How are you spending the holidays this year?

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

It's always fun to hear about other people's traditions, and how they spend the holidays. I know that many of you very lucky people will be traveling.

I'll be home for Christmas, since my family doesn't like to travel for the holidays. I normally have both Christmas Eve, and Christmas at my house. Christmas being the bigger deal. Christmas Eve, I follow the Italian tradition of making 7 fish dishes. I'm not sure how this tradition got started. Some say it is because it took God 7 days to create the universe. Other's say it represents the the 7 sacraments of the Catholic Church. Either way, it's a lot of work, but it is our tradition.


This year, my daughter has a serious boyfriend for the first time, during the holidays. He is having Christmas dinner with us, so my DD wants me to make a huge feast, and do some major decorating. Hopefully, this weekend we will start decorating, and put up the tree.

[chellej Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chellej]

My DD & DS will be home from college and we will spend Christmas eve and Christmas at home & they will visit friends. Our extended family is in Pennsylvania so it is just us.

MY DD & I bake cookies every year and much of it is done on Christmas eve day and we take platters of cookies to all our friends - it keeps growing and we our making more and more each year. Baklava & gobs seem to be everyones favorites.

My youngest son's gf is mexican and their tradition is to make tamale's and give to all their friends - DS is anxiously awaiting the Tamales. Last year he ate them all and we didn't get any.

I always make Roast Beef Tenderloin and mushroom gravy for Christmas - DH's favorite.

We are going to Island Park Village for New Years, taking advantage of the kids being home so they can stay with my 89 yo father who lives with us. Going snowmobiling in Yellowstone - it should be lots of fun.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Flying the family to Hilton Head Island and spending Xmas week at the Marriott Grande Ocean.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Since the only day we close is Christmas and I'm seriously low on time off, we'll be spending a quiet holiday at home, just the two of us and our sweet doggie.

My brother in Augusta, GA is hosting family Christmas this year and a couple days after will be flown to Australia, as he is a team manager for the USA Swim Team.

The day after Christmas, my stepdaughter, her husband and my granddaughter will come over and we'll have our family Christmas. The other grands are a bit more adamant about getting THE HOLIDAY so we just wait our turn for when it's convenient for the family to come see us.

We've come to enjoy our quiet Christmases at home without stress. I did want to go to my brother's this year, but my husband's family had a rough year, losing their patriarch. My SIL needs us more than my family does.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

We are going to San Francisco on Thursday night Dec 20 to see Nutcracker, spending the night & enjoying the city all dressed up for the holidays. On Saturday we celebrate new grandaughters 1st birthday at youngest son's home in the area, staying overnight at middle son's place. Sunday he & DIL are hosting our family Christmas with extended family coming to feast on primerib & the whole shebang. Then we'll head back to the barn for Christmas eve & day spent quietly at home. Our sons all spend the actual holiday dates with in-laws. That seems to be what happens with sons. We really don't care what date we use just so we can all be together.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

We'll be home for Chistmas, as always. Since we are the only family we have in this area (except for one cousin of mine) we have both Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day dinner at our house. My mom will be with us, she started coming and spending the Christmas season with us after my dad passed away. Last year, and this year, she spent several months with us in order to avoid some of the winter in MO (where she lives with my sister and her family). My cousin will usually join us for dinner one of those nights, and a close family friend usually comes over for dinner on Christmas Day. She won't be with us this year as she's going to be down south with some of her family.

Traditions, besides all of the eating, are: cookie exchange party that I've gone to pretty much every year for about 20 years now, going out and cutting down our Christmas tree.

Julie, it sounds like you'll be somewhat in my area. Maybe we can at least wave at each other.

[jlwquilter Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlwquilter]

Same Old

Same as the last few years - and I am not complaining! It's just us in the area (me, DH and DD) but MIL is a snowbird and joins us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We'll make up this year for not having a tradtional Thanksgiving, as we decided to go to Disney World over the long weekend, and have turkey and the works.

We plan on getting the tree this weekend and hopefully getting some decorations up. I still need to put the Halloween stuff away

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

Luanne
Mom & I are actually spending Friday just fiddle farting around in the area. It makes no sense to drive 2 1/2 hours home just to turn around & go back on Saturday morning. Not to mention the tank full of gas at $3.69 per gal or whatever! So we will go to Alden Lane Nursery, visit Stoneridge Mall & just hole up in our 2 room suite (complete with fireplace) down in Fremont waiting for DH to get off work and take us out to dinner!

So if you are free for lunch, give me a holler.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Luanne
Mom & I are actually spending Friday just fiddle farting around in the area. It makes no sense to drive 2 1/2 hours home just to turn around & go back on Saturday morning. Not to mention the tank full of gas at $3.69 per gal or whatever! So we will go to Alden Lane Nursery, visit Stoneridge Mall & just hole up in our 2 room suite (complete with fireplace) down in Fremont waiting for DH to get off work and take us out to dinner!

So if you are free for lunch, give me a holler.

Stoneridge????? My home away from home, This would be Friday the 21st?

[janapur Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close janapur]

My extended family on both sides has never been into tradition besides a tree and turkey dinner. So in hopes that it's never too late, I've been slowly adding one new thing a year. I started hosting a fondue party for Christmas Eve, a modest gift exchange game for the adults (you know the one where you choose an unwrapped gift or steal from another) cookie exchange, and this year anyone who's interested can join us Christmas carolling at the nearest nursing homes. Everything's been a hit so far, and it's so refreshing to take the focus off of the gifts. It has gotten to the point where my nieces and nephews are accepting cash only for iPods, XBoxes, etc. and I must admit to becoming a bit jaded. The kids in my family, including my own, have more stuff than they know what to do with . . . it's time to start making memories.

Jana

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

3 Prong Attack

We used to go up the street to the in-laws for Christmas Eve but they have both passed away now and we have inherited the house so, the tradition continues (we will remodel it next year) and all the relatives will be coming there for Christmas Eve. Including my daughter who had a baby girl in August and her husband (Marine in Japan) should be here for Christmas.
Christmas morning at our current house. The kids will be coming there along with us picking up my Mom for Christmas breakfast and family gifts.
Christmas Evening at my brothers with my entire family and my brother's wife's entire family (about 30 people). Makes for a long but interesting couple of days.
Bart

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

We will be spending Christmas on Hilton Head this year.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

We will be spending Christmas on Hilton Head this year.

Riverdees, would you like to try to connect on HHI? I'll be there too with my family.

[JoAnn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoAnn]

Our middle DD will be here from Key West and the three of us will join our oldest, Peg, and our son, Dave, we will go to Peg's SO's house for a typical Italian Christmas Eve in S. Ft. Myers. He is such a great cook, even if he does cook some 'weird' stuff for that meal. Then Christmas morning the of us, and our Lab, will head back to Peg's house to open gifts, and spend the day together with other friends and family (2 cousins of DH). I think there will be 10 or 11 of us for a big meal. Everyone brings something though, so no one has to do all the cooking. We are just very happy that we can all be together again, this year.

We have only gone away once for Christmas...we drove to Key West and stayed with Pat, Dave flew in from Las Vegas, and Peg joined us a few days later from Chicago. Pat lived in a 2 BR 2 bath trailer (whoops..mobile home) with her (then) DH, so for a few days there adults, and 3 dogs!! We had a great time.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Mike, yes would like to connect while on Hilton Head. We have a Dec 22 check in. We will either be staying at Grand Ocean or Monarch, depending on whether our oldest daughter and her family decide to go or not.