Anyway I thought I would share with you a few christmas traditions or things we always get up to at the christmas period...
For me the lead up to christmas often starts around the end of October at Christmas cake making time. My nanna has always made a christmas cake at christmas and especially over the last 5 or so years I have enjoyed helping her make it.
It think like most family's we have our favourite christmas films that it is NOT christmas until we have watched! For a long time 2 firm favorites in our house hold have been Miricle on 34th street and Muppets christmas carol (which we all sat down and watched last night :D ). Over more recent years we have added to this list with the nativity! which I think is an absolutely awesome film and Elf which always makes me giggle! I always love to watch Love Actually as well and I quite like to watch the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen but these are a give or take - the others however are MUST watch!!
Our christmas tree traditionally always goes up around the 6th/7th (at some point around the weekend of this date!) the tradition is that it has to be up before my mums (and now my) work christmas party so we can have a photo in front of the tree all dressed up! We have an Angel on the top of our tree aptly called Mary - she is a knitted angel which is about 20 years old and my mum picked up at a christmas fayre when me and my brother were at playgroup. Every year since we got Mary me and my brother have taken it in turns to put Mary on the top of our tree!
On Christmas Eve, we have always had for as long as I can remember we have had meat and potato pie for tea complete with proper (homemade) pastry which I usually make. At our local church they have a service at 4.30 called the crib service which is a family orientated service. We have gone to this service as long as I can remember and I always love this service. It always feels so Christmassy with christmas carols and present giving - we always donate a present to one of the local charity's for people not lucky enough - recently a women's hospice in my local area! There is so much giving at christmas it is easy to forget that there are people out there who are not as lucky as us.
More recently ( well last year) I also added midnight mass to my christmas church going tradition. I have wanted to go to midnight mass for a long time and I am so glad I actually went and intend to go again this year and for years to come. I was actually surprised by how many people went to midnight mass and it was lovely to welcome christmas in properly in church surrounded by all my church friends.
On Christmas Day we open presents as a family (usually after being woken up by my dad who no matter how many years he says have a lie in - is always the first one up!) and then we get dressed (in a new top or something new we have had for christmas and then have bagels for breakfast. We then go down to my nanna and granddad house (who live right down the street from us) and exchange presents with them. Then we come home and have christmas lunch which my mum and me make together (and in more recent years aided with an ever so small glass of baileys). Then on Boxing Day my nanna and grandad come up for lunch and then stay usually til bed time having lots of party games and fun times!!
Most of those are traditions which have been long standing... Over more recent years a couple more have been added. Over the last 4 or so years me and my mum have made an annual trip to Manchester to the christmas market which is a trip organised through the hospital we both work at for the staff! Over the past couple of years I have also added carol singing at one of the "old people homes" around the corner from my house where I got with the people from church. I have really enjoyed this over the last couple of years and again is something I would like to carry on doing for many years.
And those are my christmas traditions! What traditions do you and your family enjoy at christmas???
Social Icons