Celebrating Christmas

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Micah' timestamp='1292876637' post='2193665']
I know somebody already commented on this, but I agree this is a great idea. I'm gonna propose we begin doing this to my family this year.


My family is pretty run of the mill about Christmas traditions. We begin decorating a few weeks before Christmas and filling up our gigantic stockings. Christmas morning we all eat junk food and open presents one at a time, then laze around in the wrapping paper and presents while the women cook breakfast. Then we tidy up, eat, promise that we won't spend as much on Christmas presents next year, eat some more, and start all over again.
[/quote]

That pretty much sums up our Christmas... there are a few game tournaments (ie playing the new games we got)... but mostly eating and just hanging out. One of my favorite traditions, actually.

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1292878785' post='2193668']
IS THAT ALL YOU THINK WOMEN ARE GOOD FOR??
Okay, the real reason I'm replying, is because I'm curious what you mean by "filling up our gigantic stockings." Who fills them and with what? Or is that where you put all your gifts? I'm intrigued.
[/quote]
Maybe they have really big feet.

[Micah]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1292878785' post='2193668']
IS THAT ALL YOU THINK WOMEN ARE GOOD FOR??
Okay, the real reason I'm replying, is because I'm curious what you mean by "filling up our gigantic stockings." Who fills them and with what? Or is that where you put all your gifts? I'm intrigued.
[/quote]

haha No, but the women in my family are much better cooks, and we men appreciate it. Also we get stuck cleaning up the family room. The stockings get filled like whenever. Usually when someone sneaks into the family room with bags and is rustling about near the Christmas tree, you know they're getting filled. We fill them with all sorts! The older people in my fam always put in useful stuff like toothbrushes, razors, hair gel, deodorant, socks etc. My sister always fills them up with junk food. But there will always ALWAYS be one of those big chocolate oranges in the bottom of the stocking.

[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4][quote]That pretty much sums up our Christmas... there are a few game tournaments (ie playing the new games we got)... but mostly eating and just hanging out. One of my favorite traditions, actually. [/quote][/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4]Me too! Food(drinking) and socializing is the ultimate holiday activity. [/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4][quote]Maybe they have really big feet.[/quote][/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4]We got to make our own stockings when we were like 5, so naturally, we sewed the biggest stockings we could. Almost as big as we were. [/size][/font][/color]

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Micah' timestamp='1292879529' post='2193672']
haha No, but the women in my family are much better cooks, and we men appreciate it. Also we get stuck cleaning up the family room. The stockings get filled like whenever. Usually when someone sneaks into the family room with bags and is rustling about near the Christmas tree, you know they're getting filled. We fill them with all sorts! The older people in my fam always put in useful stuff like toothbrushes, razors, hair gel, deodorant, socks etc. My sister always fills them up with junk food. But there will always ALWAYS be one of those big chocolate oranges in the bottom of the stocking.

[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4]Me too! Food(drinking) and socializing is the ultimate holiday activity. [/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#595959][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][size=4]We got to make our own stockings when we were like 5, so naturally, we sewed the biggest stockings we could. Almost as big as we were. [/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]
We only got a few things in our stockings --smaller odds and ends, plus some candy (usually those Reeses peanutbutter christmas trees). I made stockings for my husband and I last year...when I was sewing them, I accidentally sewed a pin into my husbands around the band and it sticks you when you reach into it. My husband claims I booby trapped it on purpose.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='CatherineM' timestamp='1292875165' post='2193661']
My Godmother was from Mexico, and I always helped her with her Las Posadas meal. She was usually the Christmas Eve one. To me, it isn't Christmas without tamales. What's funny is that my mom made chocolate chip cookies and fudge to exchange on Christmas Eve for the tamales. To my Godmother's kids, it didn't seem like Christmas without my mom's fudge. They would attack me when I came in the door, especially if I was late. When I came back home, my dad and brothers would attack me for the tamales. I still laugh when I think of how my father's New York accent butchered the word tamale. It came out something like o'malleys with a T.

Doing Mexican reminds me of home, and it is something different for Canadians who have fairly bland diets most of the time. Plus, I just don't like turkey. Every year I add one exotic thing to the buffet for them to talk about. This year it is going to be nopales (cactus ear).
[/quote]
wow -- well made nopales are hard to come by . If you weren't in another country I would say "can I come over?"

I no longer really have any traditions at Christmas. I put up a tree last year -- this year I've been lazy/out of it to put it up and since I'm going away come the 26th it makes no sense to put it up now. We did exchange gifts on the 25th, and as a kid on the 6th we'd put out an ice cube tray (the metal ones -- those of you that are older know what I'm talking about hee hee) with fruit in it for the camels, and we'd get money in exchange.

I've given my Christmas gifts already (it was a combined birthday/christmas gift to my niece and sister). I don't expect much in return, which is ok.

Food wise -- my parents were Puertorican, so christmas eve/day dinner consisted of arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pasteles (NOT a cake ... kind of like a tamale but made out of other vegetables not corn and filled with pork), turkey and stuffing (the american factor), and sometimes tembleque (almost a pudding like dish made out of cornstarch and coconut milk, with sugar and cinnamon yum). Oh yeah ... every so often the adults would drink coquito -- a Bacardi white rum drink made out of coco lopez, evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon. I make it now -- except I add an egg to the mix and boil it. Its really yummy.

This year I will be spending Christmas eve with a priest-friend of mine (he's cooking dinner for himself and the pastor). I play at the midnight (spanish) Mass so that kind of kills any family stuff (my sister lives over an hour away from the parish). He's making milanesas de pollo (breaded chicken).

Oh I forgot -- I usually go to the spanish Mass, and since at my parish the spanish Christmas Mass is the midnight Mass, I go to the Midnight Mass.

Edited December 21, 2010 by cmariadiaz

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' timestamp='1292871911' post='2193655']
Instead of "Santa"... my kids wake up as shepherds. Their goal is to find Baby Jesus (and a few gifts for them to open). It started out fairly simple when the kids were younger, but it's gotten more complicated as they've gotten older (they are 14, 12 and 7). Basically, they are given a bible verse to look up. One of the words in the verse is the clue to where to find the next verse-- table, salt, knife, door, etc. They go to where they suspect the next verse is (under the table, the saltshaker, knife drawer, front door) and try to solve the next clue... etc. Eventually, they find the Baby Jesus (for our Nativity) and a few gifts... usually some new games or a movie-- something to keep them busy for a little while so dh and I can wake up-- they start this little routine pretty early. It's been a nice compromise for us. It allows them to have some fun "magical" game to look forward to. We don't have a huge issue with Santa-- we still watch all the Christmas specials (we own many of them), but it's not really a part of our Christmas celebration.
[/quote]

That's a really neat idea! We used to have scavenger hunts at Easter to find our baskets, but never anything with Scripture - that's pretty cool!

[quote name='cmariadiaz' timestamp='1292893196' post='2193701']
We did exchange gifts on the 25th, and as a kid on the 6th we'd put out an ice cube tray (the metal ones -- those of you that are older know what I'm talking about hee hee) with fruit in it for the camels, and we'd get money in exchange.
[/quote]

That's a neat idea for January 6th - you guys are giving me a lot of ideas to keep in mind for the future!

[homeschoolmom]

[img]http://terrasanctaguild.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/b51_lg.jpg[/img] [img]http://terrasanctaguild.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/b50_sm.jpg[/img]

I just bought these two ornaments to add to our Advent Tree on the Feasts of St. Lucia and St. Nicholas next year.

I'm still looking for others that I like...

[fides' Jack]

My mother gave up stockings years ago. You just can't get them big enough! Now, she uses ginormous bags to fit everything (candy, toys, peanuts and m&ms mixed up, jerky, almost always a dart gun).

Now that I'm married, I have to share my bag with my significant other.


Love you, FQI!

[MissScripture]

[quote name='fides' Jack' timestamp='1293045955' post='2193988']
My mother gave up stockings years ago. You just can't get them big enough! Now, she uses ginormous bags to fit everything (candy, toys, peanuts and m&ms mixed up, jerky, almost always a dart gun).

Now that I'm married, I have to share my bag with my significant other.


Love you, FQI!
[/quote]
Your mother actually GIVES her sons dart guns and expects it to end well? Brave woman!

[HollyWilliams]

Well, as for when we decorate, it depends. We open presents on Christmas day. And as for when we take down decorations, its usually a day or so after Christmas but it also depends. That said, my family is not Catholic so we don't really have any Catholic Christmas traditions other than my own of going to Christmas Midnight Mass.

[Archaeology cat]

The poll didn't quite fit what we do. We do stockings on St Nicholas' Day. Just something small. Then we decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. We open gifts for the entire 12 days of Christmas - those are the gifts from everyone. If there aren't 12 (hasn't been a problem thus far, between grandparents and godparents and aunts & uncles and such), I'll make cookies or something. The tree comes down on Epiphany.

[fides quarens intellectum]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' timestamp='1293043336' post='2193983']

I just bought these two ornaments to add to our Advent Tree on the Feasts of St. Lucia and St. Nicholas next year.

[/quote]

Very cool!

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1293063985' post='2194024']
Your mother actually GIVES her sons dart guns and expects it to end well? Brave woman!
[/quote]





We decorated on Christmas Eve again this year, except we had a slightly bigger tree and it just wouldn't fit into our tree stand. So, "Jack" spent an hour running to 3 different stores to find a bigger tree stand on Christmas Eve. Oops. Even so, we're both really glad we waited until the 24th to put the tree up, even though it had been in our garage for a few weeks before that (our garage smelled very nice!) and I had started getting weak by the 4th week of Advent, asking if we could put the tree up undecorated on the 23rd.

Anyway, Merry 3rd Day of Christmas, everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying your family's Christmas celebrations so far!!