How Do You Celebrate Christmas?

[staceyy]

What is Christmas like around your house? I usually throw a Christmas party a week or so before the actual holiday. The party is for my relatives. There's lots of food, homemade cookies and desserts, Christmas music and an inexpensive gift exchange takes place. We used to always have a large real tree but two years ago I bought a big white artificial tree and decorate it with yellow and blue bulbs to match the living room. I try to have a different decorating theme each year. One year I circled the base of the tree with beautifully wrapped gift baskets, another I purchased pretty wrapping paper and decorated all the gifts the same. I've also used hatboxes tied with beautiful wired ribbon, a train, dolls, poinsettas etc.This year the theme is going to be gingerbread houses.

My mom when she was alive took care of foster children and we really went all out for them. I heard of an organization in my home town that provided toys at Christmas for under-privileged kids and I put the childrens names in. I was surprised at how many toys they provided. In addition to what we also bought the kids really had nice Christmases. I lived in a large, roomy Victorian apartment at the time with beautiful bay windows and we would place a large, live tree in front of the window and decorate it with a lot of handmade decorations in addition to store bought ones we had collected over the years. There were tons of homemade cookies of all kinds that the kids would get excited about and of course lots of Christmas music playing.

This year I am renting a hotel suite for the night of the party using my hotel points. My neice attended school for hairdressing and she will give everyone facials, manicures and pedicures. The men are invited for the daytime festivities but at night it turns into a "girls only" party. Everyone will bring their pajamas and we'll spend the night. Of course their will be lots of food. My family doesn't drink alcohol except for an occasional glass of wine so we'll serve punch, have appetizers, food of all kinds and of course desserts. We'll exchange in-expensive gifts.

We love Christmas but it is rarely about the gifts. Its more about the decorations, food, music and just celebrating together.

Christmas eve is spent around the fireplace eating lots of goodies, drinking eggnog, listening to Christmas music and just being happy and feeling blessed.

Christmas morning I usually make waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream along with bacon.

I'm usually so exhausted on Christmas day that I don't cook anything. We have a honey-baked ham, green beans, and sweet potatoes or we go to a relatives house for dinner.

I'd like to start incorporating more religion into our holiday and will be concentrating more on this aspect as I don't want us to forget the true meaning of Christmas. How do you celebrate Christmas?

[babymav]

The holidays here are very hectic. We usually go to our friends house for Christmas eve. Then we go to midnight mass. Christmas day we spend the morning here opening presents with the kids. Christmas afternoon we go to my husbands father's house and Christmas evening we go to my husbands mother's house. It's usually a hectic 2 days not to mention all the parties prior to christmas. I am usually exhausted but do enjoy the days.

[sunshine]

It depends on if I'm working on Christmas-- as to how we celebrate. This year I'm off work, so the plan will be:

Whatever day I have off, the first week of Dec. we'll go and get a live tree, bring it home and decorate it. I have mostly all handmade decorations. I'll run red garland through my white trim on the front porch, set up a few outdoor decorations, and a few indoor decorations.

The Saturday before Christmas, my mom, sis, daughter, and boy's girlfriends will all get together to bake loads of cookies -- this will be at my house, as I'm the only one with a large kitchen. We'll divide the cookies for each participant, some for gift giving, and some to eat!

The Sunday before Christmas- I'll host an open house for the neighbors and church family. I'll serve appetizers, cookies, hot cocoa, punch, and have a small gift for all attendees.

We'll attend the HS Christmas concert on the Wed. before Christmas.

I work Christmas Eve, and I'll take small gifts for all my co-workers

Christmas morning- dd will be my only child here to wake up to Santa items (unless my Marine son gets to come home- it's looking hopeful) We'll do gifts for each other here, then head to church. . After church, my parents, my sis and her grandson, my dd's boyfriend, son and girldfriend will come for lunch and a small gift exchange.

The day after Christmas I'll be back at work.