Holiday Traditions

Luvmysweetiepies · ‎04-06-2011

I wasn't sure where to post this, but with the holidays ahead, what are some of your family traditions that everyone looks forward to...food or otherwise.

For Thanksgiving, after the meal, our "grands" play Thanksgiving Bingo. I purchased the Bingo cards years ago & we use candy corn to fill in the spots. Of course, there's a basket of small prizes for the kids to choose from & everyone gets a prize....they love it!

At Christmas, we hide the Christmas Pickle, outdoors if weather permits & it usually does. The one who finds it gets an extra gift. Holidays are such a special time to share with family & especially with little ones....they get so excited with even small things. I guess we could all take a lesson from that. I know I could!

I'd love to hear what family traditions your families look forward to!

jackthebear · ‎03-11-2010

Hiding the Christmas pickle sounds like hiding the Afikomen during the Passover seder

made me laugh a bit.

The first kid to find it gets a gift.

For us it is Stuffing Balls, if I stopped making them, there would be a riot

Poodlepet2 · ‎03-09-2010

I would love to know about the Christmas Pickle: I have never heard about that before...is it a game from your heritage? We have a similar game we play at Passover. At Passover, all bread and anything with leavening or certain foods has to be out of the house. The parents hide a piece of bread or matzo and they send the kiddies on a hunt to find it. I am so happy you started this thread. I don't remember where I saw it, but somewhere in these forums some British posters were talking about how they celebrated their holidays, and I thought it would be wonderful if we could hear about how other groups celebrate, and of course, share recipes....I have always wanted to know how to roast a goose or cook ripe plantains- all cultures and ethnicities- strolls down memory lane would be fun too. Poodlepet

jackthebear · ‎03-11-2010

I know there are Christmas Pickle glass blown ornaments, not sure of the story behind it

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

the sunday after thanksgiving our christmas holiday begins. we all go to a local home and garden center who has a huge light display and rooms of decorated trees and ornaments and holiday items from around the world to look at and for sale. my mom buys us each a special ornament of our choice for the year and we pick up anything else we may need for decorating. after we are done there we go to have bbq ribs at a local restaurant (by that time we need something other than turkey Wink ).

we hide the christmas pickle.....ours is a tiny glass blown ornament that gets placed on the tree somewhere. whoever finds it gets a $20 bill from my mom.....she is very good at hiding it AND it is only the size of your small toe. gifts go under the tree on christmas eve and the radio plays carols all night long through the house, even after we have gone to bed.

we always have a seafood dinner on christmas eve and play "family games" like pictionary, apples to apples, quelf, and i bought a christmas themed trivia game to play in teams.

christmas day we HAVE to eat breakfast first (and i always make a large breakfast.....eggs, assorted breads/jams/clotted cream/honey, bacon and sausages, hash brown casserole, mimosas, and fresh fruit salad. after that is over we open our gifts. later in the early evening we have an ethnic food feast! after that, games again.

day after christmas......sleep in and leftovers, leftovers, leftovers and possibly some more visitors.

a few days after christmas i am scouring the stores for great deals on holiday lights and decorations and wrapping paper (last year i snagged a dozen boxes of lights for only $1 each!)

new years eve i like it to be nice and quiet.....no big parties, no get togethers, just some peace to reflect on the past year and what may come in the new year. new years eve is not a favorite of mine.

********************************************
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

christmas pickle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pickle

********************************************
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

Luvmysweetiepies · ‎04-06-2011

Jackthebear, I've never heard of Afikomen...sounds like a wonderful tradition.

Poodlepet, I started this post because I love to hear how others celebrate their traditions.

The Christmas pickle is a blown glass ornament that looks just like a pickle. It's normally placed in the tree & the first child that finds it on Christmas morning gets a gift. It was originally thought to be a German tradition, however, there has been speculation that it may have originated here. My grandparents were German immigrants, so I like to think of it as a German tradition.

Btw, I choose to hide the pickle outdoors, because with 6 "grands", my tree wouldn't be standing if they all went after the pickle! ${#emotions_dlg.biggrin}$

Thanks, jackthebear & Poodlepet for sharing!

Luvmysweetiepies · ‎04-06-2011

Sunshine45, I love the way you celebrate the holiday...what fun! New Years Eve is usually quiet for us, also, unless we babysit so the parents can go out. The hardest part is trying to stay up till midnight!

Thanks for sharing!

Yahooey · ‎07-09-2010

I never heard of this pickle. Thank you for sharing. Are there any foods prepared with pickles or this is strictly hide and seek pickle only. If your grands can find this tiny pickle outdoors, I have lost stuff inside my home and it is bigger than a pickle. Send them over. ${#emotions_dlg.biggrin}$

Luvmysweetiepies · ‎04-06-2011

Lol, Yahooey! Believe me, they ALWAYS find the pickle! It's quite competitive. As a matter of fact the same "grand" found it 3 years in a row & the others have decided that's not happening again! Maybe I should send her over to find your lost things!