Holiday Traditions :)

melissa852 · December 2010

I love hearing about all the unique and creative holiday traditions that go on in each family. It’s so much fun to get new ideas! So with that being said, what is your favorite holiday tradition?

…AND to start this off, one of our families holiday traditions is to celebrate Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). The Cuban tradition is a family dinner centered around a lechon (pig roast). The pig is often picked out and prepared on the December 23 by all the men in the family, while all the women are busy cooking the rest of food/desserts for the following night. On December 24 the pig is cooked in a "Caja China," a large box where an entire pig is placed above hot coals. My dad makes this box bigger and bigger every year. This year he made a huge box out of bricks (I'll definitely post pictures if you girls want to see it). Overall, my family is very large and there is always an abundance of food, laughter, and celebration the night of Noche Buena.

rendi1687 · December 2010

We have started a tradition with my brother and his wife. Since we all have so many Christmas's to attend we usually get together before or after Christmas and we make a different food theme each year. Like the first year we made Chinese, second year Italian, third year Cajun....the list goes on. My mom will buy my nieces a Christmas ordament that goes with the theme to put on the tree.

Another tradition is that my mom always gives us a book every year and writes on the inside cover to us.

On my mom's side of the family we all get together and play dirty santa and make my grandma's signiture dish of stuffed cabbage. She was from Czechoslovakia and made that dish every year until she passed away!!

borderpatrolwifey2be · December 2010

We actually don't have any traditons really. Since FI and I first started dating we would spend Christmas Eve at his parents and do Christmas breakfast with the whole family then family pictures. After that we'd go see my dad and his soon to be ex-wife. But this year my dad is in FL and I don't speak to my soon to be ex stepmom, and mt moms side of the family lives 6 hours away, and even tho her and my stepdad (who has raised me since I was 4) got divorced last year I still consider him my daddy as well. And he lives 6 hours away too, and his family all lives in CA ... This year it looks like if we want to have Christmas (I didn't get Christmas eve off, or the 26th

) we have to drive over to his brothers house an hour - hour & a half away...

But when we start our own family I am hoping to start our own traditions like when I was a little kid, one present Christmas eve, big Christmas dinner with family...but who knows what will happen with having moms, step-dads, dads & FI parents to all spend holidays with!

sprtychick10 · December 2010

@melissa, that sounds like so much fun!!! It sounds like a tradition that is special to everyone in your family.

This Christmas is going be slightly different then the ones I grew up with. My brother isn't going to be with us, he is going to be with his wife and her family in OK. I live 3 hours away from my parents and this year my parents will be driving to spend it with my FI and his family. Every Christmas eve, my parents do a big seafood dinner. It is something they have done before kids and I think its special they are bringing the tradition to where my FI and I are living now.

Tiffany6912 · December 2010

I will be taking over from my mom this year (yay!) but it has always been that on Christmas Eve, my mom spends the day making several different types of pastas (recipes passed down from my great grandmother), meatballs, sauce, a ham and some sort of seafood. After our huge meal, we go to evening mass then drive around the neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights. When we get home, my brother and I exchange one gift and the family watches Christmas Vacation.

The one FI and I have isn't exactly Christmas related but has started because of my work schedule around Christmas. My work always makes me take a vacation day on the 23rd so FI also takes off work. We enjoy hiking but with our opposite schedules, we rarely get to. We use this day to pick a new place that is a little far, get an early start and spend the day wandering together.

melissa852 · December 2010

@Tiffany- I can't wait until the day I take over my mom's holiday tradition. It must be so exciting.

I love hearing all of your traditions. Thanks for sharing!!!

Holiday Traditions :)

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