We’re a family that’s big on family traditions…especially during the holiday season. The day before Christmas aka Christmas Eve the girls get together to help one another finish wrapping gifts and baking desserts for our holiday meal. During that time the guys in the family host a game day with the kids to keep them busy. Board games, video games and backyard games (if the weather is decent).
On Christmas Eve we all enjoy a prime rib dinner along with various side dishes and dessert. We don’t over-cook for our New Year’s Eve dinner, just enough for a full meal (unlike Christmas day). Once our belly’s are full we all go into the family room to exchange Christmas Tree ornaments. Yes, ornaments!
We draw names on Thanksgiving to see who our Christmas Tree ornament partner will be. We then have 1 month to shop for or make an ornament for them. The ornament has to remind you of that particular person in some way…which makes the ornament exchange special. Like I said, it can be a handcrafted or a store-bought ornament.
Another thing that we do as a family is to pick a charity every year that we donate money to. We each pitch in $10-$20. We then make the donation to the charity on behalf of our family as a whole. This year we picked a local Cat Rescue Group who were appreciative of our donation. This reminds the adults and teaches the kids that it’s important to give back to our local community.
What kind of Christmas Eve traditions do you and your family participate in?