Hi there!Today is my Advent Tour day hosted by the wonderful Marg and Kailana! Let me tell you, these ladies have posted every day of the month just telling us where to visit next or about their own traditions. How they do it at such a busy time of year, I just don't know, but their efforts are ever so much appreciated!
Enough kissing up.
When I signed up for the tour I had planned on a post about the silly gifts my family has started to buy each other. Since then other things have happened so if you are new to my blog - strap in.
No seriously, things go awry around here.
First thing to know is that my family has no young children anymore. Hey, I'm a young'un so don't get any notions but my hubby and I don't have any kids. Then my brother doesn't either and he ain't looking to. Then my 'baby' cousin just turned 23.
So we're a family of seven adults sitting around on Christmas morning.
Some of you may not know this but Santa doesn't have time to visit the adults what with all the children in the world so there isn't that crazy anticipation humming around our homes on the Eve.
This changed about 4 years ago. It turns out we're all just really big kids so we've been creating new traditions almost every year for the past 4 years.
It all started when my Aunt (who is over 50 so like Dude, why haven't you broached this topic with my parents before? (hint for the newbies - they scary!!)) and I approached my parents one January to say that maybe they didn't have to host Christmas EVERY year. It went over like a lead balloon but by Thanksgiving my mother was sold and the start of 'rotating' Christmas began.
Aunt hosts, We host (Bob and I) and then my Parents host.
My parents are very, very traditional and after umpteen years of watching Christmas Vacation (awesome movie but I could quote the thing from beginning to end) every year on CE, my Aunt decided to shake things up.
On her year to host we did Christmas puzzles and trivia on the Eve. She served cider and had a breakfast in the morning that was a one dish easy bake that everyone raved over. Dinner was a casual affair with lots of paper decorations and there was a relaxed easy going quality to the day.
The following year it was finally Bob's time (my hubby). (Bob is 12 years older than I and married once before. It was the first time in 25 years that he didn't have to drive on Christmas day!)
Bob and I created Pajama Christmas.
Everyone had to wear their jammies all day long EVEN during dinner (my mother about fainted). I have to say it was the best Christmas ever but my parents didn't wear their jammies. Nope, they don't play that way. My brother didn't get to our house until just before dinner and had his freshly bought jammies all ready and was in them in a flash.
I should mention we are also responsible for the new tradition of stockings (only us kids ever had stockings). Now, all the adults hang stockings knowing that everyone will drop a small gadget or gift in there.
What slays me though are the oldest 'kids' can't wait until Christmas morning to open them!
On no. They ask constantly 'did everyone fill the stockings? aren't you guys done yet!?'
We open them on Christmas Eve.
My parents had their go again last year and they kept the stocking tradition - everything else was fairly normal.
It's my Aunt's turn this year and she's upped the ante again.
She's making us decorate our stockings!!
I don't know how she figures we'll have time for that and then filling and then opening them all in one night but maybe she's trying to get my Dad to wait till the morning.
Cause he may be the oldest but he's the biggest kid of us all!
My only true concern is that dinner always be Turkey and all the fixings. After that, mixing up our traditions has brought in a fresh feeling to the holidays.
There is something to be said for tradition during the holidays but if they've been feeling like more of a chore lately or like the spirit hasn't quite found your house, try changing something up.
It doesn't have to cost you money - (the stockings are supposed to be filled with dollar store finds so for us it's seven dollars a person) like our PJ Christmas (true, my family had to go and buy all new jammas - Bob and I always have jammas though) or it could be as simple as finding some Christmas music trivia online and printing out a sheet and having a game with little chocolates for prizes.
Any 'new' traditions you would like to share? I'm already looking for some new ideas for our turn again next year.
Of course, the PJs will be mandatory!
Have a Very Merry Holiday and thanks for dropping by!
16 comments:
lol, Pajama Christmas! Your family sounds awesome. I love your traditions :)
You can kiss up all you like!!
I love the idea of changing up the traditions! I can't see pajama christmas taking off in our family! It's too darned hot sometimes, so there could be a LOT of flesh showing!
We alternate hosts, but I am never asked to be one of them, and I think I like it like that! LOL!
Oh, what a lovely, wonderful post! I love how you are changing the traditions because there are no children around! And bringing out the kids in yourselves instead! I'm bringing stockings over for my in-laws, who didn't even decorate the house last year, this year because we're coming everything is up! and they have to have stockings too. My kids already ask for pyjama days on the weekend!
I love that you rotate Christmas too, so it gets to be a little bit different every year too. Thank you for sharing your Christmas with us, I really enjoyed reading it and finding your blog this way!
I loved this! I could just see the look on my mother's face if I had asked her to sit in pyjamas for Christmas! I can't even get her to come visit us for the holiday. Not sure how it would go down ... she'd try to make it 'hers' no doubt :)
Anyway, thanks for sharing! I'll definitely be back more often!
Yeah, kissing up is good. lol
Sounds like you guys have fun! My family is all scattered everywhere at Christmas, but one day we might celebrate together again... PJ Christmas sounds like a good idea, though. :)
what a fun way to celebrate Christmas. I think it is fun that you celebrate with stockings and keep the kid in you alive. Sounds like you all need to watch Polar Express. Merry Christmas.
Cindy, it sounds like you and your family really made Christmas fun again! How cool! I love the idea of pajama Christmas, although my MIL would faint.
First - I love your Christmas template. Ho! Ho! Ho! Yes, your Pajama Christmas sounds like comfy fun - that would work with folks in these parts. It's good to have some things stay the same, but a little change-up is never out of place for my family. We do have young cousins in our celebrations, but mostly it's 'The Adults' (parents, aunt & uncle), 'The Kids' (my generation, now all in our 40's) and 'The Young Ones' (the actual children.) Recently we've started to have a musical entertainment section to our Christmas Eve. We're all musical, so we put on a mini show for ourselves.
Hmmm... you could do a story night, or a movie day. I'll have to do pajama Christmas, though. That sounds like fun.
Your family sounds like a lot of fun at the holidays, CindyS! I don't much care what else happens, but we've gotta have mashed potatoes & gravy!
I wish we could shake up our family traditions, but with 20+ people in our clan, it's almost impossible to get agreement on anything--least of all changing tradition. Your Christmas celebrations sound like so much fun!
So the PJs are a hit - I should note that I kept my bra on. Didn't want to traumatize male family members ;)
So my mother isn't the only one! She wore clothes and my husband graciously allowed my parents in the house. By graciously I mean he's scared of my mom and wouldn't dare cross her.
And I'm still sitting here and wondering how I made my family sound fun! ;)
Next year I need to do the silly gift post - I need pictures as proof though!
CindyS
Great post! I really like the idea about stirring the traditions a little but still having a real great Christmas. I enjoyed reading you well written post. Have a great Christmas. Can't wait to hear how things will go :o)
I love your traditions! It sounds like you guys have a ton of fun with Christmas.
Dude that Pajama Christmas sounds awesome, I wish we could get away with something like that at my house but my parents would have a cow!
Awww, I loved reading this post, it's got me all hyped up for Christmas this year, we're having a big dinner this time around, we've been slacking in that department the past couple of years but we're back on track this year and hopefully it'll work out nicely!
That sound so much fun!
Sorry, I am a little late on the Advent Tour. Playing catch up.
Happy Holidays!
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