last christmas question! I promise!

K

KristinCB

Sweet Shoppe Designer
Christmas around the world! Since we have members from allllllll over share some of the special traditions that are unique to your country or culture.

If you don't celebrate Christmas feel free to share some special traditions if there is something else you celebrate <3
 
As you know, Kristin, we in Canada celebrate Boxing Day. I don't think any other country does. We enjoy having an extra day off work after Xmas. Our Boxing Day is like the American Black Friday shopping experience, with lots of retail specials and sales. I have always gone out first thing in the morning and shopped for a few hours, getting some amazing deals on items, and then am finished before noon which is when the majority of people are out shopping. I like going really early and missing all the noise and crowds. Plus, I can get a parking space easily at 8:30 in the morning. I grab lunch on the way home for us and then spend the rest of the day relaxing.
 
We have Boxing Day in Australia too, with the big sales where people queue up for hours outside the doors until they open and then trample and push and shove each other to get inside... that's one day I stay very far away from the shops!

Being summer at Christmas we eat salads and cold food - no roast turkeys here! (though some people do). Some years its so hot that we just stay inside in front of a fan or air con (if you have it)... if we had a pool I'd be in there!
 
We spend our Christmas Eve with our besties. We just hang out, eat, have a few drinks and enjoy one another. We've done this for several years now. We've made our own little Black Sheep group. Haha!

Christmas morning we wake up and open gifts with the kids. I'll throw some breakfast casseroles in the oven and then head to my mom's house for breakfast. We pretty much stay there thru dinner. On the way home we'll drive around looking at Christmas lights. Once we make it home we are pretty pooped.
 
Growing up we had Boxing Days... that's when we opened presents and it was torture to wait that extra day! Our Christmas back home wasn't too different. We would have a long break, presents, and such. Hong Kong had a lot of tall buildings so it was fun to go out to see them all decked out.
 
Christmas Eve we have our big dinner (just the 5 of us), then we let the kids open their Christmas Pjs and open the gift they bought each other. We watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Sean reads the Night Before Christmas, we put out cookies, milk and carrots, then get the kids to bed. The hubby and I usually watch a Christmas movie, Scooged the last couple years and then Santa comes.

Christmas day, open gifts, I make Gingerbread Waffles, we stay in our Pj's all day, eat leftovers and then head to the inlaws around 4:30/5 for round 2. This year we're doing appetizers for dinner.
 
On december 23rd we watch this short film, I have no clue as to how the tradition started, but it is nation wide and hilarious. https://youtu.be/uSeuTdd_Ado Then on the morning of Christmas Eve, we sit around in our pjs, eat a tasty breakfast, gobble up a mountain of candy and watch Christmas shows all day while dinner in cooking (if we're not working that is, then everything is delayed a little bit until the half day at work is over. The evening of Christmas Eve everyone comes over and we eat "Pinnekjøtt" and talk. Then it's time for gifts and the kids get to open theirs first because they have an early bedtime, being (almost) 3 and 5. We open the rest of ours later on.

On Dec 25th and 26th we have the day off, and usually go to either my mother's house for dinner or my mil's house. They have one day each since I "stole" Christmas Eve.
 
Christmas where I live in Australia is pretty different to other areas of the country, as it's usually a lot colder. Despite it being summer, most of us do roast meals (we're cooking lamb this year) for lunch and seafood for dinner. We always do a BBQ dinner, so we cook a mixture of meats, vegetables and seafoods. This year we're supposed to be having a 30°C+ day instead of 20-25°C day, so I think a dip in the pool will be in order after lunch! (usually we'd save it for Boxing Day)

In the afternoon we always head over to see my husband's paternal family at his 99 year-old grandfather's home. It's becoming more special as the years go on and the great-grandkids are getting older. Pop's lost most of his vision so he enjoys hearing the noise of the kids around the house. :) My son's been practicing some Christmas songs on the piano this year too, so he can play them for Pop when we head over (it's Tristan's Christmas present to him).
 
I live in Belgium. We celebrate on Christmas Eve, with my husbands parents and one of his brothers. Each of us takes care of one part of the menu. We do the main dish - that is, my husband will, he's the cook, I take care of the rest (cleaning up the house, dressing the table, things like that). We make wishlists in advance and they are hanged up at my parents-in-laws house. We have a fixed budget. Each of us grabs a name and buys only for that one person, something from the wishlist. Then, on Christmas Eve, we take turns in giving our presents to the one we bought for. These nights are always so cosy.
On Christmas Day we prefer to keep it calm... clean up, relax a bit... They always have The Sound Of Music on TV and I won't say that's my favourite Christmas movie (I don't really have one), but I do tend to watch it when it's on.
This is how our family does it. There aren't any specific traditions I guess... but stuffed turkey is a very common dish on Christmas. We have done turkey before, but hubby made a delicious deer stew last year and when he asked me what I wanted to eat for Christmas, I told him he should do that again. It is SO GOOD. And we always have leftovers for the next day, it's even better the next day!
 
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Everyone -- my parents, my sister & BIL & nephew, DH & the kids & me, & my grandmother -- go to my mom's church for Christmas Eve service. It's usually an evening service so we go back to their house & have snacks afterwards but this year it's earlier, at 5 pm, so then we'll go back to their house and have a late dinner. My mom is so nice that she also invites my BIL's parents to come up and go, too.

When we get back, the kids will change into their new jammies & exchange their gifts for one another. We set out cookies & milk and then they go to bed. I wrap presents, except Santa's, and sneak out to the 11 pm service at our church.

Ellie is 7 this year, and she has never woken up any earlier than usual on Christmas Day. She gets up between 6:30 and 7 every single day, without fail, so we will probably do Christmas around then. We do stockings first --- candy, small presents, ornament for the year -- and then presents. Santa brings one unwrapped present which is usually the one thing you asked him for (except this year -- ha!), and Mama & Daddy give the rest. I used to make a breakfast casserole when we lived in Indy and my ILs would come over but this year I think we'll just have donuts.

We meet at my parents' house at 10 am to open presents. Santa also brings presents to their house for the three grandkids + gifts from everyone else. We'll have lunch at noon and be joined by my ILs who my mom invited (remember how nice she is?!) to come up and join us this year. I will try really hard to eat too much & bring home leftovers for dinner. :p

My mom's birthday is today so we actually get together 3 times in 4 days at this time of year.
 
I got all excited - I thought you were researching for a Christmas Around the World kit... haha.

Day before Christmas Eve - We have a school themed Christmas, usually Christmas Around the World, if we haven't done that already throughout the month. Then in the evening, we have Grinch Christmas... read the story or watch the movie and drink Grinch style drink. This is our first year doing that...

Christmas Eve - I spend the day cooking for Christmas Day. We go over to my parents for dinner and gift opening... then to church at 7:30. Afterwards, we drive around looking at Christmas lights and then come home and prepare for Santa. We usually have opened our gifts in the afternoon before going to my Mom's, and if not, we will do it before bed.

Christmas Day - Santa's gifts and stockings are opened. I cook a breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls (the only time in the year we have them). At noon, we host Hubby's family... and my folks come, too... but it is the "Kuchenbecker" Christmas... Our food is super casual - it's buffet style so you eat when you want. Lots of finger foods and always Hot Beef, German Style Potato Salad, Calico Beans, and Mac and Cheese. We open gifts and play Jingo (like bingo, but educational because we homeschool, haha!)

Day after Christmas - we all crash... clean up the house and watch Christmas Movies.
 
Here in Bulgaria we celebrate Christmas Eve with non-meat dishes because there's 40 days fasting prior to Christmas. Then, on Christmas day we traditionally eat pork but in my family, we roast turkey ;) Another very traditional thing is we bake a dish... It's pastry with feta and we put fortunes inside so when everyone gets a piece of the pastry, they also find their fortune for the next year ;) we also bake a festive bread in which we put a coin and whoever gets the piece with the coin is considered to be fortunate and wealthy in the next year.
 
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