What are your favorite family Christmas traditions?

[Carol Dee]

Hello Richard a.k.a. @valley ranch Welcome to TEG. So glad you jumped right in. Hope you have a very Happy Holiday Season.

 

[buckabucka]

A few days before Xmas my mother would make cookies that had to be cut out.She had a large collection of cookie cuters. After they where baked my sibling and i would frost them what family memories !

It is just the two of us here and we are not big into celebrating Christmas, but we are big into cookies! Every year I make a huge batch. Some go in the freezer, some go to friends or co-workers. With the frosted cookies, I do use a cookie cutter for some of the shapes, but I also like to use the negative shapes to come up with different creations. If you look carefully at the photo, you will see moldy Swiss cheese, broccoli spears, some odd birds and chickens, and other creatures.

 

[Carol Dee]

It is just the two of us here and we are not big into celebrating Christmas, but we are big into cookies! Every year I make a huge batch. Some go in the freezer, some go to friends or co-workers. With the frosted cookies, I do use a cookie cutter for some of the shapes, but I also like to use the negative shapes to come up with different creations. If you look carefully at the photo, you will see moldy Swiss cheese, broccoli spears, some odd birds and chickens, and other creatures.
View attachment 5709

I like the broccoli and cheese ones.

 

[Lavender2]

I liked my moms tradition of hiding our gifts and hunting for the clues.
I didn't do it every year with my kids, but they had fun the times I did.
I'm thinking it's not too late to keep it up, I'm sure they'd indulge me if they pulled a clue out of their stocking....

That's one I've kept going, I still hang stockings for everyone, and the guys all get some goofy toy in theirs. This year it's a stuffed catapult monkey that screams when it's launched. It's wearing a mask and a cape....I may be the only one Christmas morning that thinks it's funny.

That screaming monkey is hilarious! I gave one to my grandson last year... after shooting it down the isles at the store... I should have bought one for my son (34) also, it would have been his favorite gift! I hope they are as amused as I was @thistlebloom !

We now have 11 stockings on the old wood stove, just can't seem to give that up either.
Our family tradition is Christmas morning breakfast - Dh makes eggs benedict, then a family photo by the tree. We sing Happy Birthday to oldest son... born on Christmas, 35 years ago, dang I feel old now. ... then open gifts.
Later, a big dinner at mom and dads. Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, baked corn, grandma's applesauce, homemade rolls, etc..and lots of cookies! This has been the traditional meal for my family for about 80 years.

One tradition I miss - my siblings and I would play some Christmas songs after dinner.. flute, clarinet, 2 trumpets, baritone, sax, and mom on the piano... wonder if we could get that going again.

 

[thistlebloom]

Hey Lavender, you bought that monkey too? That's hilarious that you test flew it at the store. I played with it in the living room which brought Kid#2 out wondering if I was okay. I told him it was for the neighbor kid and he rolled his eyes and disappeared.

Boy your Christmas sounds like a Norman Rockwell painting! I think it's wonderful that you have had such long standing family traditions.

 

[Lavender2]

Last year, I found the monkey at Northern equipment store. Dh was looking for tools for the boys and heard the scream. He was not amused. I couldn't find one this year for my son. I don't really know why, but that monkey makes me laugh!

Well, pretty far from Norman Rockwell... we probably didn't even sound that great but we thought we did.
We always used to joke about my grandma being so stuck on tradition that you better not put the baked corn in the wrong spot on the table. I think the older I get the more I appreciate the traditions and great memories.

 

[Carol Dee]

@thistlebloom and @Lavender2 I found those monkey in several mail order catalogs this year and was so tempted to get one for DH, both sons and the grandsons! I figured they would be a hit! (Although a noisy one.) I AM getting them next year for sure.

 

[so lucky]

Hmmm. Is the monkey bright green plush, with big rubberbands in the arms? Then you pull the arms to launch him? (On second thought, maybe it's supposed to be a frog??)
Oddly, I bought one at a yard sale maybe 10 years ago, and it had a matching large version with it, not a launchable screamer. I think one of the grandkids "borrowed" the smaller version, as I don't see it in the toy room anymore. It was one of the kids' favorite things to annoy adults with.

 

[thistlebloom]

The ones I picked up (at the farm supply store ) are small brown plush about 6 inches long, rubber bands in the arms, wearing a Lone Ranger mask and a cape. The scream is pretty loud, and would get annoying fast I would guess.
I was thinking of putting some in the basket of goodies I gave the neighbors for their 3 little boys. I bet they would be happy to know that I thought better of it. I do like my neighbors!