Dirt Digger In our family, it's putting up the Christmas decorations and lights outside the day after Thanksgiving...it definitely puts me in the Christmas spirit! Uh oh...it's the day after Thanksgiving, better get to work!

greengirl Yes, we love A Christmas Story. When he gets his tongue stuck, hahahaha! LOL x100

But also every year I buy a new ornament with the year on it. It can cost $1.00 or much more. But usually it represents something of the culture from that year. I now have 33 years worth for each year of marriage. Each 1 hung brings an entire year of memory.

wolfga We have a big family and draw names for a Gift of Love. There is a $25 limit and the gift has to be something you make or a gift of time. People get VERY creative. It is what I look forward to most.

Lanie Brown I married into a family which celebrates a "tacky bow" tradition. About this time each year we start trying to remember who got the tacky bow last year and hoping that family member can find it to bestow upon some other lucky family member this year. We think Dad has it...

Karin Carlson I listen to Amahl and the Night Visitors. When I and my older sister were little, we memorized the whole opera, and there was a reduced (piano) score in the record jacket so we could follow along. We sang all the parts. We both still listen to it every year, although we are 3,000 miles apart in two separate countries. It still makes me cry. I am a professional musician now, and wonder if this tradition didn't play a small part. My husband is also a musician, although he doesn't share this particular tradition with me. Last year he incredulously asked me, "Is that... Opera!?" Now I wear headphones.

olldbobbi As my kids were growing, every year I bought each of them a Hallmark ornament that was special to their interests for that year. We kept them in the boxes, and when they moved out and got their own Christmas tree I gave the ornaments to them. This way, they never started out with an empty tree.

pds290 My family sets aside a night to read "A Child's Christmas in Wales" aloud in front of the fire. It started decades ago when an actor friend was doing it in an acting class and my mom invited him home to read it aloud to us. No we all take turns reading, and often we come with new readings to share, but "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is still the centerpiece of the evening.

moonstone1481 Moonstone-1481
Our Christmas tradition is quite unique I think. My husband and I started it when our son was a year old. On Christmas Eve afternoon I would string small carrot and apple pieces with lengths of chives so they would hang like Christmas ornaments. I placed them in a basket along with seeds and nuts, bundle our son in warm clothing, load all in the seigh and we would set off for the forest, dog in tow. After finding the perfect tree we would decorate it, scatter the nuts, then stand back and mavel at our beautiful Deer Tree. As time went on we found a favorite tree in a field at the edge of the woods that could be viewed from an elderly ladies home. She would wait patiently for the animals...deer, squirrels, birds and was never disappointed. Our son will arrive home from university soon and our tradition will continue.

1956gritsgal Every year on Christmas eve we all gather in a car, large one now, and drive around to see the Christmas lights. We have done this when children were small and now with grand children. I've also bought a new theme ornament every year

JAN MOYER Years and years ago I started a tradition of stockings on Xmas eve. The reason was it was a fun/decorative thing to hang off the back of everyones chair at dinner, and everyone was well past "Santa age" . Well.....it continued, and is the most fun part of xmas. I load them to the exploding point, funny stuff, great gift certificates, every kind of small thing you can imagine. I can't imagine what would happen if I stopped, there might be a riot..... it would be awful!
Last year, I did one more really fun thing. I wanted to send my sisters home with something extra special ( $$$$$$) during tough times. I didn't want it in the stockings, and I didn't want them to open before xmas morning. I went to the hardware store, and bought inexpensive old fashioned black mailboxes. The kind you can mount on the wall, with the opening flap on top. I wrapped the $$$$ in a pretty little box, and tucked inside. THEN, I locked it with good old combination locks, and kept the combinations here, to be e-mailed from Santa on xmas morning. The entire thing, mailbox and all was wrapped like a regular present, with a tag "Do not open until"...and of COURSE they went home, and opened the present and COULD NOT GET IN TO THE CONTENTS!! hahahhaha the emails kept flying back and forth..... I never had more fun in my Xmas eve. " See? Santa KNEW you would not follow instructions!" Yes.... email on Xmas morning was fun too,with the combinations to the lock and tearful screams of delight!

pursue Setting up the tole painted santas collected at craft fairs in the 80's.

Casart Coverings When my girls were too grown up to play with the tea set, I incorporated it into a vignette under the tree. It became a favorite of young visitors and the cat. Does she recognize those stuffed animals as cats?

olldbobbi Jan Moyer, I love your stocking tradition!

cyvonne Growing up celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve was foreign to my friends and neighbours. But it was my parents tradition and so it carried on. We would decorate the tree on the 23rd, known as 'little Christmas", and would enjoy some Gluk and deserts. The turkey was stuffed with prunes and apples (best gravy ever). Who ever found the almond in the desert received the first gift (I think who ever made the desert was certain where the almond was and knew who was going to get it...I figured that out now that it is also my tradition). After the table was cleared, we would all hold hands encircling the Christmas tree, admiring our own hand made decorations ( I loved the one of the paper Santa with the pull string and his legs would bounce). We would sing our favourite Christmas songs, and as the family grew, there were more songs, and we listened to our parents sing their favourites from their homeland of Denmark. We loved the one where we would dance in one direction, then quickly, go in the opposite direction, we giggled as they sang and we danced. And as the family grew from 7 to many, we always celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents. The grandchildren remember it as the best Christmas. But traditions are just that, it is up to the ones left behind to start their own.

terriermom The movie "White Christmas".....it's just not the holidays unless I get to sing The Sisters' Song! Usually WITH my sister!

lindajjones We too have a tradition of watching White Christmas. On the last Saturday night before Christmas we watch White Christmas and camp out in the living room around the Christmas tree. Sleeping under the Christmas tree in the glow of the tree lights is quite magical.

cyvonne I'm so thankful for technology, I've taped it, bought the vhs, cd, dvd, and pvr'd it. White Christmas is the most watched movie in my household, watched atleast 5 times a year, especially Christmas Eve, while wrapping presents and filling stockings in to the wee hours, it's part of my new tradition.

Bettie Saccardo Two things that always signal Christmas, pulling out our collection of ornaments that we've collected since the boys were born and my vintage 50's aluminum tree. I had one growing up. I never had a real tree until I was 16 or 17. So I love that I found one on eBay and pull it out every year.

janiceandjohn Our Christmas tradition started when my 3 girls were small. We always got the tree and decorated it and everything in the house the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As we led up to Christmas and the girls got more excited, I would occupy them (get them out of my way) by having them work on a "play" that they presented to us on Christmas eve. They were very creative and it was always entertaining.

We would gather around the tree with all the cookies, a punch bowl and traditional Christmas snacks and read the Christmas account from the gospel of Luke. They would present their "play" and then one-by-one, we would open all our gifts. We didn't "do" Santa, so we all could sleep in on Christmas morning without all the wild early morning frenzy of Christmas morning. Usually we would then travel the 20 miles to grandma and grandpa's house and do it again around lunch on Christmas day.

Many years later, the kids are grown and my husband and I divorced and remarried. We now ALL get together at Christmas and celebrate together (usually at a rented beach house) and although it sounds "awkward" it really has been a great "new" tradition that helps us avoid the inevitable conflicts of which family we spend time together with at Christmas!

jinglebelle As you can tell from my username, I'm a BIG Christmas nut! When I was very little, my parents used to wait until I was asleep to decorate the tree, because Santa was supposed to bring the tree, too. They had a long wait, because I was always a night owl and didn't fall asleep till 11 pm or so, LOL! When I was 5 or so, we would all go out together Christmas Eve and get the tree, put it up & decorate it. When I was grown up & working, I started collecting Hallmark, Enesco and other ornaments, and would hang ornaments all over the house - from the bottoms of curtains, across a beam that separates 2 rooms, from lampshades, etc. We always watched "It's a Wonderful Life", "Miracle on 34th Street", "Holiday Inn" and "White Christmas", and all the TV specials, Frosty, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, etc. I took over baking Christmas cookies when my mom went to work, and we always set out a plate of cookies & glass of milk for Santa on Christmas eve as part of our decorations. We'd take a photo, then someone would drink the milk, eat some cookies & leave crumbs on the plate & in the morning we'd take another picture. We also switch our regular china and flatware to our Christmas china and flatware. Every year I get an advent calendar or two & look forward to opening the little windows every day; the last 3 years I have even had electronic ones on my computer from an e-card company! I've scaled back a little on the decorating, but I still love Christmas and think about it all year round!

larryboy47 We have a few traditions: I hang chocolate ornaments on the tree along with all our other decorations; Every Sunday, the kids have to find them, and they can eat ONE, every Sunday prior to Christmas.

We also put out our shoes the eve of Dec. 5th for St. Nikolas; if they have been good, their shoe if filled with goodies, if they have been bad, it is full of coal...

The kids still get chocolate advent calenders as well (they are all in their teens!)

Susan Nowell @ My Place to Yours As a child, my siblings and I always found the biggest red apple we could and, using a cuptowel, took turns "polishing" it before placing it out on the front porch for Rudolph before heading to bed on Christmas Eve. The next morning, not only were Santa's treats gone (pie anc coffee at our house!), but there was an apple core left on the porch. We're now on the third generation of little ones following this tradition -- and it all began with a mall Santa telling my older cousin to "remember to put out an apple for Rudolph."

mrsben A gift from The Elves to those who grace and join us at our table for Christmas Dinner has been a long standing tradition in our home. Young or old receive similar as I choose a general theme. (ie: This year it will be a book.)

Also though our children are all grown up, (additional) Christmas Stockings filled to the brim from Santa are still left at our home for them and each grandchild. Each have their own personalized stocking and all items within are gift-wrapped.

Spencer Kemp Christmas vacation thanks giving night decorating the next day then its a wonderful life christmas eve

einportlandor On the flip side, after several years of finding myself anxious and subtly depressed over the Christmas holiday, I started a new tradition of ditching many long-standing Christmas traditions. First to go -- Christmas cards, followed by baking cookies and hand-made gifts. It didn't take long to eliminate gifts for relatives and friends and elaborate decorations. What a relief! I even stopped getting a Christmas tree for a few years after I moved into a tiny house that wasn't built with a tree in mind. The more I eliminated the more relaxed I became and the more fun my little family had. My motto became "no rules." and it's so liberating!

Bah humbug? Not really. Instead of time-consuming and expensive chores, I now focus on people and experiences. Close-by friends and I meet for a celebratory lunches or dinners in a cozy restaurants. I share the gift of time with lengthy phone calls to my far-away friends and family. Typically on Christmas Eve my young adult children come home and we go downtown and look at the the holiday decorations -- but if the weather is lousy we skip it. On Christmas day we exchange SMALL gifts, then pop open a bottle of champagne and cook a wonderful Christmas dinner -- something different every year. We've done chili and cornbread, an Italian feast and paella. One year my daughter couldn't get home due to road conditions so we just moved the event back a few days and carried on. The important thing is to be together and for everyone to enjoy themselves.

This year, for the first time, one of my kids won't be here for Christmas (she's overseas). It will be different and probably hard on my heart. But I'm sure we'll Skype and laugh and toast each other, and look forward to the next time we're all together, sharing a meal and a bottle of wine. Nothing else matters.

Happy holidays, Houzzers! Don't forget to enjoy yourself.

MamaBug We have several traditons, but the one I think is most meaningful is the gift of nutcrackers for each of our boys on the first Sunday of Advent. Over the years, they have received both German and "imported" nutcrackers...can trace the economic history of braces for teeth, shoes for ever-growing feet, and various casts for broken bones through the vintage and provenance of the nutcrackers!

leanneaustin Since we became parents, we take a family portrait in front of the Christmas tree that we have decorated. These photos have been turned into porcelain Christmas decorations that we place each year on the tree along with a new decoration that our children have made and something that highlights the year just had. The kids love seeing how they looked as babies for their first Christmas etc and I love the memories that come flooding back with every ornament I place.

nanaval After Christmas Eve. Candle Light Service; we come home for a family fondue and open gifts. That way the children can sleep in a bit and open the stockings anytime they wish. It also leaves time to invite other families to join us for brunch who don't have family close by.

clemenza2 Last year I read -- I think in Country Living -- about a tradition of sawing off the bottom slice of your Christmas tree and writing on it the year and something special that had happened in that year. Then you attached a screw hook and turned it into an ornament. The idea was to collect several years of tree slices, a kind of family history. Too late for me (married 34 years already) but my son and his fiancé started their own collection. This will be their second Christmas carrying out this tradition but they were recently flooded out during Sandy and are living with us. I have told them that they can use the bottom of my tree this year -- they will be married in February and by next year they will be continuing this tradition in their own home. As their collection gets larger it will probably be moved to a huge glass jar -- it would be hard to hang so many heavy pieces of wood on the Christmas tree. My hope of course is that they eventually collect 50 or more slices. Merry Christmas, everyone......

tcufrog My family has some special Christmas Eve traditions. During the afternoon we make cookies for Santa and ourselves. After dinner (usually something simple like soup or tacos) we put out water and carrots for the reindeer by the front door and milk and cookies in special matching plate and cup for Santa.

After that the boys are allowed to open two gifts, new Christmas pjs and a new book for each. My husband and I inscribe each book with a message and the year. The boys change into their pjs and as a special bedtime treat they get to have hot chocolate and cookies in front of the fireplace or Christmas tree while we read to them from their new books.

On Christmas morning the boys help make sausage rolls for breakfast. While the rolls are cooking they get to open their stockings.

maryhoward When the whole family is together Christmas day we sing The 12 Days of Christmas with my folks always singing "and a partridge in a pear tree".

JAN MOYER maryhoward,
My Dad used to make us sing that in the car on the way home from my Grandmothers house on Xmas Eve! : )

tnjrapp When I was growing up my sisters and I always got a present from Mrs. Claus left in our bedrooms. We were able to unwrap that present first without asking! It was usually some pjs or clothing. I loved the tradition and Mrs. Claus still delivers to my college-age kids.

freyaw My favourite family Christmas tradition is that the first meal of the day is lunch. We're not morning people (understatement of the century!) and my parents saw no reason why they should be got up early to open presents with the kids, because it would be pleasant for no one. So presents are opened after lunch, and everyone does whatever they want to until Dad serves lunch (which these days means Mum goes to church, my partner and I do breakfast with friends, and everyone sleeps in because they can, for once).

donnaadams I live in Australia and our Christmases are quite different from the northern ones. In our family, the little ones open their presents, and then it's a trip to the beach for an early morning surf. The older women stay at home to check on the ham and turkey, and everyone else either surfs, swims, or look after the little ones at the beach. After that it's back home for a huge lunch, with lots of seafood as well as the traditional food. We take turns hosting the day, but a pool is always a necessity. There are always lots of games in the pool, along with water guns!

lisawhitsitt For our family, Christmas Eve is full of traditions. After a lovely family dinner we gather to read the Christmas Story from the New Testament in Luke. Sometimes, the children dress up as Mary, Joseph, a sheep or donkey, a shepherd or the wise men and we re-enact the first Christmas of long ago. We like to focus on the birth of Jesus Christ - the reason for the season. Some years we have the children put the Nativity set figures in place as we read the story and sing Christmas carols. We also play Christmas carols on a set of homemade pipe chimes. It is lots of fun and gets everyone involved as each chime is a different note. Some years we have gone caroling in the neighbourhood and dropped off homemade baking. On the third Saturday in December we help to serve food at a local soup kitchen and then hand out donated mitts, socks, hats and scarves. Christmas is a magical time of year full of love and goodwill towards all.

loreelfarrar And a Hanukkah tradition... every year, we'd read "Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins" aloud every night for the 8 nights of Hanukkah. It is a silly, witty, adventurous story, with many characters that lend themselves to different voices and impersonations. Even when the kids were in High School, we would read aloud this children's picture book. When each child was a freshman in college, they received a copy of their own so that they can read it to their roommates. We all know that on the first night of Hanukkah, each one of us is reading the book, in whatever dorm or home or tiny first apartment we are living in.

kimmasterbath We have several traditions, but the one I think my family will pass on to their own kids someday isn't one that we always do every year. We pick a family that has had a hard year and may need some cheering up. Then we visit their doorstep every night with a small "gift" that fits the 12 Days of Christmas. We usually begin this 12 days before Christmas because we find it lifts their spirits better. The gifts are not the exact ones from the song but play on the theme and fit the family. For instance, one family had a scientist, so we made a "Pear-Tree" from 7 "Pe-tri" dishes glued to cardboard and drew a partridge (labeled bacteria maker) on the top. By the fourth day the "Receiving Family' can't wait for morning to see what was left. My family has a great time being both sneaky and coming up with ideas, and looking back, these are the most memorable Christmases. However, we have never made it 12 days before someone has figured us out!

Lucy Goosie Lots of fun family traditions here - I might have to borrow a few!

I married into a Chilean family. In Chile, Christmas is mainly celebrated on Christmas Eve night. Since most of my husband's 5 siblings married American "gringos", we've tweaked this tradition to make it fit both cultures - but it's still mostly Chilean!

We get together around 6 o'clock, have a huge Christmas dinner with the turkey, mashed potatoes, and many Chilean side dishes - everyone brings something. After dinner we sing carols, play games as a group, do a White Elephant gift game, then tear into presents around 10:00 pm. In Chile, kids don't get to open their presents until midnight, but we Americans seem to have less energy than our fun Chilean counterparts, so we made it 10 pm instead - much to my mother-in-law's chagrin.

The neat thing about celebrating with extended family on Christmas eve is that we can enjoy Christmas day with our own little families - so everyone's happy.

cdbh The Christmas Lights Game is a long standing tradition in our family that started when the kids were young. When we leave a destination each person in the car takes a guess of how many Christmas lights they think that we will pass on our way to our destination. Our only rules are that you cant change your answer (of course) and it the lights only count if we pass them directly--seeing them down the road doesnt count. Early on the game was intended to keep the kids occupied on the road during the many, many hours of traveling during the season, now that the kids are older teens the competition is on!

frenchdecor There are many heart warming family traditions shared, but not many good deeds traditions, as to visit lonely older people, or help those who in need. I saw on TV some parents take their children to hospitals to visit sick kids and give them presents, something like in old times, as in "little women", kind and helpful. There still time to do things that really reflect true meaning of Holy Day, Christmas, not just party-decoration-shopping commercialized craze.

Mackenzie Austin Design Matching pyjamas for the kids...AND all of the adults! It's so much fun that we hang out in them all Christmas Day!
We also have our traditional meal on Christmas Eve, so Christmas Day is just about relaxing and enjoying each other, playing with our "toys".

lindseyakin We get ornaments at the national and state park sites or major locations that we visit through the year, so when we pull out the tree decorations we get to reminisce about great past trips. The tree goes up on December 1st, my hubby always wears a particular flannel plaid shirt that was a favorite of his late uncle.

As a kid, on Christmas Eve my sister and I would watch Mary Poppins while making signs to indicate where Santa should leave each persons gifts so they wouldn't get mixed up, and then we'd always have new nightie/pj's for that night. Stockings were in our bedrooms and we'd look through them in mam and dads room before dad would go downstairs to check Santa had gone, then we were allowed downstairs. We left out a mince pie and glass of whisky for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph.

This year I'm going to be 35 weeks pregnant exactly on Christmas Day with our first, so we're starting to think about what traditions we want to do with her. There are some lovely ideas here. Some on our list so far are having her put together a box of toys she has grown out of so that we can take them and donate to others, getting her a new ornament each year so she has a collection once she moves out, watching certain movies, and making a gingerbread house.

Stevie The True meaning of the Season, to celebrate the birth of our Savior and singing praises at the Christmas Eve Service. JOY! Of course there is the Biscotti pile up...

redproject We send a Christmas to card to someone picked at random from the phone book. An explanation is included with a brief description of our family and wishes for a wonderful Christmas. We don't always get a reply, but one memorable year, our card reached a special family who had lost their Father just a few months before. The wife and 5 children were tickled pink they were chosen and wrote us a lovely heartfelt letter and card in return. They said they would take up the tradition too. We always include our pets names with a little illustration on the card, kids seem to love that.

patclark I gave my grandchildren Elf on a Shelf years ago. Last year my daughter had elf being a bit naughty. He was found covered in flour, drawing horns on family pictures etc. The kids loved it.

jobisbee Back in the 50's on St. Matthew's Catholic School playground I stuck my tongue on the swing set's pole. It's Wisconsin, of course my tongue stuck. I FREAKED, even at the age of 6, I knew it was only going to get worse. I lost a tiny piece of my tongue that day and gained a world of experience. I love The Christmas Story.
PS: My mother would have let that lamp stay in the house for about 5 minutes. Long enough for me and my 6 siblings and Dad to laugh until our stomachs hurt!

brocante66 Our family, who is half German, half American, gets to celebrate Christmas twice so to say. We get to take the best of both cultures! German Christmas is also celebrated on Christmas eve.. In contrary to Santa Claus- the Christkind (Christ child) is bringing the gifts.The tree usually won't get put up until the morning of the 24th, but this is where we adjusted to the American tradition of putting it up after Thanksgiving and I love it, because we get to look at our tree much longer! After church we would come home, sit down to an easily prepared dinner of smoked salmon with toast and horseradish sauce and a nice bottle of champagne and then send the kids to the room while we would light the tree and arrange the gifts under it. Then a little bell would ring and the Christkind had come. The kids would come into the room with big eyes and find all the gifts and peek out of the window to see if they could see the Christkind fly away.They get to play with their toys until they fall asleep under the tree and then the next morning it is Christmas again!
And of course watching National Lampoon's Christmas vacation with the Griswolds is a must!

Vel Criste We always have a Nativity scene in our home - I think it's important to remind the kids that Christmas is truly all about the birth of Jesus. This year was made extra special with the Nativity set given by my mother all the way from the Philippines!

Virginia C We always have a bird and a bird's nest in our Christmas tree (for good luck!) We always go to Christmas Eve services, and I always put up my antique cardboard nativity scene. For one of their presents, everyone gets socks!

Barnhart Gallery So many traditions; I'll share three:

We give our son a budget to shop for children and teens in the foster care system (foster parents don't always have a lot to spend and some kids are institutionalized.) We pay close attention to his choices and interests, then visit the same store/s later knowing what our own son might like -- win/win!

Through my artwork, photography and graphic design, I've created our Holiday greeting card for probably about 20 years now. I think it started the year my mom died, and I found myself painting her portrait as an angel, surrounded by all of the family pets that had passed over the years. I think I may have a couple of my more recent designs up on Cafepress...here they are, plus a few of my oddballs that also came up in the search:
http://www.cafepress.com/+barnhartgallery-christmas+greeting_cards
My favorite is the photo of the angel under a fire escape, which I took out the passenger window of my car with an outstretched right hand while driving with the left -- I'm blowing that one up huge onto aluminum or acrylic to add a meaningful, modern edge to my traditional decor.

Lastly, my mom being the original Martha Stewart and exhausted by Christmas Eve (and with still some work ahead that evening -- shhh!) we would always order Chinese food that night, celebrate my dad's 12/25 bday, and open one gift early. And for me, it's not Christmas morning without cold leftover pu pu platter!

Happy holidays, houzzers, you are a pleasant bunch of kindred spirits. Cheers!

sarahsloan I bought the leg lamp as a joke for my teen-age son years ago. The joke was on me. Every year I come home to find the lamp displayed in the center of our front window in an homage to "the old man"! It makes me smile every time--I love that movie!

Becky Harris Sarah, that is hilarious!

I am so enjoying reading everyone's holiday traditions here. Thank you for sharing!

prospera Actually, I had already decided to reward myself with a leg lamp, once I satisfactorily complete the BHSOO (Becky Harris School of Sane Online Organization). I saw A Christmas Story by complete accident with my best friend and her kids when it was an unsuccessful sleeper on it's first run in the theaters. It is one of the few movies that I can watch repeatedly and not still keep laughing. I have a Christmas tradition if watching it as I prepare the Christmas dinner.

My dad always bought butter mints, mixed nuts, and olives (black and green) me set them out just before the Christmas meal. The "item of the day" when they were married during WWII were sliver comports. They received four (which my dad used to joke predicted the number of children they had). He would pull them out at Christmas JS fill them with the butter mints, nuts, and olives (in glass dishes). I only have one silver comport (each child inherited one), but I use that one for the butter mints, my favorite of the bunch.

Some restaurants have the butter mints wrapped and one doesn't realize what kind they are until one opens them up. They are then a reminder of Christmas past and a memory of my beloved dad.

Becky Harris Prospera, my very own acronym? I'm so flattered! A Christmas Story makes me laugh every time too, and I always think of my dad laughing his head off when the pack of wild dogs comes in and eats their Christmas dinner.