So, your family have any? We do.

1. The annual christmas tree fight- should we have a real tree, there's a fight every year over it, why? arguing if the thing is straight up and down or not. It's insane. But now we have an artificial. I'm actually kinda glad about that one

2. Two rounds of presents. I've never heard of anyone elses family who does it this way. we open all our gifts from family and friends on the evening of the 24th. My parents insist on filling stockings and leaving further gifts under the tree for christmas morning from "santa" even though me and my brother are both grown and know it's them. I think they do it because they enjoy it (no objections, i just find it odd!).

12/23/2006 6:22:55 PM

my mom always brought home cheap little $1 presents for us every time she went out shopping

12/23/2006 6:23:55 PM

growing up we had the "elf" come to our house.

Starting the night after my brother's birthday (which is december 4) the elf would leave books on our bed. Usually one book per night. We got the same books each year with just a few new ones thrown in each year. Sometimes the elf would leave a book and a present. I remember I got a hat with a whirly gig thingy that spun on the top when I was like 10- i thought it was hands down the coolest hat ever....hahahaha

anyway, yeah...the elf....he came to my house as like a santa-primer

12/23/2006 6:32:46 PM

sounds creepy

12/23/2006 6:44:07 PM

you callin' my momma creepy?

ASS!!

12/23/2006 6:47:31 PM

Quote :

"2. Two rounds of presents. I've never heard of anyone elses family who does it this way. we open all our gifts from family and friends on the evening of the 24th. My parents insist on filling stockings and leaving further gifts under the tree for christmas morning from "santa" even though me and my brother are both grown and know it's them. I think they do it because they enjoy it (no objections, i just find it odd!)."

we do this... but I dont understand why you have Santa's name in quotations...

12/23/2006 6:59:20 PM

we have "Psycho Santa" who leaves crappy gifts and re-gifts from many years past. Its a great build up over the month of december with the family mailing funny stuff.

12/23/2006 7:20:14 PM

We don't have any weird traditions really. But this year I'm making dungeness crab, shrimp, clams, and potatoes for dinner.

12/23/2006 7:48:03 PM

my wife's family, and therefore me too, now, does #2 also. Open presents on Christmas Eve, then santa presents and stockings on christmas morning. In my family growing up, we did it all on xmas morning with the diffirentiator being the santa presents were unwrapped when we came downstairs.

12/23/2006 7:54:43 PM

We usually had this thing where right before bed on Christmas Eve my sister and I would open one gift that was under the tree. Now given that Mr. Claus would have not yet arroived our selection is fairly limited so we generally just open what we got eachother.

At my girlfriend's house they always have a wrapping paper fight while opening presents. A very fun tradition.

12/23/2006 8:02:49 PM

Swedish Christmas on the 24th (that's when they celebrate it there) and then American on the 25th.

12/23/2006 8:22:29 PM

my family doesn't do christmas. we do winter solstice, which involves a bonfire, sleeping in a tipi, and cooking a ham in the ground. presents are not exchanged. we do have a tree this year, but its not decorated. its just a bare tree. I hate this time of year.

12/23/2006 8:29:43 PM

Crackers if we can find them. Not really an odd Christmas tradition, more like an English one, but I suppose that is odd over here. btw not crackers that you eat or crackers like white people, they are little rolls that crack really loud when you pull on each end and they have little toys and crowns inside.

12/23/2006 8:49:27 PM

wow :x

12/23/2006 8:49:51 PM

Every year my mom gives me and my brothers a toothbrush. but it is hilarious, because they are the ones that come for free in the packs of toothpaste.

12/23/2006 8:57:25 PM

My family has a few things:

I always get presents from my dog (To: David From: Snagsby)

Lighting a fire in the fire place just to burn up all of the wrapping paper.

12/23/2006 10:58:23 PM

my mom used to put floss and replacement blades for my razor in my stocking

12/23/2006 11:55:29 PM

Quote :

"Crackers if we can find them. Not really an odd Christmas tradition, more like an English one, but I suppose that is odd over here. btw not crackers that you eat or crackers like white people, they are little rolls that crack really loud when you pull on each end and they have little toys and crowns inside."

we did that tonight

i got a green crown and a tiddlywinks set

12/24/2006 12:08:35 AM

i saw a flyer at heathrow international saying christmas crackers were not allowed on flights.. i was like wtf?

12/24/2006 12:10:23 AM

we have fondue every xmas eve

12/24/2006 12:33:26 AM

Christmas morning we always have our lox and bagels breakfast. thats pretty standard.
One tradition is to get new hallmark ornaments every year for the tree. Our whole entire tree is halmark. I can't wait to get some.

12/24/2006 12:37:33 AM

Oh and we started going to midnight mass so we can sleep in on Christmas day since we are not little kids and don't have to run to open presents.

12/24/2006 12:39:54 AM

We always go up to see my dad's family all of Christmas Eve Day and open all our associated presents from them then. We used to also be able to take one of our presents under the tree along with us that day, but since I don't have nearly any presents this year (apparently I'm just too picky to buy for and am getting money or something), we can't do that this year.

Speaking of which, if I'm getting up early to go to the mountains, I need some sleep.

12/24/2006 1:06:50 AM

Parking the RV out front and emptying human--and dog--waste into the storm drain. Shitter's full.

12/24/2006 2:57:11 AM

my mom and i used to have a war with the empty wrapping paper rolls

i think it was just to vent since we ended up pissed off at each other over christmas

12/24/2006 3:02:31 AM

I wear every single bow from a present on my head until I'm done unwrapping everything. I started doing it as a kid and just kinda never stopped.

12/24/2006 4:55:33 AM

We've had tacos the past couple of years... not a long running tradition (more of a product of my grandmother’s health decline resulting in her no longer being the meal preparer). But I think we are going back to something more traditional this year. But it spiced things up for a few years.

12/24/2006 7:28:18 AM

Quote :

"Parking the RV out front and emptying human--and dog--waste into the storm drain. Shitter's full."

bathrobe and beer i hope as well.


that said, we do things pretty normally around here. my sister and i like to get each other some really horrid/funny gift each year, though it looks like thats not gonna happen this year. competing gifts include the fokuoku "finger messager," dancing jar jar binks, disturbingly terrible xmas sweater (i dont even know why the store had these), etc.

12/24/2006 8:16:55 AM

watch "the santa clause"

every goddamned year.

without fail.

kill me now before 7 pm

12/24/2006 9:53:54 AM

Tonight we eat tamales and watch Die Hard.

12/24/2006 10:22:32 AM

some ppl get to pick one present to open on xmas eve, but we just had one present sitting on our beds when we came back from church, and it was always xmas pajamas. my mom has passed away but i still give them to my sister every year

12/24/2006 10:33:53 AM

^^^ that reminds me. about 95% of the time (almost every year). I watch the disney mickey mouse version of a christmas carol. That started when I was 5.... i just never stopped watching it once a year. How sad is that! Lol.

12/24/2006 11:37:24 AM

feats of strength and the airing of grievances

12/24/2006 3:48:05 PM

my mom, EVERY YEAR, gets excited and forces one tv to have the Christmas Story marathon running on it.

i mean, i love that movie but i've seen it too damn much!

12/24/2006 4:11:28 PM

open one present on christmas eve, that's it!

my mom used to go to midnight mass. by then everyone would be so drunk they'd see two priests

12/24/2006 4:32:14 PM

the tree gives us presents

12/24/2006 4:34:11 PM

my mom acts like I'm still 5 years old

12/24/2006 5:19:40 PM

FESTIVUS!!

12/24/2006 6:23:31 PM

Here in the Charlotte area, one station each year shows a yule log burning, with Christmas songs on in the background for hours. This year, it's My Network 55.

I know it's been on in other places for years, but I just think it's stupid.

[Edited on December 25, 2006 at 12:39 AM. Reason : meh]

12/25/2006 12:37:11 AM

One of my friend's parents were married the night of the 24th, they had a preacher come up and they had chinese food. So every 24th they have chinese food for dinner. Kinda neat.

12/25/2006 1:14:24 AM

1 when my older brother and i were kids we'd get to open one present on christmas eve. when we were old enough to actually buy shit for everyone, we changed it to be that everyone opens gifts from him and myself on christmas eve, then everything else the next morning. now that my little bro is in college he's included in the rotation as well.

2 every year since my parents were married we/they have made an ornament for the christmas tree. we're up to 32 or so now

3 a christmas brunch of biscuits and chocolate gravy, a family specialty from my dad's side

12/25/2006 1:37:41 AM

Well my family (and GF's family) are german. We have a Christmas pickle. Yes, a green blown glass pickle that is hidden on the tree. No one is allowed to open presents, untill I find the pickle. My mother is in chagre of hiding that fucking pickle, and some years she doesn't even put the damn thing on the tree; but still has me try to find the pickle.

12/25/2006 6:53:45 AM

hahaha bout 4 years ago mom got us all sonicare tooth brushes & ever since then she gets us replacement heads for it.

our christmas hasn't been on christmas day in a while with 2 pilots and the manager of maintenance for an airline being in the family.... along with another airline VP as an inlaw

[Edited on December 25, 2006 at 8:54 AM. Reason : .]

12/25/2006 8:54:26 AM

holla at some free tickets

12/25/2006 11:08:30 AM

Quote :

"Crackers if we can find them. Not really an odd Christmas tradition, more like an English one, but I suppose that is odd over here. btw not crackers that you eat or crackers like white people, they are little rolls that crack really loud when you pull on each end and they have little toys and crowns inside."

my step mom is english, we do this as well sometimes.

12/26/2006 3:40:13 PM

We have a Chinese Christmas for everyone who's graduated college in the family. This year we had 19 involved. (Its the one where you get a gift, but it can get stolen from you later)

I got the Magic Bullet this year :o)

Its not really all that odd, but it is a hell of a lot of fun with my crazy-ass family.

12/26/2006 3:44:55 PM

Quote :

"Lighting a fire in the fire place just to burn up all of the wrapping paper."

'thats supposed to be bad for you

cause of somethng or other...

12/26/2006 4:00:15 PM

my uncle raped me on Christmas Eve 12 years ago


now, every year, my family takes turns raping me on Christmas Eve


but i don't complain

12/26/2006 4:13:50 PM

When my extended family gets together we play motherfuckin bingo for 2 hours before we get to eat. Anyone who does not play does not get gifts because the "prizes" for bingo is the right to open a gift.

I've stopped playing, and stopped getting presents from my extended family.

12/26/2006 4:56:42 PM

i take a dump in each one of our bathrooms, and dont flush.

12/26/2006 5:03:26 PM