Merry Christmas August All Stars. Six days until Christmas. Since we are an international group and also spread across the USA, I thought it would be fun to share some of our Holiday traditions and cultures.

One suggestion is to not focus entirely on food.

My traditions: I am of Italian Heritage. Born and raised 20 miles north of New York City and now live in New Jersey. For my family, we start Christmas eve very early at 10am. This is to the dismay of my lovely Irish wife of 24 years. We star early and cook many Italian traditional dishes together as a family including many fish recipes.

The kitchen is always the gathering place. We have a full house at my brothers, with kids, cousins, aunts and uncles and friends all coming in at different times. It is hectic, busy and loud but full of love and laughter.

I would love to hear your holiday traditions.

Peace and love to you and your families.

Gary B

Here in Boston, I am of mostly Irish background. Lots of Italian friends though and many of my cousins married Italian men. Seems to be a big thing here also in Boston area. Best of both cultures. I have been to the Christmas Eve dinners with all the fish and seafood. Yummy

I used to have an open house here when Mom was alive and all the family would come and visit. Had it the year after Mom died and not many showed up..so I discontinued it.

Now we go visit the family on the weekend before Christmas. My cousin has a "Yankee Swap" Everyone brings a present. for their gender or non-gender or child. It has to be less than $10 and can be practice or funny. After you open the gift you can swap it with the person who got their gift before you or not. At the end you can swap it with anyone if they want it or you want something else.

We then eat, it's pot luck everyone brings a dish. I am making Greek Pasta salad, my cousins husband is Greek and they make Greek dishes.

On Christmas day we open the gifts and have a nice Breakfast. Usually pancakes and sausages and bacon...and eggs. This year it's lighter fare. LOL

We open the gifts and then we take a nap or watch Christmas movies on TV. The kids (my daughter and her fiance) will take the baby to his Mothers house for the afternoon. They come home in the evening and we have dinner. I do a Ham or Roast Beef. This year roast beef. and lots of veggies. Much healthier than ham.

I do have a one cup of low fat Egg Nog on Christmas Eve. With a shot of brandy in it.

Hope you all have a great Christmas

and don't eat too much but do enjoy it.

Pati

We usually have dinner with my parents on Christmas Eve. That way we can sleep in and have a leisurely (sp?) Christmas morning. My dh family is in WI and we are in OR, so we don't see them this time of year.

My dh family opened gifts Christmas eve, my family opend them Christmas morning, so we trade off every other year. We are down for the morning unwrapping this year. Then we usually have a big breakfast to hold us over until turkey dinner. I am sure the food will differ slightly this year, but I will make sure the family has their fill!

We should have a white Christmas this year! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

We have a pretty quiet Christmas.

DH is working Christmas Eve this year (he'll come home Christmas Day). Depending on the weather (may have snow), DD and I will go to a Christmas Eve candlelight service at church. Christmas Day we'll go to communion service, then home to get ready for DH's parents, brother, sil and kids to come over. We'll probably let DD (2 1/2 yrs old) open her gifts right after church. When the family gets here, we'll open more gifts while snacking (not much for me or I won't be able to eat dinner!). Later we'll have ham, roasted root veggies, green salad and rolls for dinner with pumpkin pie for dessert.

An aside to Kristen, looks like I might (if I can afford it) be in your area in Sept. Mom and her siblings and us kids are getting together for a week-long reunion at a resort near Bend or Sisters. They're looking at Black Butte Ranch and one other one, River something or something River, mom couldn't remember what my aunt said! Anyway, just had to share! (Not like you need or want to care either! LOL!!!! :tongue_smilie: )

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!!

Being in Australia, our christmas is celebrated in the summer :tongue_smilie: I love this holiday so having it during my favourite time of year is an added bonus. Usually it is pretty warm on Christmas though we have had some years of cold wet and miserable days.

My family and my aunties family and nanna Celebrate together and have xmas lunch. I used to celebrate it at my nanna's beach house whilst growing up and we'd have chrissie lunch then go down the beach and frolic and swim but since her divorce, the beach house got sold so now we alternate who hosts it between my auntie and me (the past 8 years anyway) (Used to be mum but I love doing it and mum loves not having to do as much so having it at my place works out).

Instead mum hosts a Christmas breakfast at her house every year for friends and neighbours (many of our neighbours have been living in the same place for 32+years.) That was this past weekend and I still go to it and help mum set up.

Now also with my brother married, his wife's family are joining us when I host it and my cousins partners/husbands family usually join us also.

So this year it is being held at my place (I am cooking for 25+ people). Mum stays over the night before and we usually sit and watch the Carols on TV whilst doing some last minute things and then we are up early getting things in the oven. We have a traditional hot meal even though it is summer (this year we are expecting a fine day and a temp about 26 deg C) and it is kinda formal in its setting though attire is usually shorts/skirts and short sleeved tops. So I usually crank up the airconditioners from the morning to keep the house cool while I cook (yes I cook the whole meal for that many people)!

My dad, brother and sister in law usually get to my place a little earlier and we open gifts to each other and then we open the other gifts when everyone arrives. These other gifts are from the Kris Kringle where each adult buys for one of the other adults.

The menu is usually along the lines of;

Entree: Prawns and Avocado on a bed of lettuce with seafood sauce

Main meal: turkey, ham, pork, lamb and chicken, roast potato, roast pumpkin, broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese sauce, honeyed carrots, peas. nanna's secret recipe stuffing and gravy

Dessert: is pudding (I don't cook this nanna does them at the start of Dec) in brandy sauce (which I never eat as I don't like it!)

We used to have breakfast of pancakes but this year mum and I figure we'll have a shake :tongue:

It will be interesting to see how mum. dad and I go now we are all banded I'll be dishing up a teaspoon of each!! But hey, I guess there will be more leftovers, i'll be set for the rest of the week! After lunch my brother and dad usually fall asleep on the couch, others sit around and chat and a lot of us go for a walk to "walk off christmas lunch".

Then on the day after xmas is a holiday called Boxing day (Boxing Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) so that day I usually have some friends over for another lunch of Christmas leftovers!! and we watch the Boxing day cricket match. Oh and then nanna and mum and dad usually come back too

So every second year I now take the week off before christmas from work so I can get my house ready. I love setting the xmas table (I do a long L shaped table) and have crackers and glitter and tinsel, placecards and proper napkins :eek: My cousins 5 year old will help me with it this year

Wow, this post is rather long but I can't help it I HEART CHRISTMAS!!!

Edited December 21, 200817 yr by Roheryn

Gary - Great thread!

Wow, I love hearing about everyone's tradition. It is sad to see how things change through the years though.

I am too also from an Italian background (as well as some others!). I grew up with an extremely large family, but unfortunately it is now just down to me and my son. I have a few cousins but I don't see them all that often. When I was a kid we all would go to my uncles house on Christmas eve and all of the cousins would play until about 11 then had to hurry home for "santa". On Christmas, we would have dinner at our house. Now my mom was English and American Indian, so the huge italian dinners were different. We would start with French Onion Soup, Clams Casino, Lasagna, Turkey, and all of the other fun stuff with it!

Now my DH, son and I go to a friends house on Christmas eve. They always had opened their presents on Christmas eve, but I stick to my mom's tradition "if you don't believe, you don't receive". One year, I told her I did not believe in Santa so I did not get my "santa" gift which was usually the best one! Obviously after that I believed!

Christmas Day, I now have dinner. My tradition is a Prime Rib dinner. It will be very easy to keep it band friendly as I will just have small portions. I bake a potato casserol and roasted veggies. Of course we have to have the cannolis.

Fortunately this year we will have a white Christmas.

Have a wonderful holiday!