What does ur family do Christmas eve??

[shinebrite]

Well this year is the first christmas for DD and I wanted to start doing special stuff with my imediate family like my mum, step dad, bro and sis and hubby. When I was younger I always remeber going over christmas eve afternoon to my nannas my great aunt would b in the chair she always was with her curlers in and we would all frantically get ready for a walk around a suburb in Newcastle where I was born to look at the chrissy lights, santa would come and I remeber always looking up in the sky to try see santa fly past and my brother wuld be hunting around for the ppl giving out lollies and it wuld b packed with carolers and lovely things like that! THEN we wuld go home and eat our faces off and all 5 of us including cousins wuld goto bed in the same room all ecxited and wake up on chrissy morning to everyone aunts, uncles, nan +grandad it was heaps of fun!

Obviosly DD is only 4 1/2 mths so she wont remeber much but I wanted to orginise something for me and my family to do on chrissy eve! My aunts and uncles and nan and grandad wont b arriving till chrissy day so its just us! what do u do on chrissy eve? any ideas so i can start some traditions in our family???

thanks

[jem_1981]

Hello Leah :wave:

We don't really have a tradition as such, but we do have a little ritual that happens whether everyones there or not....

Usually it's so hot up here we have a dinner - usually outside (hoping for a cool breeze :fingerscrossed: ). Take the TIme to Relax!! it's so hectic in the weeks building up to Christmas. ... :tree: and maybe take a stroll around the neighbour hood to see the lights - maybe watch the carols?

I think anything that allows you to spend time as a family is just tops :thumbsup:

[Shazbutt]

If we are at home or my mums, we normally do the chrissy light walk/drive around. This year we'll be at the outlaws, so will probably have a BORING night :rolleyes:...they don't do anything special unfortunately....:(

[aardvark]

We have our huge family bash at my house on Christmas eve, then we all do our own thing Christmas day.

[shinebrite]

Thanks for the replies!

We cant walk around cause there isnt anywhere with lights in canberra its weird.. some places have them but like 2 houses so yea I talked to my bro and he just wants to hit the ****..mayb will do that...

[MissSparkle]

Christmas Eve has always been quiet for us.

My parents actually started a tradition that the year they got married on christmas eve dad set the camera up on a tripod with the self timer and have a photo in front of the tree. We still do this now so I have 20 photos of my family in front of our christmas tree on chritmas Eve. DF, DS and I started this last year. Its a small thing but it so nice to look back at!'

After that we have a big dinner and lie down to watch the carols on TV.

[Briannabear]

Christmas eve in my family we have a tradition that we have a nice meal and listen to christmas carols, then we get and ice-cream and go for a drive to look at chrissie lights.:xmas:

[oleander]

We go to my dad's for dinner every christmas eve:o not very exciting am I

[Littletreasures]

me and dh started a new tradition for our little family...... me ds and dh........ on christmas eve we get to open 1 pressie each..... Its great for when dh gets a new toy that takes hours to assemble it means that he is not doing it on christmas day...

[Tristans_Mum]

Christmas Eve we usually go for a drive and look at all the beautiful lights, then head to my mums to play santa :xmas: and set up the presents under the tree :tree:

[MummyCharmzy]

how exciting, this will be our families first christmas as 6, first christmas in our own home etc Havent thought of what we will do christmas eve yet but amazingly DP ISNT WORKING (he did last year and didnt get home til it was christmas..)

So we will definitely be doing something special. Sadly I think this is DSS's year to spend christmas eve with his mum and we get him back at lunch time christmas day :(

[SassyDiva]

Christmas Eve starts at about 9am in our house. The boys (including the big one:D ) spend time together - playing cars, swimming and I'm in the kitchen roasting the turkey, pork and ham and making all the treats for the big day.. Then as it gets dark the boys have a bath and put their chrissy pj's on and we watch the carrols, the boys go to bed by 7pm after putting out a mince pie and milk for Santa and then DF and I sit up, drink wine and wrap all the pressies and watch the carrols (last year DF was outside until 4am putting the swing set up :rolleyes: )

[bubbasmum]

Xaviersmummy your avatar is so funny and cute!

We go to my MIL's for xmas eve. They celebrate xmas on xmas eve instead of xmas day because her parents are german. Its usually pretty boring. I dont think we will be going this year cos i am due to have bubba on the 28th so im not sure how i will feel..

[melbryan]

We are getting both grandparents together exchanging pressies for adults and having a few drinks together and even some karaoke while the kids go to sleep. The next morning is just for the kids, and we have lunch together.

[ButterflyMama]

My family usually go to Midnight Mass at the cathedral and sing carols, then go home and open one pressie. :yelclap: It might be different this year though!

[blessedmummy]

yeah..for us if dh isnt working then we usually do the christmas lights drive with the girls then the girls are in bed by 6.30/7pm then we just usually relax at home and wrap pressies for the morning. otherwise its just me and the girls at home just relaxing and after girls go to bed i wrap the pressies. :thumbsup:

[mz sv6]

the whole family grandparents, aunties, uncles, my brothers and there gf, cousins, cousins bf/gf and some family friends normally get together at my mums place on Christmas eve and have a huge dinner and sometimes go out for a drive to look at lights and then at midnight we start to opening all the present and then keep celebrating till about 3-4am when eva everyone goes home and then we do it all again on christmas day everyone comes over for Christmas lunch and dinner and we also do it all over again on boxing cause thats my grandmothers birthday and this year is gonna be heaps better cause this year we have DS

[HugsAndKisses]

this is our first christmas in our own place :tree:
im really excited about it :yes: we havent really made plans for chrissy eve but some of ur idea's on here are awesome and have inspired me :xmas:
i think we might do some yummy baking of cookies and a nice roast lunch....its just the three of us this year.:hugs:

[Mikeswifey]

Mum, dad, me, DH and DD always go to see the xmas lights together.

:tree:

[Kizmet]

we started up a new tradition last year where we have a huge feast and both my family and dh's family come over for it and have a few drinks! we wanted DD to be able to enjoy a nice family sitting because christmas day is just such a big hassle nowadays with having to drive everywhere

[Rainbowbrite]

Its my neices birthday so we used to go there. But she now has a party in november so we go to DHs brothers house for dinner :yes:

[Tulp]

Back in Singapore... every year, the whole family head to church for midnight mass. I sing in the cathedral choir back in Singapore. Am usually in church by 10:30pm warming up our voices for the midnight service. Oh the choir is 80+ strong and more than 70% of members have been singing with the choir for over 10 years (I've been singing with them since 1977). Midnight mass is sensational and the mood is amazing. The build up to Christmas is amazing back home.

After mass we head home and we have supper and we open the presents under the tree. On Christmas Day we have dinner at my parents. Sometimes we have relies over and a few family friends. I love the Christmas buzz.

Last year we did the midnight mass thing here - but the service was nothing like back home - the feel was so so different. Don't know if we will do midnight mass this year with little bub and all. It will be amazing though - it's DS first Christmas :)

[icugal]

When I'm not working (which is most christmases), I always make a point of watching the Carols on TV (something I can remember doing even as a little kid). Last year, I was very lucky to attend the Carols at the Myer music bowl in person... and it was fantastic !! I hope to do it again soon over the next few years because it is such a lovely atmosphere and I'd love my future children to share that tradition (not going this year because I will be in Wodonga with my parents... and because I'm just too pregnant to sit on a picnic blanket for a long period of time !!)

:xmas:

[spiritedfamily]

I used to watch carols on tv with my family after the Christmas eve mass (vigil) but Dh isn't a fan of carols...so we either drive around looking at lights on houses and the city lights too...including a drive through king's park...and then we come home and have a drink together..the kids play for abit until we think its time for them to sleep...

[Natsmummy]

My Christmas Eve's since I've been with DH have been pretty uneventful as he usually works (he's a chef:chef: ). But this year he has the night off so that'll be good. When I was a kid every Christmas Eve before we went to bed Mum would read us The Night Before Christmas and that is a tradition I want to keep going with my children so I went out the other day and bought a really beautiful pop up copy of the book so that I can read it to DS that night.:xmas:

[~mia&ryan~]

Last year we went over to the inlaws had yummy dinner and drinks (just juice for me as I was preg) swam in the pool then watched the grinch and love actually.

We will be doing the same this year except we will start earlier, only watch the grinch then follow it by a trip to see the christmas lights then off to bed for DD. Then DF and I will watch love actually, put the presents from santa under the tree, fill the stockings and head of to the land of nod.:D

Can't wait!:xmas:

[1+1=5]

christmas eve we go to the carols that are held every year and then we do the christmas light drive. thats always really exciting.
then when DS goes to sleep DH and i spend a couple of hours wrapping presents and assembling anythign that needs it. last year we had to blow up (manually) a huge ball pit in the shape of a castle....never doing that again.

[2onthego]

My husbands parents are divorced so we have made it a tradition to spend Xmas Eve with his dad and that side of the family and Xmas day with his mum and my parents. We have been doing this for 4years now and it is great., No rushing around Xmas day to make sure you see everyone.
Cya Shell

[kat82]

I let the kids open one small passie around 3 hours before bed. I use to get to do it when I was a kid.

[Tan-mumof3]

:reindeer: Usually we go to my mum & dads for a traditional roast xmas dinner yummm. But this year we are going down to my grandparents house in bunbury on xmas eve morning and probably coming back on the 27th. YAY i can't wait its sooo relaxing down there. :xmas:

[spiritedfamily]

to my grandparents house in bunbury on xmas eve morning and probably coming back on the 27th. YAY i can't wait its sooo relaxing down there. :xmas:


Its sure is...lucky you!:) I would love to get out of the city at Christmas...maybe next year we will

enjoy:xmas:

[Mariposa]

with dh's family we always celebrate xmas on the 24th. it is traditional. my dh is from argentina. this makes things a lot easier, as we do his family on the 24th and my family on the 25th

[Blessed Mum]

hmm christmas eve - usually I am so busy preparing for the next day like all the food etc. We usually grab something easy for dinner for the kids drive round & look at the xmas lights & head home for a movie while I stay up busy as & the its usually a 5am start - But I love it, its such a great day. I can't wait & this year is DD's 1st :tree: :D