What are your families tradtional Christmas eve???????
We usually go to a friends house for a little party a little after noon, get back about 30 minutes to dinner time. i make something easy for dinner like kraft mac and cheese or something in that line. Jennafyr gets her bath, cookie, teeth brushed, I lay with her than she goes to sleep. I than do the last minute wrapping if there is any. My husband puts all gifts under tree while I stuff the stockings. We than get each others gifts and hide them in seperate corners and off to bed we go.
Do you have any special things you do with your family????
Christmas eve morning I have brunch at my house for varying # of people. Then we go to my BFF house for chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. We exchange gifts with them. Ela will get to open 1 gift (pajamas). We ride around for awhile looking at lights, then to midnight mass. By then Ela is sound asleep, so Santa can come and leave toys and enjoy the milk and cookies we left out for him.
Christmas Eve I make the food that we'll be eating Christmas Day, then in the evening we got to my Uncle's house where all of my aunts and uncles and cousins will be. We have tamales, beans and rice, and potluck, exchange gifts, then we come back home, and the kids (our boys are 18, 20 & 27) get to open one gift, the oldest is in Baltimore, so he is on the honor system. The one gift is as others have said....always new jammies, that I've made. Last year we had just moved so I didn't make jammies, I figured at their ages they wouldn't care. They were all upset, so this year jammies!!! Then, we put out the cookies and milk....stilll, the boys go to bed, and we put out the Santa gifts, and fill the stockings. I'm really going to be sad when they've all moved out!
My daughter goes to her fathers every Xmas eve for a big Italian seafood dinner.I missed it so much when we divorced that I now do the same with new hubby, son and inlaws. When dinner is over she gets home we get little one ready for bed his big sister takes him up and they watch a xmas movie by 11 they are asleep and we get all santas loot from the attic spred it out and hide each others stuff. Our house is wide awake at about 5:30am -6:00 am. Early day but also early naps. I love the look on my little ones face in the morning, he makes you feel like a little kid again, you feel the magic of Xmas through him. Along with the million questions of how did he get all this in here the fireplace is so small, and why didnt the dog bark at him. The reply, Hannibal knows who santa is and he shares cookies with him every year, and santa has magic and can get anything into the house with a wiggle of his nose.
wow..
whelp... I spend weeks decorating the house to the hilt...
and days baking and cooking and freezing..
and cleaning...
Our church's candlelight ceremony is at 7 pm. on Christmas eve. After that we have family and friends come up to the house for lots of food and hanging out together. Most stay till 11 pm or so... and we always have a basket or tree of ornaments, each guest is asked to take one home as a 'thank you' for joining us.
Life is divine chaos.
Embrace it. Forgive yourself. Breathe.
And enjoy the ride....
Picture Post! Show me your kiddos
- newmommyas1107
on Oct. 30, 2009 at 4:07 PM