When I was growing up, my family had so many excellent Christmas traditions that I feel very sentimental about. One of the best was what we did on Christmas Eve. Dinner was our traditional Swedish/German meal-meld: Swedish potato sausage, boiled potatoes, bruna bonor (Swedish sweet-n-sour baked beans), and pfoetchen. Pfoetchen are made with fried batter, raisins, and cinnamon-sugar. Many of us would have gone hungry Christmas Eve if it weren't for the pfoetchen. Actually, I liked the meal. My grandma spared us the lutefisk.
Also, who can eat right before opening presents when they are young?
Now that I think about it, it was a good character-builder for us to eat dinner before having presents.
There was at least one Christmas Eve when we lit candles and by candlelight alone had the Christmas story from Luke read to us before we could open gifts. That is a precious memory of mine.
After dinner, when the adults were ready (I think dishes had to be done first, while we kids gazed longingly at our gifts), we got to open gifts. They were passed out one by one. Everyone paid attention to every gift, and thank yous and hugs were given immediately. Sometimes, Santa rang the doorbell and then got away without us seeing him. There would be a bag of gifts from him outside that we got to open as well. Other years, Santa left us gifts overnight at the same time as filling our stockings.
When all the gifts were opened and some of the trash thrown away or piled up, Grandma and Grandpa served a humongous tray of homemade Christmas cookies (several varieties) and a somewhat smaller tray of champagne (and Sprite). This was done by candlelight. We toasted each other and ate some of our favorite types of cookies. Then cards were passed around. Each member of the extended family gathered there (and some who were not present who had mailed them early) had written a personal, heartfelt card to each other member. We read our personal pile of cards in silence. There were hugs and there were tears.
Every once in a while, some of us would go to the midnight service at church.
I plan to try out at least some of these traditions at home this year, just the four of us.
Here is our Christmas activity list, at least one for each day of December:
- drive around to see Christmas lights, then have hot cocoa
- go to the tree lighting
- drop off our letters to Santa
- make Christmas cards
- read Christmas books (more than one day)
- decorate the Christmas tree, drinking egg nog, listening to Christmas carols
- a giving date (buy toys to give to someone in need, plus dollar store for other family members, then a food treat at a restaurant or elsewhere)
- address and send Christmas cards
- wrap gifts
- make homemade gifts
- bake cookies (more than one day)
- read from our Christmas Treasury (at least one selection per day)
- decorate cookies
- watch a Christmas movie (more than one day)
- listen and sing along to Christmas carols (more than one day)
- see Santa or a lights display
- call or Skype a grandparent (four sets)
- call or Skype cousins
- go to Christmas Eve service (me)
My family growing up had our traditional holiday movies, too. At some point we would watch The Sound of Music, but I don't think that was strictly Christmas time. Then there were A Christmas Carol (1984 version), It's A Wonderful Life, White Christmas (sometimes), and Miracle on 34th Street.
Our family is too young to watch many of those movies and Erik doesn't care for them, so I do it myself. (A Christmas Carol is on in the background right now.) I've added Elf as a must-not-miss holiday movie for myself. Xander loves Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and can tolerate Frosty the Snowman as well. So far, he doesn't care for How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Shrek the Halls. Nick kind of liked watching Shrek the Halls last night.
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