anyones guess.

Lust4Life

Cathy, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
My Mother had the same type of Cancer. The best advice I can give is to take it slow and stay as stress-free as possible. (Hard I know, given the season).
Wishing you the best!

Hugs!

Lusty

netwhizkid

Generally me and my family go on a walk about three hours after the Christmas dinner to help the stomach digest those calories. Traditionally we always go to my Aunts house on St. Stephans day and one year I came up with the idea that I sellotape two euro coins to the glass of the door for the Wren boys as I had done (with chocolate bars and taytos) the same Halloween being away for it too.

However this time with it being money, I bought around the Mini-Security Camera and rigged it up so it recorded when someone came along, (obviously the little tardo never saw it or thought it wasn't working) Sure enough the little F*cker went and helped himself to all the taped change about €15 worth I knew him and told his mother (giving her the tape) and I reckon he got one heck of a lecture.

(I put a sign please take €3 each and some crisps and bars etc.) He gave me the finger the next day he saw me, however getting him into trouble was worth the bit of change (which instead of taking from his mother told her give it to saint vincent de paul). It was a stupid idea in hindsight but the trick or treaters were happy to oblige. Firing off shots on Christmas day in an attempt to kill some creature is another one too.

Kilkenny

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Charades.

At some point, someone will always suggest, with a surprising attempt at originality, playing charades.

**** charades. Sharades is a horribly **** unimaginative game that should be banned. I make this point EVERY year and EVERY year, people look surprised and point out that it's not like me to be moody....

I can practically recite the conversation verbatim at this stage....

A gang of us who usually go on the p*ss Stephens Day also have the tradition of playing charades when we get back in from pub / club ... however, the basic rule is to make the clues as obscene as possible (while still functioning as clues), regardless of what the film etc. is actually about! Works great when you're plastered!

Try that at home ... either your clan will get into it and you'll have a great laugh ... or no-one will ever EVER suggest charades again!

Kilkenny

julep wrote:

then there is no way you could be jesus.
i could make you look a bit more like him if you're willing to undergo a circumcision.

Now that's the true Christmas spirit of generosity and giving ...

Sam_irl

I love Christmas time with family.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Drinking your self into a mess on christmas eve is the best tradition ever!!!

stovelid

My mum making us all get up early to open presents (her kids range from 24-35 years old) and her pretending that (a) she can't see my hand shaking as I drink my coffee (b) pretending that she didn't hear me coming in a few hours previously..

Also my selection box. Still get it every year.

rugbug86 wrote:

go to america the day after for the sales!!

ehm, waking up, opening presents, having brekkie, uncle coming down and eating spiced beef, neighbours coming in, dinner, die of over consumption.

thats pretty much my christmas (missing a few details!)

but for me, christmas starts on christmas eve, when me and my mam throw everyone else out and prep all the food and stuff for the next day, then wrap the presents and then have the first christmas drink. its lovely!

Unpossible

Me and the siblings swap presents on christmas eve and we open one of the keeping the others for the next day. My parents seem to have accepted my aetheist ways and generally dont bother me when they go off to mid-night mass (although this year may be different as my gf will be there and she has never seen a real Irish/western christmas and has never been inside a church).
The next day we get up sometime between 8 and 10, my parents love this because a few years ago my sister was still young enough to get excited and would get up at 6am, we will then open most presents. Our presents are a bit unique too, my mum & dad have made up the tradition that we get a bag full of stuff, none of it is expensive all small things, its just that seeing a big bag of stuff looks impressive

, my mum also insists on filling stockings full of sweets & smaller things too.
My family will go for the christmas day swim, I usually dont go because I will be returning to -20 degree weather in january and it is hell trying to shake off a cold in that weather (no snowboarding), but again the g/f being there will probably mean that I have to go so she gets to see it.
then christmas dinner, the first christmas without my grandfather so I guess my grandmother will join us, I dont know how many other relatives will join us, maybe 2-3 more. Big dinner with wine and many desserts, wont eat too much chocolate but plenty of triffle.
After we will watch a moive or if my sister/brothers get an interesting PS2 game we will have that on the main TV downstairs (until everyone gets fed up with it). then left overs for supper, maybe relatives will call over for a while and will probably play some air hockey.
Throughout the whole holiday I will have to answer questions about my college course, about finland, the weather in finland, to describe santas village in lapland, and asked questions about the various countries I visit every year. This year though my girlfriend will get most of the grilling as most of my family would not have had the chance to make friends with a chinese person before (a chinese born one I mean, as my cousins partner is 1/2 chinese but has never been there).

5starpool

bah humbug. At least it's a few days off work.

Ah no, it's not too bad, but 'tradition' means 'repitition' really, and xmas has been the same for years at my place.

xmas eve - go to mass despite my parents knowing I don't go to mass, but still saying "it won't kill you this once".
xmas day - get up, house quiet. Have beer. Have Dinner. Have beer. House noisy with nieces and nephews. Have beer. House quiet. Have beer. Go to one of brothers or sisters houses. Have beer. Sit and try to not be bored while they try and watch the 86 million soaps on xmas day'. Have beer. Go home. Go to bed.

Stephens day - Try to think of excuse to come back to Dublin, but stay there and have turkey leftovers. Go out that night.

27th - Come back to Dublin.

As I say, I like to complain, but that's only cause I have nothing real to complain about thankfully.

I don't know you Cathy, but I really hope you have a good xmas and that it is your last one til next year only, and you 54th last in total (at least). You sound like a brave and remarkable woman from what little I know of you from reading your various posts hereabouts.

Unpossible

I would also like to wish Cathy a speedy recovery. It must be very hard for you but try to keep strong, and try to have a good christmas so you can look back on it with good memories.

xzanti

I always help my dad make the turkey stuffing.. Always have since I was a kid.. even though I have my own place now, I still go home to my folks for Xmas Eve and day...

Froot

Before pighead gets there, bah humbug