----------CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS----------

Do you have any Christmas-time traditions?

Yes!	69.0%	[ 20 ]
No!	10.3%	[ 3 ]
I'm not sure...	20.7%	[ 6 ]
Total Votes:			[ 29 ]

[HokeyPokeyBS]

Pisty

HokeyPokeyBS

Starting out on my own.

Decided putting up decorations right after Thanksgiving is my first tradition.

I hope there's nothing negative behind that (not prying, just a statement :3 )

Because when you're starting up under regular circumstances, it can be really great coming up with your own traditions and relaxing, knowing you don't really have to stick to anyone else's anymore!

(Unfortunately for me, this year other people are trying to start THEIR own which involve me. xD So I either have to pick someone or sound selfish to them all. Or do a Vicar of Dibley and eat like three Christmas dinners. .________________.;; )

Decorating straight after Thanksgiving is a good one, joins things up and makes it last that bit longer. B) I'm all for that!

nothing negative. just moved away/out for a job. so i'm on my own.

i kind of wish i had someone to do some stuff with.. like go ice skating. that is one tradition i could get behind. i guess i'll have to ask friends until i find someone who can actually skate.

Christmas decorating is the best. biggrin

[AngelBiscuits]

We do have a few traditions. When I was younger we would always go to my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve where we would have strawberry milk and chocolate cookies and unwrap one gift, which was usually pajamas and a book before we went to bed.
Now that my brother and sister and I are older (16, 20 and 24), and we have three more younger brothers (2, 6 and 7) we stay at our mom's house, we all still get pajamas on Christmas eve, but now the little ones get movies and snacks, and when they're sleeping my brother and sister and I help my mom put their stockings together. She does ours after we've gone to bed, she still likes to do that for us.
I don't know why we do it, but it's a fun way to spend Christmas eve. In cozy new pajamas with a book or movie.

The girls always make Christmas dinner as well, I won't be able to this year, but my sister is turning 16 and is taking my place this time. I don't know why we do it this way, but I think it's just because the guys are a pain in the a** when they're in the kitchen with us.

My husband and I are staying at our apartment for Christmas this year since he can't get enough time off work to get home. We're okay with that since it's our first Christmas together as a married couple. I'm crocheting our stockings and we've decided that we're going to each take 50$ and go about picking up stuff to put in each others' stockings. We're hoping it becomes a tradition since we think it would be fun to do every year.

[Notorious Sailor Uranus]

Every year after Thanksgiving our neighborhood decorates their front yards and houses with Christmas decorations. The three houses that win get gift cards and some money depending on the first, second and third winners. I love seeing all of the houses decorated and the colored lights lined on the sidewalks and driveways.

My mom and I drive around, during Christmas time listening to Christmas only radio station, looking at the houses with their lights all light up. We have a few of our favorites that we go to every year. There's this one house that every year has a mirror with a light up thing that tells you if you've been naughty or nice. It has all of these favorite animated movie props that move around animatronic like.

[Pisty]

HokeyPokeyBS

nothing negative. just moved away/out for a job. so i'm on my own.

i kind of wish i had someone to do some stuff with.. like go ice skating. that is one tradition i could get behind. i guess i'll have to ask friends until i find someone who can actually skate.

Christmas decorating is the best. biggrin

Yeah, ice skating would be a good one. I'd love to do that. there isn't anywhere here that does that though. But hopefully, you'll soon find someone you can actually skate with properly. That would be good. ^_^

[Pisty]

AngelBiscuits

We do have a few traditions. When I was younger we would always go to my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve where we would have strawberry milk and chocolate cookies and unwrap one gift, which was usually pajamas and a book before we went to bed.
Now that my brother and sister and I are older (16, 20 and 24), and we have three more younger brothers (2, 6 and 7) we stay at our mom's house, we all still get pajamas on Christmas eve, but now the little ones get movies and snacks, and when they're sleeping my brother and sister and I help my mom put their stockings together. She does ours after we've gone to bed, she still likes to do that for us.
I don't know why we do it, but it's a fun way to spend Christmas eve. In cozy new pajamas with a book or movie.

The girls always make Christmas dinner as well, I won't be able to this year, but my sister is turning 16 and is taking my place this time. I don't know why we do it this way, but I think it's just because the guys are a pain in the a** when they're in the kitchen with us.

My husband and I are staying at our apartment for Christmas this year since he can't get enough time off work to get home. We're okay with that since it's our first Christmas together as a married couple. I'm crocheting our stockings and we've decided that we're going to each take 50$ and go about picking up stuff to put in each others' stockings. We're hoping it becomes a tradition since we think it would be fun to do every year.

Aw, it's lovely that your mom does that. :3 <3
And your pj/movie/book ritual sounds really cosy, I love that.
I always wanted to be a PJs on Christmas Eve kind of person, but it never worked out that way. xD
(Ended up as an "Oh my God where has the night gone, it's midnight and I still have presents to wrap" kind of person. >_______>; )

Stocking picking also sounds fun, and a potentially perfect tradition.
I really hope that sticks for you. ^__^

[Pisty]

Notorious Sailor Uranus

Every year after Thanksgiving our neighborhood decorates their front yards and houses with Christmas decorations. The three houses that win get gift cards and some money depending on the first, second and third winners. I love seeing all of the houses decorated and the colored lights lined on the sidewalks and driveways.

My mom and I drive around, during Christmas time listening to Christmas only radio station, looking at the houses with their lights all light up. We have a few of our favorites that we go to every year. There's this one house that every year has a mirror with a light up thing that tells you if you've been naughty or nice. It has all of these favorite animated movie props that move around animatronic like.

O: Oh my god that's awesome! X3

No-one really goes out like that round here, I'd love to see those houses!

Do you do your house up? ^_^

[purplexeyed]

---What is your 'run up to the day' plan?
First weekend in December, go down to my aunt's and then drive further south to attend an annual Christmas parade held down in VA.
Second weekend in December is club Christmas party or dad's side of the family Christmas party.
Third weekend is whichever one wasn't the weekend before.
Sometime between all three:
-sugar and chocolate chip cookies will be baked
-the tree will be put up, usually by me because I get sick of watching the incompetence and also sick of the Christmas music
-I break out whichever of my headphones work best for any and all drives because otherwise there's way too much Christmas music holy s**t mom TONE IT DOWN

The day(s) right before involve gathering at my grammom's uncle's now to start prepping the food. Stuffing is mixed together the night before, turkey is stuffed, any other last-minute things involving food are taken care of.

---What specific things do you HAVE to do at this time of year?
-See both sides of the family
-Get presents for family members
-Bake all the cookies
-Put up the godforsaken tree

---Is there something you'd LIKE to do as a tradition, but don't/can't?
-Escape to Hawaii for all of December
-Ban the excessive Christmas music. I don't mind SOME, but my mom wants to start listening to it right after Halloween.
-Get everyone to help bake, make it a family bonding thing. Same with the tree.

---Why do you do the things you do? (Or not do the things you don't do... x3 )
-Bake is because I like to bake and IT'S TRADITION to have sugar/chocolate chip cookies around Christmas
-Tree is also TRADITION
I guess pretty much everything boils down to it being tradition, aside from my hatred of Christmas music XD

[!d!ot Amer!ca]

My mother, brother and I used to make tons of sugar cookies on Christmas Eve.
We'd decorate the ******** out of them, and be giggling little shits all night from all the sugar.

My husband and I just bought our first house, so we're moving in this weekend!
I plan on starting a tradition of "impromptu" parties with our friends, because nobody ever knows their work schedules!
I also plan on starting something with my pups, such as making them chocolate free brownies, or dressing them up as reindeer and using that as my Christmas card every year.
whee

[lottitheunicorn]

Pisty

lottitheunicorn

This year's gonna be the first year I spend Christmas in my own apartment. I'm going to my mom's for Christmas Eve though.

I've already cleaned and decorated everything and I'm getting a tree and hosting a small party for my best friends on the 18th.
And I started listening to Christmas songs, but then I watched Mockingjay and now The Hanging Tree's stuck in my head...

One of my family's Christmas traditions has always been decorating the tree together on the 23rd, but I've still got class then, so I won't participate in that. That's a little sad, but since I've got my own tree it's fine. I'll only see my mom's tree for an evening anyway, I'm not even staying over night.

Is it gonna be just you on Christmas Day? :3

o: Bet your party is gonna be fuuuun. Are you all excited for it Or just kinda relaxed about the whole thing?

Christmas Day is really nothing special here, we exchange gifts and everything on Christmas Eve smile so it doesn't really matter, but I suppose so. I gotta study for exams anyway and finish a research paper sweatdrop

I'm really looking forward to it! It's gonna be a real fancy dinner party...I've only ever hosted one comparable party and that was for my coworkers...so yeah, I'm pretty excited biggrin