Hello chemgal.....God bless you.....

special ornaments for the tree....

Christmas turkey...with family......

wreath on the front door....

IJL:bg

We buy a new ornament for the tree every year

Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Going to the Stanley Park Miniature Train and seeing all the lights

Midnight candlelight service on Christmas Eve

Boxing Day shopping!!!

Doing twinkle tours aka driving around looking at Christmas lights. And going to the Enchanted Forest in Saskatoon.  Don't manage it every year, but a lot of them we do.

What is the Enchanted Forest? It sounds.......enchanting!

Greetings!

Some of our traditions are:

• put my tree and decorations up for first Sunday in Advent
• a come and go for friends and family on Christmas Eve day
• Christmas Eve church service at 7
• sometime over the holidays have to watch A Christmas Carol (bah humbug)
• sometime over the holidays have to watch A Christmas Story ("you're gonna shoot your eye out, you're gonna shoot your eye out")
• do a jigsaw puzzle
• eat leftover turkey

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

It's a Christmas light show display set up along a winding route through the Forestry Farm (zoo) with proceeds being shared by the Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation and the Saskatoon Zoo Foundation.  This year is its 10 year anniversary.  Lights pretty.

I like the 7pm service on Christmas eve, and then flaking out with family afterwards.  I like stuffing with gravy.  The rest is good too, but the stuffing is the special part.  I also like Christmas stockings full of silly stuff, including oranges & toys that have appeared in stockings before, and even the ones I pack myself.  Um, well, I pack them all myself, but its fun anyway.

Just the past few years, we have decorated on Advent 1 Sunday with my Dad, since my mom was always working, but she's retired and we have other company coming.  Maybe Friday night is a good time this year.  Hmmm.  Start singing Christmas carols, and maybe I'll be in the mood to think about it.

Have to start some new things that could become traditions.  In the past there was always the Christmas dinner cooked on Boxing Day...leaving Christmas Day as stress free as possible.  Opening one gift each on Christmas Eve.  Going to the candlelight service at the church.  May still do that, but will have to see what happens this year.

Christmas eve services it thebest for me and my family. We attend the early service since I'm in the choir. then we all embrace the Christmas Eve comunion later service.  So Special.,

Greetings!

Yes, birthstone, stuffing is the greatest!

And, after several turkeys and about two years, I've managed to get my stuffing to finally taste like just about like my mom's - not quite exactly 100% right, but I'm getting there!  Before that I always used to use Stove Top stuffing - easy, quick, I liked the taste - but always dreaming of what my mom's stuffing tasted like - you know - brings back those childhood memories.  It was not too bad at Thanksgiving, hopefully it will be even better at Christmas!  The good thing is Mr. Beloved even likes it.

Hope, peace, joy, love . . . 

Drinking myself stupid with egg nog

Listening to "Christmas Eve Sarajevo" by the Trans Siberian Orchestra

Watching "A Christmas Story"

Getting together with family

Um, CF - is that eggnog & rum, or just the eggnog???  makes a wee bit of difference, and I wonder how 'stupid' looks off of plain eggnog

Deb - I think it is a very healthy thing to switch up traditions sometimes.  And I know there are sometimes necessary reasons for it, as in your case (hugs!) but what I've learned from trying new stuff is that the best things rise to the surface, and the rest is happily shelved clutter.  Hence the reason my list is short & sweet.

Some new traditions we've come to like:  making chelsea buns for family for x-mas.  Taking Christmas Day afternoon as quiet time at home, bookended by presents in the morning with family, and dinner with family later.  Not using wrapping paper to save the planet.  stuff like that.

 I actually prefer the meatless Christmas Eve dinner we have over the turkey dinner for Christmas day.

Beloved, we do a jigsaw puzzle too!

I love the movies such as Rudolf and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

I don't know why, but I've never really enjoyed A Christmas Story.

Just plain old egg nog.  Stupid in this case is that eyes glazed over in satisfaction look.

Fish pie on Christmas eve, Christmas dinner, I absolutely love stockings, putting them together and getting one.  The parade of lights and Christmas tree lighting for my city.  Advent services and music.  We get our profit sharing right before Christmas, so even if it wasn't that time of year I would be shopping which I love.

 I figured I'd bump this up since Christmas is getting closer.

I just bought some mandarin oranges which always remind me of Christmas.  CF, I look forward to the egg nog, but haven't picked any up yet!

I just finished making plum pudding from my great-grandmother's recipe ... it just isn't Christmas without it, but Christmas Eve church service is the best loved tradition of all. My son loves the Christmas tree shortbread cookies that I make (and his grandma before me) covered in green icing and decorated. One year I didn't make them and he was sooo upset .... I think I had better go and make cookies!!

Also, we all have matching stockings made out of red felt and decorated. I have had mine since I was three years old and my mom made pomdad's the first Christmas we were married. I then made one for each pomson, and then for pomdaughter-in-laws when they joined the family. Even pomdog has one. They aren't as fancy as the ones you can buy now, but we think that they are special. Most of my cousins from my mom's family also have them - and the tradition is still being passed on.

I think our tree is beautiful - but I wouldn't call it a decorator tree and it isn't colour coordinated. But it is covered in treasures - ornaments that were gifts, many hand made or some bought when we were on vacation. Each year it is a walk down memory lane as we hang each ornament.  The very special treasures are old and hung on my parents tree when I was a child. They bring back very special memories for me now that my parents are no longer here with us to celebrate Christmas.

Greetings!

The mandarin oranges are a must . . . just the smell of the first one out of the box reminds me that Christmas is on the way.  I haven't gotten any eggnog yet, but that's on the list.

Chemgal, when I was a child we had a gentleman neighbour that always gave us a jigsaw puzzle at Christmas . . . we still continue the tradition.

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

pommum, are there plums in plum pudding?

Drinking eggnog....lots 'n lots of eggnog (with or without rum)

Crazyheart ....  there are no plums in plum pudding - it is mainly raisins, dates, cherries, nuts (such as walnuts and pecans) spices, molasses and milk. You can actually add other kinds of fruit that you might have left over from you Christmas cake. I don't know where the name came from but it is served with a sauce and is delicious with vanilla ice cream!!

Okay, what my mom called Christmas Pudding but I think it may have  had suet in in and it was  steam cooked.

It is probably the same thing. The old English recipies did call for suet but many people now substitute butter or lard. I looked up pudding traditions and it seems that at one time prunes were added,  especially if there was a shortage of rasins, so maybe that's where the name came from. It is steam cooked, and then steamed again for two hours Christmas day. I have never done this, but in the UK they pour brandy over the pudding, lighting it just before presenting the dessert to guests in a darkened dining room. Sounds like fun as long as you don't light then Christmas decorations!! 

 Thanks for the explanation! I always wondered what plum pudding was.

Greetings!

What an adorable avatar, pommum!

I have my sock that my mom made me 50+ years ago, and then when my children were born she made almost identical ones to it.  My mom made it out of that meshy material (green and red) and so you could slightly see through it to see the treasures inside.  Each sock has our initial on it.  I use them only as decorations now, as mine especially is showing signs of wear and tear. But I do put them out and remember . . .

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

Since my mom used to be on the Worship Council (the council that helps plan what goes on in the church), and my being hired by the church pretty much the year after she left the council -- our family tradition seems to be going to one or all of the Christmas Eve services at church... though one or more of us are usually acting, leading the sermon, directing, volunteering, working technology, etc...

Re: Plum Pudding

I can't remember where I heard this, but "plum" used to mean "dried fruit" in older English.  So, though there are usually no plums in plum pudding, there are dried fruits (right?) -- and the name "plum pudding" stuck over the years.

*consumingfire struts around in his best toga* EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG

Drinking a retarded amount (6 out of the 8 cartons all to myself) of egg-crack...

Watching "the grinch who stole christmas"...

The happy spirit!

As-Salaamu Alaiykum

-Omni

From my 19 year old's first christmas I have made a an ornament for all my kids.  I do their stockings every year I'm not sure who has more fun me putting them together or my kids opening them.  They get Pj's Christmas Eve.

Greetings!

When we were kids my mom used to have a (perhaps two) plastic trees about a foot high - they came in two pieces that you slid together.  They were clear plastic with bare leaves.  She would buy gum drops (I think I've still seen them in the stores today) and put one on each pointy end of the branches.  They would make a pretty decoration.  We weren't supposed to eat the gum drops, but who could resist?  We would usually wait until after Christmas - then the gum drops would be rock hard, and sometimes dusty or fluffy - but we didn't care - we ate them anyway!!  Anyone else have any of these "trees"?

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

No but I have a green wooden sucker tree. It is flat but when you open it, it is tree shape, with holes on each branch for a lolly (24 I think)

It's always great fun to start pulling the gumdrops off the gingerbread house, too :)

EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG

lol someone better keep an eye on CF! 

My good friend has been making an entire gingerbread village for thirty-two years. She makes the all the buildings and her kids ... and now grandkids decorate it with all kinds of candy and gumdrops.They start eating it on Christmas day.

EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG, EGGNOG

maybe if we spike his glass, the Eggnog himself will quietly find a corner & drift off blissfully and we can get some quiet around here :).  Or for a change, spike a pumpkin latte - that'll shut him up

Yes Omni!!! The Grinch!!!!

Spiked Pumpkin Latte.  Oh, what a concept.  I like it.

IT

Russ

Yup. That would do quite nicely indeed.

chinese takeout every christmas eve.  it's been a tradition for at least 25 years, possibly longer.

Chinese takeout and EGGNOG. That is a FANTASTIC combo.....#4

cf: silly me.  how could i ever forget the eggnog.  the eggnog tradition actually starts for us on the night of tree trimming, which this year, was on the first of december, thankfully.

I love both......BUT definitely not together!

I'm just getting warm & fuzzy all over!  I like the Chinese takeout idea, my sweetie will have the eggnog. 

Church at 7, then cider & hot chocolate and a glass of wine or some Baileys and cookies!!!