Christmas Eve!
It's finally here, LJ Babies - the presents are wrapped, the tree is trimmed. The kids are ready to explode.
Vesele Vanoce!I want to share what a traditional Polyp Christmas eve was like, growing up - and I hope you will all reciprocate ( Read more... )
Vesele Vanoce!I want to share what a traditional Polyp Christmas eve was like, growing up - and I hope you will all reciprocate ( Read more... )
We never lived close to grandparents, so we just had one celebration. Usually on Christmas Eve, we would have a huge spread of appetizers. We would often sing Christmas carols at the piano until we got old enough to think we sounded terrible. Sometimes we'd get together at a family friend's house with some other kids we liked from church. We'd usually play Blind Man's Bluff in the basement while the adults exchanged naughty gag gifts upstairs. Gag gifts always included at least one gigantic pair of women's underwear. One year my little niece opened her gag gift and found the panties and began to cry about them! LOL.
Christmas morning always started bright and early at my parents' house. We would usually have homemade egg mcmuffins with shaved ham, eggs, and cheese. We always had those yummy International Instant Coffees for the kids, and my parents would grind beans and make themselves "real" coffee. We had pastries, too, and danishes.
We started with the stockings, and we had to wait until everyone was there. I remember always getting those "dots" that were like bits of hardened frosting on a strip of white paper...anyone remember those? And those blackberry and blueberry and raspberry candies shaped like gumdrops, with tiny little balls all over them..yum, I still like those. Lots of novelty toys like little wooden airplanes, whoopie cushions, and ball-and-paddles...and way too much candy. Now that we're older, we've done away with stockings at their house. I don't mind, since I was the ONLY ONE OF US that EVER MADE MOM AND DAD'S STOCKINGS. Yes, ever since I was about 10, I have put stockings together for mom and dad, and my siblings would never help, lol. Lots of my money went toward it every year until THIS YEAR! WOOHOO! We decided not to do them...I'm off the hook! ;)
Then we'd open presents, very slowly, one at a time, one person at a time. It took virtually all morning and into the afternoon. Lots of hugs and "thank yous" and "I love yous" after each gift...we really stretched it out. Again, as the grandkids came along, we've switched it up a bit to go a little faster. Whew!
We usually play a dice game for gag gifts. I help my mom buy the gifts, so I'm kind of exempt from playing. Everybody likes the "stealing" part of the game, where you can take someone else's present before they open it...always fun and exciting until Andrea cries when she gets the giant underwear, lol.
As a teen, I'd go carolling with my choir buddies. I can't find enough people these years...
Now Christmas mornig takes place around 11, and we're having ham, cheesy potato hashbrown casserole, and pasta salad.
My parents don't really drink, so that's never been a tradition. You can bet, however, that Nate and I will enjoy a bit of the bud before the chaos of tomorrow, lol.
We get together like this as a family only once or twice a year, but it's enough.
Happy Holidays!! :)
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A bit of the bud does make the family easier to take, I'm sure.
Thanks for sharing, Jess - I hope you, N8, Wes and O have a great holiday!
Time for chop suey cam!
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