Christmas Traditions

[Redneck girl 01]

Howdy Howdy Y'all! Well now that Thanksgiving is over...and Black Friday is over...CHRISTMAS IS COMIN! Only 26 more days! Anyways My Christmas season starts Black Friday with shoppin...lol...I had fun shoppin n watchin all the people on a mission run through the store...luckily they are opened 24 hours n we could git there early n stand by what we wanted n git it whenn they tore the plastic off...anyways my Christmas traditions...well really aint got any...

Every Christmas Eve all my family goes to my grandmas. and we buy each other gifts...we have a big meal and dessert then all the women wash dishes n the men talk n kids play...once everythang is cleaned up its time to open presents...by the time that is done the floor is nothin but wrappin paper...then fer the lil kids we wrap in in wrappin paper n put bows on their heads...lol...they are so cute! N then after everythang is open we look at the stuff people got if they show us, and the kids open one of their toys each and they play n the rest talk or watch a game or Spongebob if the kids git it...lol...n then we all take cookies home to leave fer Santa...lol...Then on Christmas dependin on when I wake up I usually git up go out to the tree and shake presents...one year I was up at 3 in the mornin shakin em...I got chopsticks that year...lol...Then bout 9 my parents git up and then the home movies start...I open presents then daddy n mama...

Umm I usually decorate my grannies tree and the buck she has hangin on her wall I gotta post a pic of that cause its funny...n we watch Christmas movies...I always have doritos n orange pop n peanuts....White chocolate oreos I always git...n my daddy always gits chocolate covered Cherries...

Umm I always wrap presents...I love wrappin presents...All fancyful...usually...

Bout a week or so before Christmas we do one last shoppin trip to git everythang...so yea...But really that is all we do fer Christmas...oh wel always go out n look at the people that decorated the lights n all.....I would love to go back to HartWood Acres in Pittsburgh again But don't think we will make it...we have went three times...it is beautiful...I love it...but other than that its just simple fun...I like it...

Well now it's y'alls turn to share...what do ya do? Can't wait to here...n I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

[Denver C.]

Sounds like fun, Redneck girl! I never thought of wrapping the kids - it might keep them busy for a few seconds, if we did it right,lol.

Our Christmas is kind of boring, but it is always fun. At some point in December, my mother, sisters, and I go to my cousin's house for lunch. We've always been really close, so it is a way to catch up on anything we may have missed throughout the year.

My sisters and I go out to look at Christmas lights around the middle of the month. There is a small town about 15 minutes away from my house that hires carriages from Charleston to take people around for a tour of the lights. Afterwards, we go through a beautiful subdivision where just about every house is covered in lights. Then, if we have time, we head up to the science center on the mountain, where they have a huge drive through light display. (Yeah, we love lights and decorations - as my sisters put it, "Tacky is good at Christmas!")

For the last 13 years, my sisters and I have been celebrating something we call Geezer Day. That is the day before the day before Christmas. It's origins are a long story, but basically, it is the day when all of the little old folks that won't travel over 35 are out on the road enmasse! On this day, you cannot fuss about anyone being in your way on the road - it is their day and they are allowed to celebrate! Just wish them a Happy Geezer Day and go on. In honor of this special time, we exchange silly little gifts - just to prove that we aren't geezers yet. (One year I got them coloring books and crayons, and my oldest sister got us pop-up books.)

Like Thanksgiving, I have a small pre-Christmas with my "disfunctional family." We haven't decided on our meal for this year, yet. Have to do that soon. We exchange our gifts then and just enjoy a relatively stress-free time in the middle of the Christmas rush.

I also organize a Christmas party for my work every year. Our home office supplies the meat and every one brings a side dish. It isn't much, but it gives us a chance to get together without having to worry about work issues.

At home, we always open one present on Christmas eve. It started when we were little Daddy said it was important to open our family presents so they would be out of the way for Santa to put his around the tree. Now he swears that we can't wait for Christmas day, but, if none of us mention opening a present, he starts hinting until he finally can't stand it anymore and asks me to pull out a certain gift for Momma. Then we have to open one apiece, just so she will open hers, of course.

Christmas day, we open the rest of the gifts, then start cooking. My middle sister and I usually get at least one video game between us, so we divide our time between helping Momma in the kitchen and playing games in my room. If my oldest sister gets a board game, we all three get together after the dishes are done and play at the dining room table for hours.

I know, long post, but Christmas is my favorite holiday!

[Redneck girl 01]

Hey Denver it sounds like y'all have a lot of fun...

it might keep them busy for a few seconds, if we did it right,lol.

lol...key word a few seconds....but it is funny/cute...what is more fun is when ya have a big box...ya take a munchkin and have em git in it and place wrappin paper over it like it had been opened...take it over to an unexpectin person and tell em this box is fer them but the kids kinda got to it(hence it bein unwrapped) and then when they open the box the munckin jumps out and yells BOO!! it is so funny...I thought my aunt n granny was gonna jump out of their skin..............

wow it must be so nice to be able to have a carrige ride through the lights...and have enough people that almost every house is lit up...we have sleigh rides where I am, and people decorate but not as much as they use to...

Hmmm I have never heard of Geezer day...ok the day before the day before Christmas...so the 23rd? You must have a lot of patience.lol...hey coloring boooks are always fun!

So what do y'all have fer your meals? What kind of video games do ya like? Do ya have any of the Duke ones?

Hey that is fine yer post is long...its fun to read...n Christmas is my favorite holiday to!

[Denver C.]

It would take industrial strength duct tape to keep any of our crew in the box long enough to get it to the victim!

We don't have snow often down here, so we have to use something with wheels, lol. I wish we could do sleigh rides, though - I've always wanted a white Christmas, but never seen one.

It's always fun to do the carriage rides - especially when you've been doing it as long as we have! My sisters and I seem to be memorable people- the drivers tend to remeber us each year. (We get the same reaction on our fourth trip through rides at Disney World!) I have noticed that a lot of places are scaling back on the decorations, this year. I think the carriage rides keep the people in Fountain Inn decorating more - can't let your neighbor outdo you! Lol.

Yeah, Geezer Day tends to tax your patience, lol. No one but my sisters understood why I thought it was so funny that my ex-mother-in-law's birthday was December 23. I thought Geezer Day was fitting for her!

We eat pretty much the same things at Christmas as we do for Thanksgiving. My daddy is allergic to pork, so we can't have ham for holidays at home. At work, the meat depends on what the home office is willing to supply. We have had everything from traditional ham or turkey to chicken strips or barbeque.

We used to do traditional for our dysfunctional Christmas, but decided that was too much work. Last year we just had hamburgers and hot dogs.

Elizabeth and I love pretty much any video games. I have all of the Dukes games for Playstation - we each take turns on the missions until we finallly manage to beat them. On the computer, we mostly play time management games like Diner Dash and hidden object games like Prime Suspects.

As for board games - mostly we play Clue and Trivial Pursuit type games.

[Amanda Coltrane]

Our Christmas traditions sorta changed when I ran off to Thailand. Now when Jamie (who ya'll know as Jamanda) and the family open gifts, they have to parade them in front of the webcam (which is in the next room with the computer) so I can watch on the other end (where it is evening).

I get my gifts early in a box and usually don't get to unwrap them since everything is on the customs tag anyway. I'm hoping my box got through before the BKK airports closed though. Mom sent one box anyway. Might get another one if things settle down here.

The people of Thailand celebrate the Christmas season in the city, but not Christmas Day. They ask each other "When are you doing Christmas?" and the answer can be any day in Dec., although it's usually sometime over a weekend. Everyone goes to work and school on the 25th.

Not all bad though. I get Friday off from my Thai language class, as it is His Majesty the King's birthday (which is also Father's Day). I'm hoping the King has a good political address planned that'll get those people out of the airport. I'll also take advantage of the long weekend to visit my fiance', who lives 3 hours away.

[artykidd]

Those are some pretty cool traditions, though I did laugh at the thought of 'wrapping' kids.

I'm afraid my family traditions are a bit redneckish of not bordering on slightly hillbilly. Ever since I was a little kid, Christmas eve was celebrated with a candlelit ceremony at church where the Christmas story was read, the Lord's supper was taken and then a prayer was said. Nothing to elaborate and over in about 15-20 minutes. Then, here's the redneck part, we would all pile into the old 40 chevy and drive to the local trailer park to look at Christmas light. Yep, trailer park. The local police have to direct traffic it has gotten so big and Santa is always at the end, handing out candy canes to kids. There are a few southern twists to it as well. The lights usually have Santa in an old pick up with the deer hanging out in the back, sitting on hay bales.

After that we go back to my folks house and have wine or other libations and Christmas cookies while my husband and my sister's husband have to sit through listening to the whole family quote the movie "A Christmas Story" while it plays on the big tv.

Christmas morning always starts with the reading of the Christmas story, though I'm not sure if we're doing it this year. My little sister's speech is much worse now and it seems wrong to have someone else do it. Then we rip open the gifts and make as big a mess as possible and then take pics of the carnage. Afterwards we go out in the yard and play with all the new toys or watch my four year old neice play with hers.

[General Grant]

Great Traditions, y'all!

Okay, I might sound like an odd ball here, but here we go... We don't really have any traditions. (we can't ever get two Christmas' to be the same!) But we usually put up the tree, and complain because it is the artificial pre-strung type and not a REAL tree. We like to procrastinate around here, so that usually happens a week or two before Christmas. (unlike a lot of people who put theirs up between Thanksgiving and December 1!!)

Well, then there's the traditional "Light Wars" between the family. First the tree is plugged in, then its unplugged, then its plugged in, then its unplugged... you get the idea, and it keeps going like that until the last person goes to bed. And in the morning whoever is up first either leaves the tree unplugged or plugs it back in depending on what side they're on. (what can I say, some people like the lights and some don't!)

Usually Christmas Eve we have snack-type food. The past couple of years we haven't had Christmas in the traditional sense (here's where the odd ball part comes in) we don't buy Christmas Presents FOR Christmas Day. We would wait until After Christmas when all of the HUGE sales were on and then buy and have Christmas a week or so later. But, this year we are thinking about doing just one Large Family Gift and skipping all of the little gifts. Oh, and we have yet to send out this year's Christmas Cards. It is really bad... we always plan to get better about that every year, and then... it never happens. They are always getting out late.

Well, I guess that is all that there is to tell about Christmas around here. I don't know, I might sound crazy here, but I really enjoy Christmas, but I don't like all of the "commercialism", fanfare, and the huge production that is made over this One day of the year. I guess I'm just a simple person, so I like it really simple. You get up Christmas morning and look out the window to the snow-caped earth (or in some cases the un snow caped earth) and just think about the great life you have with friends, neighbors, family, and loved ones around. It really is a great feeling to look around at a Christmas gathering and notice all of the people that seem to go by Unnoticed through the year. It really is wonderful, and everyone is happy. You know, I don't think I've ever been to a family Christmas gathering where someone was upset. (except maybe me once when some little kids kept taking our ornaments off the tree-they were homemade ornaments and I was worried they'd break) Anyways, I"m starting to babble. I really enjoy hearing about everyone's Christmas celebrations, and I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a wonderful 2009.

General Grant