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Post by Kim on Dec 24, 2004 11:41:17 GMT -5
I thought it would be fun to post what your holiday traditions are and where everyone is from!
I'll go first:
Christmas Eve we have a big appitizer night with my family and my husbands family. Everyone brings 1 - 2 appy's and every year, someone different has it (it's our turn this year)
My sister and I have exchanged ornaments every year since I was 10. On years that I travel, I get an ornament from that place and save it until Christmas. She has little porcelain clogs from Amsterdam, a Hawaiian santa from Hawaii, a snowy santa from Whistler etc.
As I'm a huge Sesame St. collector, every year we search for new ornaments for tree - as every ornament on there is Sesame St.!
Locally things that happen around Christmas time are:
The Santa Claus Parade
The Truck Parade (this year it was 75 big rigs, hauling trucks etc. all decorated with lights, music etc.
The Santa Claus Sail Past which is a parade of boats lit up
The Parliament buildings get red and green lights on one section (they are normally lit with white lights)
This is in Victoria, BC.
Who's next?
Kim
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Post by LHR02 on Dec 24, 2004 11:58:14 GMT -5
I'll go next: My Mom was an adamant Christmas morning, not Christmas Eve person so I follow that and now so do my kids. (Except Josh and Sonia, as she is Colombian and there it seems it is the 'Eve' that is the big day) However, they are always still with his family on Christmas morning. My late husbands family was an 'eve' group, but in 20 years he could never get me to budge one bit on this. Christmas eve is for midnight church and getting all the Santa stuff set out. My sister and I were absolutely forbidden to leave our bedroom until my grandparents arrived...and in all my life I can not remember one single Christmas morning that I did not wake, look out my window, and see them sitting out there in the car, waiting for us to get up. Not once. So this year I will be at Lizzy's house at 0430....sitting and waiting for her to wake up. A tradition I hope to continue. After presents, my Mom would have a big breakfast and then in the late afternoon we'd all troop over to g'parents for Christmas dinner at Granny's house. This year I am continuing that, have a 10 pound prime rib and 20 pound ham...there will be 7 of us! Just don't know how to cook a 'holiday' meal for so few...I am used to having 10-15 soldiers as well and they can surely eat. We did/do nothing out of the ordinary...but it doesn't matter does it? What you grew up doing is what you love to do now....and thus are family traditions passed along. merry christmas everyone!
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Post by Kim on Dec 24, 2004 12:13:24 GMT -5
You are one dedicated grandma! That would be such a cool thing for a kid. You could never doubt your grandmas love if she would get up at that hour and sit in front of your house for you! Love it!
Kim
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Post by LHR02 on Dec 24, 2004 12:41:49 GMT -5
And I never doubted the love of my pa-paw and granny...they were always there! You're right, it's a wonderful thing for a kid...I know it was for me. The differnce this year will be that I won't have to wait 'in the car'. The layout of their house is such that she will see it all....living room...on the way to her parents bedroom. So I intend to camp out in the hallway outside her bedroom door....and make her wait until I can get the camera set up to capture that 'OH WOW' face I know will be coming. merry christmas ging - who knows it is totally true, Christmas is all about the kids...and I couldn't put 5 bucks worth of gas in my car until the end of the month and pay day! I am one broke gammy...who has loved spending every cent!
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Post by jennifer on Dec 24, 2004 14:33:09 GMT -5
Awwww! What a lucky Lizzard heheh I don't know if it's just me though, but I don't understand why you wait (or your grandparents waited) in the car? Why wasn't the house ok? Sorry, didn't get it, although it's a cool concept I may start out one day with mine!
My traditions aren't so special, but I wouldn't change them for the world. I'm a Christmas maniac, I just love it. I wouldn't skip it for the world and I know that being away from home on Christmas will be the hardest in the next year or so when I do my assisant program!
Anyways, tonight my dad's family (grandma, granda, mom, dad, godmother and husband and my little 6 month old angel cousin) are getting together for turkey and the whole thing! Then we will open gifts around 10-11. We used to start at midnight but we are such giftfreaks that if used to last until 5-6 in the morning and everyone was so tired. So now we start earlier!
Everyone has picked a name and has to buy 100$ for that person. Then I mean everyone gets a gift or so from everyone just because, and then I get more from my parents, grandparents and godparents. Then my godmother gets, etc et cetc. It's a never ending thing.
My tradition on christmas eve was to sit by the tree and give the gifts out one by one to everyone. When my little angel was born I was sad because I wasn't the youngest anymore and would get the tradition stolen off of me. I'm reassured cause I know it will take at least a few years before I have to bargain heheheh
Then we go to bed really late, wake up really late and have breakfast together. Then this year we are going to my country place to hang out there. On sunday we will go tubing with the whole family and my boyfriend will meet us there. It's the "big introduction" to my family! A little nervous but hey, i'm sure it will go fine!
So, nothing so stunning, but I wouldn't miss being with my family for anything in the world!
xoxo
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Post by me on Dec 24, 2004 16:07:21 GMT -5
I thought it would be fun to post what your holiday traditions are and where everyone is from! often go to midnight X-mas eve services at Church. don't know that it'll happen this year. biggest tradition is celebrating Epiphany, the 12th day, when the "wise men from the East" gave the 3 gifts to baby Jesus. we've done this with another family, former neighbors, for decades. they were neighbors when we started. . . the family is Catholic, it introduced us Presbyterians to a whole new tradition! [3 beans in the cake, the finder being a "King" for the evening, etc.] - d
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Nicstar
Senior Travel Member
i like the sound of my own voice, i never gave anyone else a choice
Posts: 190
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Post by Nicstar on Dec 24, 2004 18:13:21 GMT -5
around these parts, for everyone I know at least, Christmas Eve is a massive night out in town.
Discussed this on another message board, and it seems to be the tradition amongst us Aussies with no family. I mean who wants to sit at home on their own on Christmas Eve? So we head out. I love it. Last night we went and saw my friend sing at the pub, and went on to a few other pubs. Home about 2am. The year before I was out til 4am surrounded by friends and its funny, even though we're at the regular pub we go to, the same regular people, purely cos its Christmas Eve it feels rather special and we all get teary eyed over it!
Christmas Day I drive an hour or so to go to my parents place for lunch and then come home. I should actually be in the shower right now since its nearly lunch time! MY brother and his wife drive up from Sydney for lunch, and we take it turns each year on who drives the hour or so out to the Bay to pick up my grandparents for lunch and then take them home in the evening. I'd like to be able to stay at my parents house but I never can cos my brother and Danielle need the spare bed! So I come home to Newcastle and find some friends. Christmas Night we have a party at someone's place, usually its mine, but tonight its at my friend Megan's place.
Boxing Day we go to the races, however this year, because I'm saving I'm not going and just meeting everyone out afterwards. (who wants to line up to pay $12 to get in, then line up to use the ATM, then line up for overpriced food, then line up for overpriced beer, then line up to place a bet, then line up to use the loo, and then line up to pay for a cab.... no thanks, I'd rather save that for my trip!) This Boxing Day I'll stay in and watch the first day of the cricket. Oh and my best mate in Sydney always comes up on Boxing Day to stay for a few days.
Unfortunately I don't get anytime off work, so I can't do much else over Christmas and New Years. I even miss out on New Years Eve celebrations this year cos I work to 530pm, and we're all heading up to the vineyards to watch my friend sing in a pub up there, but they're all leaving at about 5pm. So I'll stay in and have a few drinks on my own!
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Post by dumbdiety on Dec 24, 2004 21:11:39 GMT -5
Happy holidays everyone! All this sounds wonderful! And Lizards lucky to have someone like you Ging... My family doesn't really have any traditions anymore. We USED to all gather at a grandparents house (Dinneen one year, Glay the next) and exchange gifts then and eat until we exploded (Italian G'Ma and German G'Ma....ya, we had lots of food every year). Now that all 4 G'Parents are gone though, and my parents, aunts, and uncles all started acting like babies, we don't do much anymore. I've just kinda sat around all night cleaning my room (I've turned into a neat freak since my divorce...weird), and it's to hot and muggy to even go sit outside... Ok, I think I just depressed myself... I'm gonna go slink away and work on my Digital Photo Frame now... Edit: Ignore me tonight....I've just been depressed all day because of lack of tradition in my family....
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Nicstar
Senior Travel Member
i like the sound of my own voice, i never gave anyone else a choice
Posts: 190
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Post by Nicstar on Dec 25, 2004 2:32:23 GMT -5
doug I understand where you're coming from. I hear of all my friends getting together with family, and I try to make my christmas sound as cheerful and funfilled as theirs, but truth be told its rather dull. My friend messaged me saying how much fun he was having today, sitting around having drinks with his brother, and cousins, and laughing at his drunk grandma and they'd all taken over their niece and nephews toys and it sounded like the kind of christmas I wish I could have.
Unfortunately that won't happen in our family. None of live near each other- my parents are an hour away, my grandparents are an hour in the other direction and my brother is 2 hours south. And they're the only family in driving distance, so Christmas is usually rather uneventful. We tend to just spend the day making small talk with each other, and once my sister in law has the baby, they won't be spending christmas with us again, because they prefer to be around her really big family with all the kids etc.
Thats why I try and make my own traditions and hold on to them. Like Christmas Eve at the pub, and Christmas Night with my girlfriends. Of course that will change once they all get married and have babies, but I'll try and maybe scam along on their Christmas Days or something! ;D
You should start your own traditions!
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Nicstar
Senior Travel Member
i like the sound of my own voice, i never gave anyone else a choice
Posts: 190
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Post by Nicstar on Dec 25, 2004 2:34:15 GMT -5
I think I Started a new christmas tradition today.
Yabbie fishing!
My dad has a dam and has yabbies in there, so we wandered down to throw some meat in and see how big they've grown. Some massive ones, and I said we should do it every year, see who can get the biggest yabbie out of the dam!
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Post by LHR02 on Dec 25, 2004 3:51:08 GMT -5
What in the world is a yabbie??
;D
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Post by dumbdiety on Dec 25, 2004 8:09:25 GMT -5
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Post by LHR02 on Dec 25, 2004 8:24:03 GMT -5
Oh...crawdads!
thanks Doug!
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Post by dumbdiety on Dec 25, 2004 8:47:12 GMT -5
Yup, that's them. Got hungry just looking at the picture!
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Nicstar
Senior Travel Member
i like the sound of my own voice, i never gave anyone else a choice
Posts: 190
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Post by Nicstar on Dec 25, 2004 9:08:45 GMT -5
the yabbies in dad's dam are slightly different to that, in colour and I, up until today, would have said size. www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/astrat.htmToday we caught a decent sized one, then as we were sitting back looking at it hanging for dear life to the meat on the string, I swear to god one came marching OUT of the dam straight for us, and nearly nipped my toes, and it was as big, if not bigger than that one in the link Doug gave. They're clever too. One had hold of the mneat in one nipper and was trying to cut the string above the meat with his other nipper!
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