Do you have any Christmassy things you do xmas eve?

Open one present (maybe them all), something with decorations.

Maybe a family get together with those you don;t get a chance to see Christmas Day??

Do your presents from Santa still turn up under the tree while you're asleep? or are they already under the tree.

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It's do or die
Hey I've died twice.

We're going to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas this year because we just got a snazzy new pop-up book. There may also be hot chocolate and a movie involved

The presents are mostly not under the tree because the kitten would probably tear them apart, plus there's the fabulous shock of a zillion packages waiting for the kids first thing in the morning. Some gifts are under there now for the pretty pretty fun of it, though

We also have chosen this year(being it's the first year she's given a shit..lol) to put them under the tree once she goes to bed.

So when she wakes up tomorrow ther they are (yes it's xmas eve here)

We don't do alot of Xmassy stuff xmas eve, cause it's my dad's birthday.

This year they are coming here for dinner, birthday cake, few decorations (so i have been told by mum who said she bought said balloons and birthday banner) some alcohol. Then i want to go for a walk around where i live to look at the pretty lights, since i think most ppl will have them down by the weekened.. or at least not bothering to turn them on.

Tomorrow, now thats a different story... busy busy busy



(Heitie, turn AIM on)

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It's do or die
Hey I've died twice.

The presents are all under the tree since we have no pets or little kids to worry about. Some gifts have already been taken for distribution at office Christmas parties.

We hear mass at midnight then have our Noche Buena (Christmas dinner), then maybe open gifts or wait until Christmas morning. We'll visit with friends and family and distribute gifts.

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"Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop."

Most of my family's traditions are rooted in religion and ethnicity. Big Italian dinner at parents' house on Christmas Eve. It involves lots of pasta and seafood. Traditionally must serve seven different fishes (to represent the 7 sacraments in the Roman Catholic church) but if there are less or more than 7 it must be an odd number. (A few years ago a guest showed up with a smoked salmon appetizer and brought the count to 8 and Nana had to open a can of tuna to even -errr..."odd" it off!)
After lots of eating, some gifts are exchanged with visiting relatives and friends. Late that night some relatives go to midnight mass. Others of us attend a service at Our Lady of the Mattress.
Christmas Day involves gift exchange with immediate family and more relatives and lots of visiting as well as a traditional American meal. Usually card games and board games and cocktails and music at night.
As for decorations and such, the angel is placed atop the tree on Christmas Eve . It's generally put there by the youngest child in attendance. The baby Jesus is put into the manger in the nativity set on Christmas morning and not a moment earlier. Ahh.. tradition.

edited to say: hehe..I said "rooted"...

We generally make Tamales on Christmas Eve, some Mexican tradition or joke, not sure which (I should figure that out :P), of having something to open up on christmas when money is tight. We're all big kids now, presents are opened starting late C.E and the the rest on C.D cause mi familia and I are impatient. sometimes we go to midnight mass, sometimes ot it all depends on my mom-she is the big catholic in the family. (by the way lila-that grandma story with the tuna is awesome. )

We watch movies on christmas at home and at the theater to close out the day, and to wish my Mommy dearest a happy b-day cause that's when it is! I'm going to try and get them to play some games this year. I hope Scattegories goes over well. I may do Scrabble too-in honor of my fellow scrollers.

Last but not least, we wonder about the year going by so fast, gripe about all the cleaning that needs to be done, plan for the new years party, and begin setting a rather late date for taking down all those damned decorations.

We have a fairly simple Christmas Eve.

Basically Ares and I have a light dinner.

We then wrap all the presents for our families while we watch Carols By Candlelight.

We've started early this year - I've already wrapped his presents!

I think he's almost finished barbecueing the chicken kebabs, so I'd best be off.

Happy Christmas everyone!

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Who did you think I would be? - HA! - well you got me instead.

We usually have a family dinner or lunch (depending when everyone is free) and then exchange presents. Because on Christmas Day, my parents and I go up to Oatley to spend Christmas with my friends...

Forever young......

On the 23rd in the evening my "parents" fix up the x-mas tree (a real tree) and put the prezzies in the same room!
Then they lock the room!

On the 24th we usually get up late have breakfast as usual and then we go to the graveyard to decorate our relatives' graves!
At lunch time my "mom" cooks the austrian traditional soup with noddles and sausages.

After lunch we visit another graveyard on the other side of the city. The we visit our neighbours and chit-chat with them and eat cookies and stuff!

Around 8pm we go home again and my "sis" and I usually watch tv while my "parents" fix dinner which is alway quite A LOT. Fish and meat and caviar and stuff like that!

At 9pm the bell rings! Its an old tradition from my childhood! My "dad" lights the candles on our tree and then rings a lil bell - thats when my "sis" and I are allowed to enter the "x-mas room"!
I then have to play "silent night" on the piano and then we drink champagne!

My "sis" then starts opening her prezzies - when she's finished its my turn,then my "mom"'s and then my "dad"'s!

Afterwards we eat and then each of us goes to check out their prezzies!

Around 1 am we usually go to bed.

As for New Year's....we'll go to our house in the mountains or stay at home! We usually just invite friends of the family and have barbecue for dinner and then drink champagne at midnight and watch the fireworks!!!
Thats it! At 1am everyone's already in bed!

Boring,eh? I just dont like x-mas and new year's eve!

After spending the day at work (ugh), I'll head up to my step-grandmother's house this evening. My stepfather's side of the family usually has a big to do on Christmas Eve.

Here in Germany the looting traditionally already happens on Christmas Eve, right after the 5'o clock mass.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day are reserved for the rest of the tribe to arrive and gather around the trough.



The Xenatizer

we generally build a bonfire in the back yard and dance naked in the moonlight, singing Amazon chants and slathering ourselves with deer blood.

then we load the shotguns and wait for Santa...

WHAT WOULD XENA DO?

are you sitting on the soap?

Go home; there are thousands more like me.

My family don't follow any specific religion. Relatives and friends join to have dinner at night (usually 9 - 10 pm) and kids stay awake til past midnight, when we unwrap all the presents, from the huge stack under the tree.

This year I would rather join Eyezoom's ritual.

Thanks mons, my Nana was one cool lady!

For more info on the 7 fishes and other Xmas Eve Italian traditions go here: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20031224_fishes24.1b0336.html

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"We are constantly invited to be who we are." ~ Henry David Thoreau