What are your simple holiday traditions?

**redhead68** · 12-12-2008, 01:01 AM

How do you keep things simple is the midst of the chaos that is Hallow-Thanks-Mas? (A former pastor came up with the term, and I can't think of a better way to describe the holiday mania that commences at the end of October.) So, how do you keep the focus on what's important?

Our family gives traditional Christmas gifts for our children, and we stick to three: one from Mom, one from Dad, and one from Santa, plus stocking stuffers.. We also buy a tree only every other year. On off years, we give the money we would have spent to charity.

What about you?

**RetiredVeryEarly** · 12-12-2008, 02:11 AM

Oddly enough my focus has become Christmas cards. It is how I keep in touch with a lot of people I hardly ever see. I have found (and studies have found this to be true, as if it weren't obvious) that people really like to get actual paper mail from people they know, and vastly prefer it to email greetings. So although the postage is horrendous, I still send over 150 cards every year. I write a little note to every person, so it takes a lot of days to get them all done. On the plus side this means I get many cards in return, some of them from old folks that don't do email anyway, and almost everyone writes something. So it keeps me in touch with friends and family. I hang all the cards on little ropes hung in the windows.

Our gift giving is mostly homemade jam and salsa along with chocolates, nuts, etc. Most people we know have too much stuff so we give gifts of food that are tasty but won't clutter up the house forever. We mainly only buy STUFF for kids, and not anything big or expensive. I get together with one group of friends and sing Christmas carols one day.

Used to be we always baked a lot of cookies. Last year I baked cookies with two friends and brought some of those home, but didn't actually bake any at my own house. Fortunately a friend who was kind of broke gave us a large basket of homemade cookies and treats as a gift, so we had plenty. So although I like cookie baking I guess it isn't important to me.

We have Christmas lights in our windows and I plug them in on a timer this time of year. I find Christmas lights very cheery. Hubby is allergic to pine trees and I refuse to go fake, so we decorate an electric palm tree we have. :-)

**Momto2Boyz** · 12-12-2008, 07:03 AM

I don't go all out at Christmas, but I do enjoy the simple joys of decorating and baking at the holidays.

One of my biggest joys each year is pretty simple. I love getting out my tree skirt! When my first son was born, I made my own tree skirt out of red felt. Then every year, I trace the boys hands, cut them out of green felt, embroider their name and the year on them and sew them to the skirt. I get such a thrill out of seeing how they've grown every year.

We don't have any festivities at our house, so that makes things really simple for me. No cooking, no cleaning, no stress! We let everyone else worry about that!

We decorate the Christmas tree and put up the decorations on the day after Thanksgiving when everyone is home to help, so there is no stress there either.

I really don't give in to the pressure of the holidays. I enjoy this time of year, so I've never really felt the holiday stress that everyone talks about!

**TheRootedNomad** · 12-12-2008, 07:12 AM

I always find it intresting, the differences in what is most meaningful or important to someone, between groups of people. I think I could get rid of everything else about Christmas and as long as my boys and DH are close by, there are twinkly lights on a tree, and there is something, anything really, homemade to eat, the rest of it could all fall by the wayside and I'd still love this time of year. I even like some of the craziness.

Every year I bake. I include whoever is willing to be included. This is one of the traditions that will stay with us, at the very least, until I'm gone. Growing up from Thanksgiving week through New Years (my grandfathers birthday) the influx of coming and going through our house was non-stop ...... and there was always something baking ..... and .....something freshly baked to dunk...AND.. there was really no telling who it might be that was doing the actual baking.

We also set up out tree early. By Thanksgiving weekend I want it completely up and decorated so we have weeks to enjoy it.

We do an open house Christmas Eve but I'm not sure how simple of a tradition that would be. I consider it simple because it is not a gift exchange. It is just a known open door invatation for people to stop by and see each other.

These are our main "traditions". I am lookin gfoward to reading everyone elses.

**MamaTreadler** · 12-12-2008, 07:42 AM

I always make homemade peppermint patties and german chocolate fudge. The kids look forward to it. As a matter of fact, I'm going to purchase the ingredients this weekend. Other than that, not too much. We put up our decorations. I have a white tree that is put in the living room. I put it up on my grandmother's old chest to make it loot taller. :-) And then little small trees throughout the house. The kids both have one on their dressers and there are 3 more throughout the house so that makes it look festive.

**forHISglory** · 12-12-2008, 09:20 AM

As I have mentioned on other threads, we are very low key about Christmas gifts. (with that said, look at my siggie about my gift to Hubby this year....). But we do a lot of celebrating and that becomes central to our Christmas.

One tradition is that we have soup on Christmas Eve. Each of my sibs and I bring a pot of soup for supper and we have that with salad and veggie sticks. It's something that we really look forward to, and now the next generation of kids and nieces and nephews are starting to contribute a pot of their own soup. Interestingly, Hubby came from a family that did the same, so he fit right in with my family.

We celebrate our ethnic Christmas the next day, with all our Old World family dishes. Hooray for lutefisk!!!!!!!

Before we open any gifts, we read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus, and sing carols.

Finally, we set out angels all over, especially surrounding the nativity set. It is the "Heavenly Host", and it's a collection that we continue to add to. There are stories behind several of the angel figures, and we retell the stories every year. We tell the Bible story of the angel that appeared to Mary.

**redhead68** · 12-12-2008, 09:54 AM

I love the idea about having soup on Christmas Eve! We are all big soup lovers in this family and have soup regularly during Lent. We used to live on the coast, and I miss the clam chowder, which we haven't had in a long time. My in-laws are coming for Christmas Eve, and I think we may have to break out the stockpot.

**Patty A** · 12-12-2008, 10:08 AM

We start our traditions early, we put up the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.
We also do our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day. That way I get the day off for Christmas too, other than danish in the morning for Christmas breakfast. My Mom and her dad started the tradition of opening family gifts on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day is spent with what Santa leaves. That way we adults can help the kids set up their toys or help with what ever needs to be put together or helped with. Christmas day is all about the kids! (Big and small!)
We always make Christmas candy and cookies, and that is something we all look forward to.
We try hard to add a new "something" to the decoration every year. The kids love going though all the old ones and have some very special memories of when they was bought. Each one of them having a favorite that has be to set up and used yearly to make it really feel like Christmas!

**IntlMom** · 12-12-2008, 10:28 AM

Simply, we read the Christmas story of Christs' birth found in Luke 2:1-20 every single year on Christmas morning before we open presents. (Actually, we read the story, then we pray, THEN we open gifts) It's a simple tradition, but one I have done forever and ever, since even before I can remember. Hubby did it as a child also, so it just continues as always in our family!!

**stinkbug** · 12-12-2008, 12:10 PM

Dh and I go cut trees every year (not from a tree farm). We actually started doing this after the kids were gone from home. It's our time to spend a day together, in the mountains, wandering in the snow.

Dh makes fudge every year and I make an enormous amount of cookies. We package them all up and distribute to neighbors and freinds, and dh delivers them to each of his stores (6 in our area). He also makes home made Kahlua for everyone in his office and makes his own special labels for the bottles.

I decorate the tree in the entry hall. It's done in all red, white and blue in honor of our dd and her dh who are in the military. I did it the first year they were deployed and have done it every since. I do it alone....dh understands it is *my thing* and I did it that first year while bawling the whole time.

We don't go all out for family....we all have everything we need. But we do choose several families, or children/elderly that we sponsor. And every year we buy about 100 pairs of socks to donate to the rescue mission.

I'm fortunate that dh LOVES Christmas and is actively involved in pretty much everything we do. He loves to decorate and cook.

**LastDragonfly** · 12-12-2008, 12:13 PM

Christmas Eve my family eats a traditional Mexican meal of tamales and posole. (I cook the posole about a week before and freeze it)

The youngest grandchild has a special job of reading the Christmas Story from the Bible when they become of reading age. If they are too little to read or a baby then their mom reads the story.

Now that my little girls play the piano, they give their grandparents a Christmas recital.

The children get to open presents from each other and maybe 1 from their grandparents.

My kids enjoy my dad at Christmas. Everything excites him. He was raised in an orphanage and so doing the "family thing" makes him so happy. He decorates the lawn, puts lights on the house, and all the stuff we take for granted.

Christmas Day we open presents and have a big lunch together.

**LastDragonfly** · 12-12-2008, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by stinkbug

Dh and I go cut trees every year (not from a tree farm). We actually started doing this after the kids were gone from home. It's our time to spend a day together, in the mountains, wandering in the snow.

Dh makes fudge every year and I make an enormous amount of cookies. We package them all up and distribute to neighbors and freinds, and dh delivers them to each of his stores (6 in our area). He also makes home made Kahlua for everyone in his office and makes his own special labels for the bottles.

I decorate the tree in the entry hall. It's done in all red, white and blue in honor of our dd and her dh who are in the military. I did it the first year they were deployed and have done it every since. I do it alone....dh understands it is *my thing* and I did it that first year while bawling the whole time.

We don't go all out for family....we all have everything we need. But we do choose several families, or children/elderly that we sponsor. And every year we buy about 100 pairs of socks to donate to the rescue mission.

I'm fortunate that dh LOVES Christmas and is actively involved in pretty much everything we do. He loves to decorate and cook.

I love love love your idea of the red white and blue thing! My son will leave for Army Airborne basic training the day after Christmas this year and so I don't know when we will get to be together for Christmas next. I'm definately doing that next year! What a wonderful way to honor your soldiers. Bless you!

**mommy4ever** · 12-12-2008, 12:27 PM

We started something new this year. In the past I've gotten the kids the chocolate advent calendars, and for them it's just a chocolate.

This year I spent a little bit, $6 at the Dollarama. And got some tealights in pretty red holders. I got 24, this is our Advent Calendar. Each evening, we light the candles, one more each day, and have the kids think of something that reflect what Christmas is to them. Peace, Family, love, generosity, fun, Savior, etc. For the little one, she is not 100% sure. To her it's seeing her new neighbors(meaning her newly adopted cousins, who aren't even in the same province..lol), going for supper at nana papas, seeing santa, celebrating Jesus birthday. It's simplistic, sometimes a little selfish, but she's learning still.

Dh thinks it's corny. But I think it's important that they realize Christmas isn't all about gifts, but the true meaning. Dh and I clash some here as he never went to church as a child, so it's all foreign to him.

**rainbowgc** · 12-12-2008, 01:07 PM

Thankfully I had finished my shopping before my accident, now I plan on asking various friends to help me gift bag everything.

**Contrary Housewife** · 12-12-2008, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by redhead68

How do you keep things simple is the midst of the chaos that is Hallow-Thanks-Mas?

The last couple of years we've gotten rid of the worst of the chaos.

I used to have parties and get-togethers with friends, and make a ton of food and decorate, and I've stopped. It was such a hassle to coordinate schedules to find the right dates, and it was a lot of work for me personally. Last year and this year I just told folks they were welcome if they wanted to visit, that there would be simple snacks. We enjoy their company, but don't make more work than we can handle.

We downsized the tree. There really isn't room for a full-size tree, even the "slim" model I bought when we married, and heaven only knows where the decorations went last time we "cleaned" the garage. So now we're using an 18" mini tree DH had in his bachelor apartment, and it's set up on the highboy in the dining room. Since the kids don't live with us, it works out pretty well.

I don't go nuts with the lights. I put a couple strands up this year, and the ones on the porch won't light up, so the house looks a little lopsided, but I'm not going to stress about it. I leave them on until January. I like to let the season wind down, instead of snuffing it out on Dec. 26th.