What are your Holday Traditions / Routines?

I thought I'd start up the thread where we could share some of our holiday traditions.

Besides waiting for the fat guy in the red suit baking cookies, cooking up a Christmas dinner and some of the more common activities, our family traditionally cooks up a batch of hot cocoa, we all pile into the family truckster and drive around looking at Christmas lights while sipping on said cocoa.

But one of the, and it's such a simple thing, we look forward to is is breaking out a set of bells that my grandfather would always jingle before we opened presents. He always told us always told us as kids that came off of the reindeer harness. And believe me as a kid I just knew they were real and the story was true!
Fast forward many years and even though my kids are teenagers now we still can't start Christmas until we get those bells out and give him a jingle through the house. Every time we do it takes me back and I have the biggest smile on my face.

Picture of Bellshttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e93b573eca.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...512b591fb0.jpg

My Christmas traditions have sadly totally changed since my children have all grown up, married and have children of their own. Which I understand they have in-laws to celebrate with, but it seems they have abandoned our family traditions and have adopted their spouses family traditions. We still get to spend time with everyone on Christmas, but it usually later in the day. Don't get me wrong, we still have a great time, it's just different.

Dang, no one else up for some Holiday Chit-Chat?

Going through a transition myself as far as tradition, however one thing has not changed. All of us kids gather at my parents Christmas Eve, many nieces and nephews there now and they are adopting my parents tradition of hot cocoa, and reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. Other then that haven't really found much for my own tradition, however it may just be smoking a cigar which I unofficially started tonight

Nice story SoCal...and those bells look quite authentic!

Recall visiting relatives on Christmas day,they were all a good deal older than me. Tho most of them lived well into their ninetes they're all gone.
I'm the ancient one now, the relatives younger.

My wife invites half the world over for dinner, way too many people. I wind out grilling steaks out in the snow and cold, but not long enough to enjoy a stogie of course. There's way too much food and cleanup takes forever - especially when you're stuffed LOL.
But hey - it's tradition

Hey steaks on the grill sounds pretty darn good!

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Originally Posted by Cigarer

Hey steaks on the grill sounds pretty darn good!

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They were but it was in the teens and snowing when I was out grilling. Half hour of frigid for a dozen tasty NY Strips - I guess I can live with it !

Yeah man certainly dropped temp big time from yesterday and windy! Can't go wrong with a strip

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Originally Posted by WNYTONY

My wife invites half the world over for dinner, way too many people. I wind out grilling steaks out in the snow and cold, but not long enough to enjoy a stogie of course. There's way too much food and cleanup takes forever - especially when you're stuffed LOL.
But hey - it's tradition

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Well, I can see which half of the world I fall in as I was not invited.

Generally speaking I've got a couple things I try to do each year. First is to read A Christmas Story (yes read, it was a collection of short stories before it became a movie) and Skipping Christmas. I love both books so much and enjoy reading them every year. I normally like to have a good cigar (and read) after the kids open their presents, but this year my daughter wasn't feeling well, so I ended up staying inside. So, I have a Viaje Holiday Blend waiting on me for when I get off work later today.

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Originally Posted by WNYTONY

My wife invites half the world over for dinner, way too many people. I wind out grilling steaks out in the snow and cold, but not long enough to enjoy a stogie of course. There's way too much food and cleanup takes forever - especially when you're stuffed LOL.
But hey - it's tradition

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Yup, that sounds like the traditional Italian Christmas we also follow. If you don't have to open a window while the outside temp is 5°, you don't have enough company.

Merry Christmas all.

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We let the kids open one gift on Christmas eve that just happens to be pajamas every year. The last couple years we've gone to the movies with another family we are friends with on Christmas eve.

We get together with my wife's family Christmas Eve and I cook up dinner. I'm far from a chef but I do make some mean Alfredo and pretty good meat sauce. Everyone gathers at our house about 2. The kids all play together, we open some gifts and have a few drinks. We then get together Christmas morning (where we get together rotates) to all have breakfast together and open the gifts that Santa brings the kids. Usually everyone goes their own way around mid day as we all have other family to see and spend time with.

I love the story of the reindeer bells @SoCal gunner !
For as long as I remember, we gathered at my grandparent’s farm for cookies, snacks and of course, a few beverages on Christmas Eve and then enjoying our gifts on the morning of Christmas Day followed by a traditional Christmas dinner. As a child, I would always stay with them for a week or so for the remainder of the Christmas break, sledding, exploring the barns and everything a farm could offer a young boy. My Pompa has been gone for two years now (at the age of 100) and it is not the same. Haven’t been back to the farm since.
With my own family, we still reserve Christmas morning for my own immediate family, children. Then it is off to spread time with my parents and brothers’ families where everyone brings a soup. My mother still makes lefse, a traditional Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes. Then off again to the in-laws. The in laws always get LaCasa pizza, a neopolotan style thin crust pizza made with Romano cheese.

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Originally Posted by DogRockets

Well, I can see which half of the world I fall in as I was not invited.

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Sorry bud. My wife has seen some of your recent posts and was concerned some of her "things" may turn up missing :biglaugh:

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Originally Posted by Regiampiero

Yup, that sounds like the traditional Italian Christmas we also follow. If you don't have to open a window while the outside temp is 5°, you don't have enough company.

Merry Christmas all.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

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That's it exactly and she is Italian

Well I hate to say it, but our traditions have turned to crap in the last ten years or so as everybody has moved all over the states. During Thganksgiving and Christmas we used to all head for moms house and all crash there like a slumber party. Back when, mom would put the turkey in the oven the night before and get up and baste it a few times during the night. Being Chinese, we would also make shrimp fried rice, and make our own egg rolls with everyone getting together to roll them and me being the fry chef. We would also get someone to sneak over to the Chinese Barbeque and pick up a roast duck and chow siu pork. I do miss those days!