How about sharing some of our favorite holiday traditions? Kids, I want to hear from you, too - what are your favorites, and do have ideas for what you'd like to do with your family when you're grown?

Here's one of ours that has evolved. Growing up, we each had an Advent calendar where we take a candy off for each day in December. My oldest 3 have their own but I was always unsatisified with it - they were always sneaking each other's candy, or taking off the wrong day, and arguing about it. When the triplets came along I meant to get them each one but I didn't have time or talent to make them, or money to buy them, so I had to think of something!

Last year we did this and it has stuck - we have another calendar where you put up a piece of the manger scene every day, ending with Baby Jesus on Christmas Day. So now we use that one. Each night after supper we gather and read one verse from Luke Chapter 2 (Christmas story). The kids take turns reading. The one who read puts the piece up. Then we have a big BOWL of candy up on the shelf. The person who read gets to choose what kind of candy we're having that day, and they all get the same kind. I bought the candy on sale after Halloween so it's the good stuff like Skittles and M&Ms.

I still hang up the old candy calendars but just as decoration. They can take them when they're grown and do the same thing with their families or whatever they choose. Eventually I will get one for the other kids to have when they're grown.

The kids really enjoy it and it's much more orderly, plus it's a special time for us each evening. They actually remind us if we forget (candy probably has something to do with that ).

Well what we do is on every Cristmas Eve we each open only one present while listening to Christmas carols.
We wold also sit by the fire but since we moved we dont have a fireplace anymore.

How about the ever populator gift of pjs on Christmas Eve, so everyone will look nice for pics on Christmas Day ?

We usually spend a couple of evenings driving around and looking at the lights. There are a couple of really good displays around here (some cost money). This year, we will be finding the one that goes along with music.

We decorate a tree together. I'm recently more thrilled because we got a new one wired with the lights! YeeeHaaah! We do some drivin around to look at the lights on different houses. When my youngest was little, he told us, "Those lights are like the icing on a Happy Birthday Jesus cake". Well, you guessed it. We bake a cake, and sing Him the Happy Birthday song. We'll also enjoy re-reading the Bible story on Christmas morning. A Karo Nut Pie (Most of you know this as Pecan Pie) is always baked along with the Holiday feast.

Thanks for the opportunity to think ahead. Really reminds me of the great season that it is!

My husband's grandpa used to wake everyone up by ringing a little brass bell, which became known as the Christmas Bell.  His mom carries on the tradition and the kids love being the first to get up and being able to ring the bell. We even got our own little bell as a wedding gift LOL. Of course, we all get to open one gift on Christmas Eve, and it is ALWAYS pjs, but by golly they are always cute pjs, and the pictures are always good the next morning...

I love this topic! Growing up, I did not have Christmas, so for the past 22 years, I have kinda struggled to come up with "traditions" for my family. The PJ's thing is a no-brainer, but of course I hadn't thought of it, lol. This year, I will add that one.

This year, stringing the popcorn and cranberries for the tree only took 8 hours... As usual, it was only the female units, (me, my 12 year old daughter and 9 year old daughter), that lasted to the end of the task... We string with Christmas music on and just enjoy the time together talking/singing without the distraction of tv or telephones. (I turn them off).

But I have to say that my (almost) 17 year old son hung in there as far as the outside lights were concerned... When it hit 6 degrees, minus the windchill, I opted for making cocoa, but he got the job done. Also having two more sons, ages 18 and 19, LED lights have been the "thing" the last couple of years... They have them installed in and under their cars and that is what they decorated the house with... Quite frankly, I am a little afraid that at one point, a plane may land on my house.

This morning, I made the gingerbread and frosting for us to make the annual gingerbread house, after the 3 youngest get out of school.

We are weird and open gifts on Christmas Eve... The reasoning is that we spend all Christmas day and evening at my ma's, and it eliminates some of the chaos... She has a huge house and lunch/dinner is buffet style, with our immediate family having 40 people... but it was always me and my "common law step-dad," Mike, doing the cooking... So we bring 2 vehicles to haul all of the kids and the food... Both my step-dad and I were restaurant managers for most of our lives, and he would bring all the chaffing dishes from his work. The two of us were quite the sight to see on Christmas, with our "food safety" training, lol... Talk about being anal... Everything out in smaller portions and refreshened often... Checking proper serving temps of the food constantly... Keeping things stirred and adjusting temps, keeping the cold things on ice... Our "knowing looks," chuckling at how silly my Ma is being with her gravy, (her one contribution to the meal... but dang is it GOOD!), as she is complaining that "it just won't thicken," when it hasn't even come to a boil yet...

So, for me, Christmas really is about spending time with loved ones, without the outside world distractions... Focussing on eachother and what we have here and now, and remembering those who have passed on... Cooking is one of my major passions, and I love to stuff those I love with food, lol... So the Christmas meal is always the topper for me.

This will be the 2nd Christmas without Mike to cook with... He died shortly after Christmas the year before last... It certainly is not as much fun, being the only one cooking... Nobody to flash the "knowing looks" to... I sure do miss him... The family will continue to chuckle as I fuss over the food from noon until 10pm... Stuffing them all silly... Yep... The biggest "tradition" for me is all about the food and family-time on Christmas day.

All of those above sound like some really nice traditions (except the swimshorts in the snow thing.....hmmmm).

We've been moved into our first (and only) home now for our 3rd Christmas. We started a tradition of buying a new ornament for the Christmas Tree. We all go together and find that special one. We bring it home and have BD to put it on the tree. This year she decided to put the new ornament (in honor of baby brother) on her little tree in her room.

Good Grief, lol... How could I forget about the ornaments???

I started this one with my stepkids, 20 years ago... Each year I paint each of the kids a ceramic ornament and personalize it and date it. Even though I divorced the stepkids father 14 years ago, I continued to make them ornaments until they became adults. Once they got their own places and had a tree, I gave them to them so they would have some ornaments for their first tree. (After all, I didn't divorce THEM, I divorced their father... LOL, if it hadn't been FOR the stepkids, I would have bolted sooner!). Now, I do them for their children, as well as my 5 children.

Each year they seem to take such great pride in hanging "their own" ornaments.

WOW where to start? When we were little (my sister and I...she's a year older than I am) we would do the usual open gifts on Christmas morning thing and of course every so often sneak downstairs to see if Santa had arrived yet and then run back up and giggle about it when we saw the loot. Had the required new PJ's from my Grandma each year (along with hand knit mittens and hats) as we usually went to her house the weekend before (she was a few hours away) As we got older (teens) we started opening on Christmas eve as Christmas day was always busy with other family. Then poof (surprise) when I was 17 my brother arrived. We still opened on Christmas eve but would all drive around to look at lights and when we got back Santa had come! (had to take 2 cars to fit everyone) Magic! Then my nephew arrived (yes uncle and nephew are barely 5 yrs apart). I don't remember why Santa came for my brother but not my nephew on Christmas eve but at their house they did the gift thing in the morning with everyone getting a haul on eve at Mom/Dad's. Of course there was the huge meal that went with it all. Can't forget the pumpkin desert. If it's not made there is mutiny! Since brother/nephew were quite little I started getting them the chocolate advent calendars and still do! Now I added my daughter. Told them (now 25 and 30) that they are getting them until they get married! They don't seem to mind but I think they sneak candy ahead now Also before I got married I made everyone a Christmas stocking which Mom would hang in age order on the mantle. Also use to make everyone an ornament each year. That stopped when my daughter arrived as time (and doing anything crafty) stopped.

Now sadly with Mom gone the stockings have all been given to their owners and Christmas Eve is always at my house. (brother single, Dad in small condo and sister doesn't cook so it's me) No more new PJ's from Grandma as she died when I was 18 (on my birthday no less) but my daughter gets new ones each year. I try to keep as much of what Mom did going and add my own little touches. Now we do the whole family thing on Eve and the little kid thing in the morning. I had always gotten my Mom one of those Christmas Life Saver books as a little joke gift. She pretty much had a piece of hard candy in her mouth at all times. I still take her one each year. We also planted two little evergreen trees by her and each year my sister and I go decorate them. One year we put battery lights on them and always wondered if that freaked out the people who live next to the cemetery Especially the first night they were lit

There is more but I've already written you a long boring book so I'll stop now!