In my family we always get together on Christmas Eve on my daughters house after the Christmas Eve church services and have some yummy goodies. We sing songs, listen to the older grandkids sing their favorite new tunes (not usually Christmas carols lol)while they play them on their guitars, play games, eat more goodies and last but not least open gifts. And with my youngest grand daughter, we HAVE to watch Frosty the Snowman over and over again and we can all now recite almost every word of it!! lol
What is your favorite Christmas/Holiday tradition?

When I was growing up, our tradition on Christmas Eve was to eat a light dinner. Sandwiches or order pizza. Then bug my mom endlessly until it was time to open presents from each other.

With my husband and sons, we would order pizza or have ham sandwiches for supper. Then listen to our boys bug us endlessly until it was time to open presents. After the boys were in bed and Santa came to visit, my husband and I would watch "A Christmas Carol". We especially like the black and white version that they would show on the Public Television station. It's about the only movie my husband would actually watch in its entirety without falling asleep.

When I was growing up, it was always about family, lots of food, singing, and lots of laughs. Looking back, the presents seem secondary when compared to how much fun we had being together.

When I was a kid we were after the war babies and we really did not have alot, but I don't think we really knew it. lol We used to go caroling and stop at a local cafe for hot cocoa that they would have for all the ones coming in from caroling. It was wonderful and I will never forget that little cafe or the caroling. My father who was not a drinker at all would have his one "highball" of the year on Christmas Eve.
On most Christmas' for gifts we got those soft plastic dolls made by Egee, if anyone remembers those, that had a wonderful plastic smell and it was almost like baby powder. Our land lady always gave us girls a little bottle of "Evening in Paris" toilet water. I would never wear it as I used to think it came from the toilet.
It was something completely different if we went to my grandmothers house. She had this huge beautiful house and it was always decorated to the hilt!
White trees with pink dainty fragile ornaments and the flocking of snow on it. OMG it was so beautiful! Some times it was the other way a pink tree with the white ornaments. I would love just one year to recreate that for my grand daughter. She would make this huge dinner with so much food it was unbelievable! But she took all leftovers to the church and even made more for those who had no dinner. She was a wonderful sweet lady.
Ahh the memories that flood back thinking of Christmas past!

On Christmas Eve, we would always eat Jack -N- a Crack, tacos, and Jumbo jacks. Then we would open all the "boring" gifts like the clothes and things. Then on Christmas day, "Santa" would come and the awesome presents would be under the tree. We always got full stockings, with lottery tickets.

The one thing I really remember from Christmases when I was really little and lived in Kentucky was these lights on the tree. We called them "Liquid bubble lights." They were glass and had blue, green, yellow, or red liquid in them. When the light heated up the liquid, they would bubble. We thought they were the coolest things.

You're right, Gen. Seeing this thread brought back a lot of Christmas memories.

All we do together would be open all of the presents together and then we go on our ways.

We also have a reunion every Christmas season and exchange gifts with family members.

Oh my I do so love those lights!! My daughter actually found me some a few years ago but these are singles and you clip them on the tree or wherever you like. And remember how huge the bulbs were on the tree compared to the tiny twinkling ones we have now. The ones we had looked more like the ones for outside now.
Found this link, looks like you can still buy them;
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo...sl_4o739d1dh6_b

Growing up we would go out a pick a real tree a few days before Christmas and cut it down. I grew up in a wooded area in New Jersey. Then we would bring the tree home and decorate it. Mom, Dad my sister and I would take turns putting on an ornament after Dad put on the lights. Then Mom would make us put on the tinsel, one strand at a time, claims it looked better that way. Then we would have a Pizza at the local pizza joint close to where Dad worked. They made the best pizza too, the place is still in business to this day. No presents would be exchanged cause at our age Santa still brought the presents.

Now we get together with my partner's sister and her family for dinner, either at her house or ours depending on who felt like doing the cooking that year. After dinner we would sit around the tree and watch everyone open up presents, especially our 5 yr old niece who still believes in Santa. Then we would talk about memories from the past of while we were growing up.

I do not get to see my family at all for the holidays as they are all out of state. I only see them maybe 1 time a year if I am lucky but we talk via the phone and email all the time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone.

Well of course there Rbn, every mother knows tinsel looks best done one strand at a time!

We use to like throwing it on a couple at a time as it took too long the other way