Holiday

[Helloodoli]

With the Holidays fast approaching thought it would be a fun idea for all of us to share our holiday traditons.  

Mine is:  After all the presents are open on Christmas morning, when I host Dinner at my home, I make sure I have one last gift on each plate your my guests.  Some extra inexpentive little trinket....a lottery scratch off, or a piece of costume jewelry, a swiss army knife for my male guests,  Just something cute, small and unexpected.  My guests are thrilled and now every year I hear thru the grapevine....."I wonder what our table presents will be "  LOL too cute, makes me feel so appreciated.

Now its your turn.......

[Oznell]

@Helloodoll, what a lovely festive gesture!  Your guests are pampered!  Let's see.  Some of these we do every year;  some we do off and on, according to whim:

After a huge, almost immobilizing Christmas dinner, go for a quick walk on the Greenway Trail that traverses the state and cuts through our town.  It is almost deserted and like a winter wonderland some years.  Great to move after all that food, too.

We watch "The House Without A Christmas Tree", a Christmas classic with Mildred Natwick, Jason Robards.  In the Forties in Nebraska, an embittered widowed father won't let his precocious daughter have a Christmas tree.

Go to Christmas Eve late night services at church, or read passages of the Nativity story from the Bible.

My husband, son and I ring the Salvation Army bells for donations at our local supermarket.  Although we didn't do it the last two Christmases.

Try to get Crosse and Blackwell plum pudding for Christmas dinner.  Then I make a caramel sauce like my mother did to go over it.  We have to have our "Christmas pudding"!  If plum pudding isn't available, I get Italian pannetone and pour the caramel sauce over that.

[QVCkitty1]

My mom was a German war bride, and to make her feel comfortable my dad's family started opening gifts on Christmas Eve. When I was little and still believed in Santa, they would put me to bed early, and get me up when Santa came. One year we tried opening gifts in the morning, but it difn't seem right. I followed that tradition with my family. Christmas Day is for feasting and family.

[Spurt]

We always go to an early Christmas Eve service, and then to a restaurant in the Texas Hill country ......  and then off to look at Christmas lights....there are some wonderful displays and some people go all out....

Christmas day my sister hosts dinner and we open our gift (we have restricted our gifts to one small gift ---or a donation to a favorite charity)......

After dinner we watch a Christmas movie as we enjoy dessert, and later in the evening we play games (Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, Scattegories) 

[Oznell]

Oh, @Spurt, you lucky duck, living in or near the Texas Hill country! 

[Spurt]

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@Oznell wrote:

Oh, @Spurt, you lucky duck, living in or near the Texas Hill country! 

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@Oznell

They are about an hour's drive for us, but I just love the small Texas Hill country towns and to see them all decorated for Christmas....it's like taking a trip back in time when things were simpler .... much like a visit to Bedford Falls in It's A Wonderful Life....I think some of their town square displays are better than what we do in our big city........And then some of the suburbs in between the city and the Hill Country on the outskirts of town, have some wonderful neighborhood displays too.............

[Oznell]

That was my parents' reaction too, @Spurt.  They used to visit distant relatives of ours-- a former World War II G.I. and his English wartime bride, in their little town of Burnett, Texas.  My parents were smitten with the town and the whole "back in time" atmosphere!

[Spurt]

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@Oznell wrote:

That was my parents' reaction too, @Spurt.  They used to visit distant relatives of ours-- a former World War II G.I. and his English wartime bride, in their little town of Burnett, Texas.  My parents were smitten with the town and the whole "back in time" atmosphere!

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@Oznell

That's great I'm glad they enjoyed the atmosphere....Ive been to Burnett, and they have some cute shops and they turn part of their town in old time Bethlehem.....  My favorite is Fredericksburg......

[kelsey17]

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

My mom was a German war bride, and to make her feel comfortable my dad's family started opening gifts on Christmas Eve. When I was little and still believed in Santa, they would put me to bed early, and get me up when Santa came. One year we tried opening gifts in the morning, but it difn't seem right. I followed that tradition with my family. Christmas Day is for feasting and family.

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I can relate......we always celebrated Christmas Eve as both sides of my family were from Norway....and that was the time they would celebrate...and yes..Christmas day was for leftovers, family fun and laughs and just enjoying the quiet day together....................Now in dealing with our childrens families and their inlaws and trying to accomodate all.......sometimes the celebration days get mixed up..................makes me sad...i miss the old days!!

We always celebrate on Christmas Eve....but these years there are always family members missing who must go to their inlaws homes...........................and then we have to try to see them either Christmas Day or another convenient time for both of us...........................life changes..

[corita]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Oznell wrote:

That was my parents' reaction too, @Spurt.  They used to visit distant relatives of ours-- a former World War II G.I. and his English wartime bride, in their little town of Burnett, Texas.  My parents were smitten with the town and the whole "back in time" atmosphere!

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@Oznell

That's great I'm glad they enjoyed the atmosphere....Ive been to Burnett, and they have some cute shops and they turn part of their town in old time Bethlehem.....  My favorite is Fredericksburg......

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        My DD went to school in Austin, so I was able to get to Fredericksburg several times during the holidays. 

       Just love that town...still have some very beautiful, carved, wax Christmas candles I bought twenty years ago!!