Christmas Traditions for the Family

We put a Santa key on the back door (since we have no chimney) and we find it hanging on the tree every Christmas morning.

Being of German descent we have bratwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes for dinner on Christmas Eve. But first everyone takes a bath or shower and gets cleaned up and gets their one present which is traditionally their christmas pajamas! After everyone is washed and fed we turn off the tv and turn on the radio to Christmas music andbegin passing out presents and allowing the children to open them.
We also tend to save a few from Santa for the next morning to keep the Amaerican tradition alive as well.
Another thing we do every year is put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving. The Sunday a week later everyone puts their Christmas list in envelopes and on the tree. The sometime during the week a bell rings and the lists disappear (because Santa is fast).
Oh and while the kids are taking their showers/baths on Christmas eve and Santa makes a quick visit for his cookies and milk the bell rings for the final time!
For Christmas morning we make a breakfast casserole - its made of potatoes obrien, sour cream, cheese, brown ground sausage and baked until its al melted and warm together.
Another thing we do is watch Polar Express every year until the kids fall asleep on Christmas Eve
Enjoy making your own!

We bought the Elf on the Shelf two years ago and my children LOVE it. It comes with a cute story to read each year when you pull it out (and the last page reads 'The blank family started this tradition in 20xx'. Basically, there is an elf that sits and watches over the children all day. At night, when they go to sleep, the elf returns to the North Pole to report on them. When he returns, he chooses a new spot to sit. So, the kids LOVE racing down to find the elf each morning (a little work on your end to remember to hide him each night!) and any time they are acting up, you can throw out the fact that the elf is watching!! It's a VERY cute story and fun time for the kids. You can find it at Amazon, Boarders or Hallmark. $25-$30 which seemed like a lot to me at first, but so worth it each year!!

On Christmas Eve, we make Christmas sugar cookies and decorate them, then we go look at Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music, then come home and get the kids ready for bed and read The Night Before Christmas.
On Christmas morning, we open our stockings, then eat a big breakfast, then we open our presents. We pick one person to start and that person picks out a present for someone else, then we all watch that person open their gift. Then that person who just opened a gift gets one for someone else, and so on =) I love this because I love watching everyone's reactions when they open their gifts and I like to take lots of pictures. Plus, it reinforces the concept of giving and allows time for thank-yous to be said, and it teaches the kids that giving can be just as enjoyable as receiving =)

Two are done before the season or early so you can use them next year if you like: Operation Christmas Child (our kids filled a shoe box full of goodies for needy children) and Angel Tree (our kids picked out gifts for children of prisoners). There are lots of programs like these out there to teach your children about giving to other children.

Main Street Bethlehem in Burnet is also past but you can check it out for next year. It is amazing!

Pick a time to watch the kids of a single mom so she can do some Christmas shopping.

We also did the opening of gifts one by one. (I like tackygothgirl's idea of handing out the gifts.) We were horrified one year when we spent Christmas with cousins and there was such a flurry, chaos and NOISE while the kids all wildly opened their gifts simultaneously and after a few minutes it was all over. We didn't even know who gave what to whom.

To keep from over doing the gifts, we gave our kids one gift from Santa, one from us and our two kids each gave the other a gift. It was really hard some years to keep it to 3 gifts, but it forced us to keep the focus off of over giving. Our kids had plenty of gifts from grandparents, etc. and they also got little stuff in their stockings.

Give grandparents a favorite board game each year for Christmas that they can play when the grandkids come for a visit.

My sister-in-law buys an ornament each year that depicts a favorite interest or activity that year for her son.

If you go to the grandparents' house for Christmas, have your children hide little notes of "I love you" and "thank you" so they will be found later.

Reading the Christmas story from the bible.
watching "a Christmas story" and "its a wonderful life".
eating a traditional meal Christmas day.
eating spaghetti Christmas eve (i started that with my home made pasta maker, but now my mom makes homemade sauce instead and it makes her life easier since Christmas day food is basically a repeat of Thanksgiving).
A church service (usually Christmas eve)
drawing names for gifts so you don't spend too much and get overwhelmed.
When money has been tight doing alternative gifting like writing poems for and about a specific family member.

I need some ideas as well! And so far I have read some awesome ones...I also wanted to share some I found from this site called the skinny scoop:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/question/q/2534?utm_campaig...

One of my new favorite traditions is the Christmas Eve Book.

http://www.ittakesavillagedallas.com/It_takes_a_village/B...

Happy Holidays!
VillageMom