When I was a kid, we ate chili and opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas day
was just Santa stuff. None
of the Santa stuff was wrapped. I'd spend New Year's weekend with my dad's family and do Christmas
with them then. My husband's family opened one gift on Christmas Eve (always new pajamas) and
then the rest of their gifts on Christmas day
and I think they wrapped their Santa gifts and they were under the
tree in the morning.
When he and I got married, we realized that you have to somehow meld
traditions. So, while my mom was alive, we'd go over to my mom's on
Christmas Eve and open all of her gifts and eat chili. Then we'd come home and every other year we'd alternately unwrap one gift or open
everything. On Christmas Day, we'd have Santa stuff
(unwrapped) and then unwrap everything else (if we didn't the night
before) and all of my husband's family would come over. Now that my mom's gone, we needed a new tradition. I didn't want to sit around the house and be sad, missing my mom (she was such a MONSTER part of Christmas for me) so now we go out for sushi and see a movie Christmas Eve. We have still continued the trading of one or all presents Christmas Eve.
Danielle Rose shares her changing traditions, too:
When my husband and I got together, he was usually working Christmas Day, so we started a tradition of pancakes for breakfast before work, but I kept the tradition of going to my mom's to open presents from Santa. Because the day was so hectic with him working and us traveling from my family to his, we started a new tradition of opening our stockings in the evening after we arrived home and settled in for the night.
Now that I have kids it's even harder to keep the traditions of Christmases of old. I don't open presents from Santa at my mother's—instead that happens at our house. My husband and I can no longer open our stockings before bedtime on Christmas Day, but now after the kids are in bed, we enjoy a drink and watch a Christmas flick. Then there are a zillion new traditions built with our kids—cookies in the stockings, French toast for breakfast, seeing Santa for photos… singing carols while wrapping gifts… and of course, making time to bake cookies together.
Like Danielle, I enjoy our new tradition, even though it makes me sad that my mom's not around to enjoy Christmases with us any more. Instead, I look forward to all the changes to come! I expect one day to visit our children's homes for the holidays and to play with grandbabies. One day. Not soon guys (in case you're reading this.)
Stay tuned for tomorrow's special Christmas Day blog on how changing traditions keep the magic alive, and fight away the bah humbugs of the season.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's special Christmas Day blog on how changing traditions keep the magic alive, and fight away the bah humbugs of the season.
Bring on Star Wars (again)! Merry Christmas everybody!
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