Well it’s finally here. It’s Christmas Eve, and I can only imagine the excitement of the children. I’m even excited! For me it’s mostly about seeing the faces on the kids when they’re opening their presents, being with family and being thankful we have family to share it with. No matter what you’ll be doing this day and evening, I hope it is wonderful and full of love and laughs.
I will be spending Christmas Eve with my husband, son, mom, brother and niece at our house. We’ll be having pork tenderloins that I will put in the Crock-Pot in the morning, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots and peas. For dessert, we’ll have upside down pineapple cake. Brownies for Jason! We’ll open presents from my mom, and when everyone leaves we’ll open our presents to each other just Jason, Bailey and I. And patiently await Santa’s arrival.
Feel free to share any traditions you have, new or old. I always like hearing other people’s traditions. They are important in a family. What are your plans for the day and evening?
Us Girls..Our Views 
Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Lets see…tomorrow we’re going to my mom’s house. Probably open gifts in the evening over there. We’ll play some Wii games. We like to just eat all day and for supper we’re having lasagna w/ salad. Yum!! Can’t wait for that. During the day we’ll have chips, veggies, dips, wraps, all the good stuff. Its a good time just to veg and enjoy each others company. (Hopefully!)
I let Hunter open a present this afternoon. He was so excited. Got a another train of course. For our house we’ll open up our gifts on Christmas morning along with Santa’s gifts. Hunter’s so excited for Santa presents! Well enjoy the Eve everyone!
ahhh crapola! I wrote something, Joy…go find it! LOL 🙂
Is that it above Jenny? There’s nothing I could find hidden in the spam locker.
I got them last night b/c mine went there too!
Christmas Eve is evolving as my kids get older. Other than just getting ready for Christmas, we don’t really have any old family traditions. Usually my dad used to buy the tree on Christmas Eve or thereabouts, because he usually didn’t get much vacation. So we would decorate the tree, lay out the stockings, and go to bed, feeling like there was no way we’d sleep – but somehow we always did. My parents always wrapped the gifts after we went to bed on Christmas Eve.
With my kids, this year will be the first year we are going to church on Christmas Eve, and I hope that will become a “tradition.” We also set aside some cookies that the girls decorated that we will leave out for Santa. I bought a couple of tiny stockings that I will probably give the girls on Christmas Eve with some candies inside, just so they feel like they got “something” from Mom, ha ha. They will also wear their new Christmas pajamas. Oh, and of course we will be enjoying / singing Christmas carols all day. I will wrap all my gifts over the next 30 hours or so, and I’ll try to involve the girls in them to the extent feasible.
We don’t open gifts on Christmas Eve. (Though, their ex-nanny gave them some gifts early, so maybe we will do that with her gifts.)
The other thing we plan for tomorrow is to go to lunch with the aunties. Not really for “Christmas,” but just to have a bit of fun.
Growing up we opened one present Christmas Eve, and the rest Christmas morning. But Jason insists doing what he did, and we open our presents Xmas Eve and Santa’s gifts are what he gets Christmas morning.
We opened all the presents Christmas morning when I was a kid. We maybe got one or two early, but otherwise it was wait til morning! At our house now, we let the kids open one early and then we usually do the rest in the morning. I did let them open one yesterday b/c Christopher had a great week and got all smiles on his chart and that was the deal we’d made. He opened a Lego set and put it together almost all by himself. I was very impressed!
Well I just made an executive decision and that is we are doing what I did growing up this year. There’s no reason we can’t trade off right? I didn’t have very many traditions growing up, not ones that I remember anyway. I think that’s fair.
That’s the fun of it. Starting your own traditions. We opened them very late Christmas Eve because we were with the Erickson’s that day and got home late but my family came at the a@@ crack of dawn Christmas morning so it was our only time all alone as a family. My MOTHER was there really early Christmas Day and so was grandpa. We waited all day for Darryl though. That hasn’t changed!!!
I think that’s why we didn’t open them Christmas Eve either b/c we were always at Faye’s til late. I like opening them Christmas morning!
Well to me that’s the fun of Christmas morning!!!
Well none of us could wait so we opened it them! LOL
And I am VERY happy! So are the boys! 🙂
You crack me up!! So much for Christmas morning!!!!
I know, I’m horrible! Worse than a kid I think! Jason was so cute tonight, after we were all done, he says, “Mom is missing a present.” I was a tad disappointed I hadn’t gotten the Ipod I wanted.
He hid it in the tree, it was such a small box it took me a minute or so to find it. There she was…fully charged, and loaded with all my favorite music. He did good!
I’m so happy for you. That’s great.
Oh and I love the gift Bailey got me. 🙂 Thanks for doing that with him.
🙂
My comment disappeared too – is it the grinch??
Tomorrow we are going to my mom and dad’s in the afternoon/evening. We are trying something new this year and are going to my sister’s church for mass Christmas Eve. We were going to have lasagna also, but then my grandpa from Kansas City, MO surprised my mom with a whole lotta Jack Stack barbeque!!!!! Lasagna will have to wait 🙂
Christmas day we will open presents at home in the morning and head to Paul and Joy’s around noon. (Does that sound right mum or are we coming later?!) I CANNOT wait to give Joy her present! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited about one!
I’m trying not to act nosy but you’re really making me wonder!!!!!! BRAT!!!
Youve got me curious!I want to know what you bought Joy too!Make sure you tell us.
My favorite Christmas Eve tradition is watching our favorite Christmas movie, The Christmas Story. It’s always just the 3 of us, and I love that!
We’ll have some snacks tomorrow, but not too much. Your normal holiday snack food, pickles, olives, chips and dips.
In The Netherlands, we never gave Christmas presents. We had the 5th of December, Sint Nikolaas. Here you can read about this very old Dutch tradition. http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/santa/dutch_tradition.htm
When my kids got a little older, the Santa Claus with Christmas tradition came to Europe and we started to give small gifts with Christmas as well.
Here in the States, we only celebrate Christmas/gifts. I love buying stuff for every one and also I am excited for what Santa will bring me 🙂
New Year’s Eve I have to work, so we will unpack the presents Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas to every one and a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Thanks for sharing Ellen! Some families here celebrate St Nicolas day with fruit and candy, but I never knew where it came from.
Oh I wish you all a great time this christmas.It will not be one of my best cmas’s this year at all but I am trying to remain upbeat.My brother and his family are away,they go everyother year to his wifes side.My sister is having cmas with her children only this year so that leaves me and my hubby and the other sister whom is with us recouping from surgery.We are used to big family gatherings and noise and games and fun and lots of food.When my Mom was around she would invite people who had no where to go,no one was left out and all were welcome.Times change obviously.Well,I’m still making us 3 a big meal regardless but it will be quite and I think we’ll veg with movies.Maybe this will be a start of new traditions!:)
I look forward to hearing how all of your days went.Have fun and enjoy your family,its family that its all about this time of year!!!
I know how you feel Karen. It’s hard when it’s so quiet. It was very different for us when the kids got married and I had to share the holidays. Sometimes it’s still really hard. Today for us just seems like any other day and we won’t do anything special at all. I’m still not used to it completely but what other choice is there? It’s really hard when families split off and everyone goes from being joined at the hip to sometimes not even seeing some of your family unless it’s 2 weeks before or something. My dad is with Mary now and Darryl does his own thing so it’s just us. If I had other family that still got together I’d sure join in but really, there’s nowhere else for us to go. I’m not saying that’s bad or anything. Just different and sometimes different is icky. Try and have a good holiday Karen. What are you making?
I’d have you over if I could!We’ll get used to the change.Some just dont think what its like for us that have no kids I think too.Its alright.We’re already thinking that the cmas’s when John and Kathy arent here we might go spend it with Adell and them in AZ.That would be a hoot!
You know,Im still making a big meal for us.Ham,chicken,stuffing and all the other goodies.A person just has to put on those holiday pounds!LOL!
We’ll have a good time!
Is Christopher still with you?
No,he moved to WPG with a friend a month ago or so.I believe he’s spending christmas at Lisas brothers place and will have cmas with them and Uncle Russel and Carol.I sure will miss seeing Russel this cmas:(.They too decided to have cmas on their won this year.We’ve had them with us(Lisas bro and family too)every gathering for prob 20 years.So its VERY different this year.
On their *own*..not won!Sorry.
Merry Christmas to each of you from balmy Eastern Iowa (not) ! Second eldest daughter just called…..she was driving to work just now and due to the near white out conditions put her car in the ditch…just got it out of the shop yesterday..she’d hit a 9 point buck 3 weeks ago and did some major front end damage. She decided to get the head mounted with all her christmas money…I love it. earlier this week same daughter won first prize in the local merchant’s drawing…won a 60 inch flat screen TV…what a mixed bag for her this year. I (DM) was starting to feel a little nastagic this week..first time in years…even toying around with the idea of going to the little country church I grew up attending and going to their Christmas eve service by myself tonight…I know I’m rambling…anyway…hope you have a nice time @ your get togethers this weekend.
I find I get that way too DM on certain days. Merry Christmas to you and your bunch.
This year is our “Chicago” year. Today, we will spend with Steve’s family. Their focus is Church, so we’ll be going to Mass with them this afternoon. Their church has several Masses on Christmas Eve, and before Josh, Steve and I would accompany them to Midnight Mass. For several years, I played in the little mini-orchestra that accompanied the Choir. It was an amazing thing, listening to that group sing the Hallelujah Chorus. The entire congregation would stay through the last note, then give them a massive Standing O.
Now that Josh is here, we go to the earlier Mass, which features the Children’s Choir. Those kids do a really great job. We’ll have dinner after, probably watch ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’, which Josh received last night from Twinkle the Elf, and then head to bed, so Santa can get here.
Tomorrow morning, I expect Josh to be in my bed no later than 4:30….. so I really hope Santa brings some good Stocking Stuffers to keep him occupied until the rest of the crew wakes up!! After gifts, we’ll have homemade Cinnamon/Caramel Rolls that I made, and then head to my family’s house for the big Christmas Celebration with my side. It’ll be wicked fun!
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Have a great few days with all the family Laura.
Today is also Sari’s birthday (our Lab), she turns 4 today!!! She gets a really big raw hide bone. Yes, we celebrate our dogs birthdays. LOL