Sound Off! What Are Your Family's Holiday Traditions?

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With Hanukkah beginning on Sunday and Christmas just nine days away, the holidays are really in full swing! While the weeks ahead will bring gift-giving, religious observances and lots of eating, they’ll also be the time in which we share our favorite traditions with our families. Reese Witherspoon — seen here after a day of wintry ice-skating with children Ava Elizabeth and Deacon Reese — says that every year she looks forward to hanging stockings, making cookies and baking her famous applesauce cake. Angelina Jolie, meanwhile, shares she and her family will be up late wrapping presents together on Christmas Eve, as they do every year.

So now it’s your turn to Sound Off. What is your favorite family tradition during the holidays?

Comments

When I was a child, I loved Christmas Eve. My parents used to have big dinner parties and all the kids would act out the Christmas story. As we got older and my dad became sick, so that we couldn’t have the parties, we’d go look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve and then come home and read the Christmas story out of St. Luke before bed. We’d also look for at least one service project to do as a family during the season.

Now I’m married, and my husband and I are trying to figure out our own traditions. Our baby will join us in Feb. so I guess next year we’ll try to get a handle on things

- MB on December 16th, 2008

When I was little, my parents would post a sheet of paper numbered 1-25 on my door (and my brother’s door) every December 1st. We had to complete one good task every day between the 1st and 25th of December (whether it was running an errand for our grandparents, helping a neighbor, etc.) in order to receive our Christmas presents. I loved it — it made me feel like I was making a difference — and plan to do that with my children someday!

- Katie on December 16th, 2008

This is such a good thread. We are excited to start our own traditions with our new little family. Congratulations MB…Happy baby and Happy holidays!

- Aurora Mia on December 16th, 2008

I always loved opening one present on Christmas Eve at night. Every Christmas morning, mom and I would turn on the our old crooner Christmas CD’s, and make our family’s traditional Ham and Egg thing…I don’t even really know what to call it but it is sinfully delicious. While that cooks we all open presents.

Of course I come downstairs wearing the weirdest PJ’s possible because it’s a kind of, childhood throwback. Christmas text messages and phone calls go out following breakfast and we just spend the rest of the day chatting and cooking. This year my brother’s coming so it’ll be even better and I’m lucky enough to live about 45 minutes north of my parents.

- Harley on December 16th, 2008

I always loved running downstairs early morning to find presents in my shoe. Also the night before leaving water and a carrot for the horse and singing songs thinking he could hear my sister and I, I have great memories of that. I hope I can get that feeling and excitement transferred to my own family now.

- Anna on December 16th, 2008

We always opened one present on Christmas Eve, but we would always read the story about the baby Jesus and head out to midnight mass. Then we would come home and go to bed or camp out and fall asleep to Christmas movies like Rudolph and The Grinch. I have continued the tradition with my daughter’s to camp out on Christmas Eve until they fall asleep and we move them into beds! They love camp outs every weekend up until Christmas watching every Christmas movie/cartoon you can think of! Although we don’t always get to midnight mass I make sure to also read them the story of Baby Jesus!
A.J.

- *AJ* on December 16th, 2008

Our family traditions? we spend as much time with each other as we can. we start out by choosing a christmas tree. we decorate together. and we play christmas music.

- dawn on December 16th, 2008

My husband and I are starting our own little traditions now that we are married. One that we have started with our friends is going to Butchart Gardens on Christmas Eve, no matter where we are living. It so much fun to get bundled up with apple cider or hot chocolate and walk the gardens. Hopefully this year there will be some snow!

When I was little, I loved baking all the Christmas treats with my mum. We would put on Neil Diamond’s Christmas album, bake cookies and dance around decorating the house. I can’t wait until I have my own children to do that with!

- Devon on December 16th, 2008

Thanks Aurora Mia! We are so so so excited

- MB on December 16th, 2008

All of the kids have Advent calenders counting the days until Christmas. We also have a family Advent Wreath on the kitchen table with the traditional candles.We decorate the tree as a family and watch a “Jesus” video on His Birth. After Christmas Eve Mass the kids can open one present each and the rest are saved until Christmas morning, and they also get their stockings then.

- Pogue Mahone on December 16th, 2008

We do stockings as soon as we get up, then eat breakfast (and the “Santas” load up on coffee!!) and then we dive into the presents. This will be the first year that my youngest (age 3) really understands what’s going on, so I’m excited for it.

- Brandi on December 16th, 2008

It is called a Jewish Christmas. Chinese food and a movie. They are the only places reliably open. Ask nearly any Jewish family in the United States what a Jewish Christmas is, and you will hear “chinese food and a movie.” It is a fun tradition for us.

- Susan on December 16th, 2008

LOL Susan, so true.

This was not a tradition but something we looked forward to every winter.My brothers took it upon themselves to pull a different prank for every day of Hanukkah.Some were very obnoxious,one time they fried all the dog’s food on the oil that was going to be used to cook dinner, but most were awesome.My favourite was when I was twelve and they surprised everyone with fireworks.We never knew what to expect, we just tried to guess what they were up to half terrified half excited.

- eva on December 16th, 2008

We do tons of family traditions here in our house. We only have one son (but are in the process of getting foster children) and he loves baking with me and we always make a gingerbread house the first weekend in December.

We bake cookies and decorate them to give to our elderly neighbours and our friends. We wrap the extended family gifts together and he writes the tags.

Every Christmas, I buy him new jammies to open/wear on Christmas Eve and we go look at all the lights. Then we watch White Christmas and a Christmas story if we don’t have company over. This year we have my in laws here so we will be exchanging gifts and visiting first.

Also, every year, I buy my son a new ornament that reflects what his interests are that year. When he moves out, he will take all of those with him. I have dated them all on the back and he thinks it’s cool that he has six (soon to be seven) ornaments already.

And lastly, we always open gifts one at a time on Christmas morning, but not until after we eat homemade cinnamon buns while opening our stockings

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!

- TracyG on December 16th, 2008

Eva – my brothers used to pull ridiculous pranks too! The all time highlight was when they got a hold of blue food dye (God knows how and where) and died all the milk blue in honor of Hannukah. It was very odd eating cheerios in blue milk – disturbing even. And then my folks used to hide our presents with our neighbors across the street. My brothers and I would come up with increasingly cartoonish ways to get into their house to see the presents. But always, ALWAYS chinese food and a movie. I’m thinking beef and broccoli this year.

- Susan on December 16th, 2008

Susan, I’m Jewish too and I know exactly what Jewish Christmases are like! It’s either Chinese food and a movie, or a family Hanukkah party, complete with dreidels, latkes, and such. This year Hanukkah and Christmas actually overlap.

- Allison on December 16th, 2008

My Family plays Bingo every year and the prizes our bought by each family. You can win a good prize like a (box of candy or a cool ordament or even a scratch off ticket) and a cod box goes around for years family to family. Not knowing who will grab it next or what it will be. Plus blackout the entire bingo page at the end and you win the big prize. Usually food/candy and movie tickets.. or something it’s always fun. Plus now I have to 2nd baby cousins almost 3! This year I’ll be giving more than recieving but that’s what it’s about!

- Heather on December 17th, 2008

Advent in Germany is really big, you decorate your home, bake cookies, go to the christmas market, open your calendar … Each advent-sunday you light a new candle. Traditionally we celebrate christmas Eve really big, the tree (a real one with real candles) will be decorated just the day before and will be lit in the afternoon. Then we go to church and see the christmas-play from the local kids. When we arrive home, presents will be under the tree . Then a huge feast with cheese-fondue, salads, Glühwein(?) and Bratäpfel(?) follows. And THEN we get to open our presents. The rest of the evening we sing, play games and read a christmas story. 25. and 26. is celebrated with relatives and usually a lot of food. This year together with some friends, my boyfriend and I will celebrate christmas and new year in a swiss-hut. A happy christmas to all of you – Steffi

- die eule on December 17th, 2008

Devon that is so neat! My mom works at the Butchart Gardens…it is beautiful there at Christmas time and I love going ice skating…we always open new pajamas on Christmas eve, hang out together and then in the morning open presents, eat freshly made cheese scones and then head over to my Grandma’s for dinner with the whole family!

- Shannon on December 19th, 2008

Our family tradition has always been the one of christmas pj’s…may sound weird but my grandma always made sure we all had new pajamas, slippers, and robes for christmas eve… I never understood why but i do the same thing with my son

- La Rhonda on December 23rd, 2008

Here in Germany the Christmas began in end of November with the fest of Saint Martin.
The children sing lot of songs and they making paper lanterns and walk on streetor forest and the adult with torchs. Sometimes there are a man whose came with a costum of Roman Soldeir and he ride a horse. He represent Saint Matin too.

In 6th December is the Saint Nicolaus day. The children become sweet things and they must say a verse or sing or make another criative things to become the sweet things! Sometimes came a person with Saint Nicolaus costume. His costume is of a Bishop and with several colors. Sometimes white, red, blue, gold or silver.

In 25th December come the Christ Kind (Christ Child) to give the gift for the children but only if they would be brave and behave very well all years long!

In 6th January is the party of Three Magier Kings. There are in all Germany 3 children whose come with costume of these three Kings whose represent Asia, Europa and Africa. They ask the people to give little money for the poor children of poor countries.

The tradition of Christmas tree come from Germany. In original Christmas Tree the people put fruit and sweet things. The aple represented the new Adam and Eva and the sweet things for better life!

- mediocre on December 23rd, 2008