Christmas Traditions?

[BigShadow]

What's everyone doing for Christmas this year and what are some of your traditions?

Mine starts on Christmas Eve at noon.  For the past 10 years or so a group of us meet up and smoke a few cigars before having to visit family.  Then my wife and I beging visiting family for a bite to eat and gift exchanges.  Christmas Eve has always been big at my parent's house.  For as long as I can remember their house was packed on Eve with people eating and drinking... a lot.  However, as they are getting older, and other friends have their own families now or failing health, we don't have many over anymore on Eve.  Once we get home from my parent's house, I light the fireplace, pour a cold drink, and wait until midnight when me and the wife open one gift.

On Christmas day my wife makes a big breakfast, then it's on to presents, we watch Christmas Story all day, and maybe visit a few family members.  In the evening we usually finish over my aunt and uncle's house for drinks and food.  But this year is going to be a little different.  In September I met a Greek husband and wife who are from Greece and living in my city.  We all became quick and close friends over the last few months.  So, because they have no family here, and haven't seen their family in Greece for over 10 years, we invited them over on Christmas night.  Hopefully, this begins a new tradition with our two families.

[Rex fury]

No matter where I am or what else is going on, I watch some version of A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve. My go to favorite is the musical version from the early 70's. For a cartoon, I'll take the Disney version from a couple years back, or if I'm in the mood for something darker, the FX version fits that bill. Aside from all the usual family and kid stuff that goes on, Scrooge always sets the mood for Christmas Day!
RF

[Mike Scott]

For a cartoon, I'll take the Disney version from a couple years back

Have you seen "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"?

[BigShadow]

Have you seen "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"?

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962) is one of my favorite holiday cartoons to watch! I remember always watching this in the 1980s as a kid and even taping it off the tv with my VCR.

[Mike Scott]

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962) I remember always watching this in the 1980s as a kid

I first saw it when it premiered. (Yea, I'm old!)

[CountWolkoff]

Chocolate milk: always a personal tradition for me during the season.

[Hepcat]

I first saw it when it premiered. (Yea, I'm old!)

At the time I thought it was the original. It's still the definitive interpretation for me.

[Mike Scott]

It's still the definitive interpretation for me.

My 2nd favorite, after the Sim version.

[Rex fury]

I too saw the Magoo version back in the 1960s. I haven't really thought of it until reading this thread. I'll see if I can find a YouTube version to watch after tonight's festivities!
RF

[Mike Scott]

I'll see if I can find a YouTube version to watch after tonight's festivities!
RF

It's free on DailyMotion. YT wants $$.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x55fqu0

[Hepcat]

I/we continue to cling to many of the family traditions brought over from the old country where they'd been practiced for centuries. Foremost among these is a meatless December 24th with an evening feast of twelve(!) different dishes. Traditionally there should be many herring, pike and other freshwater fish dishes plus potato and mushroom dishes but the key is no meat. One year back in the early 1990's while visiting my sister in London (Ontario) it was contingent upon me to do what I could since as a nurse she'd drawn the Xmas Eve shift at the hospital. So I broke out the rye bread, pickled herring from a jar, smoked Riga Sprats from the tin and cooked up some Tuna Helper. I also ordered a mushroom and onion pizza and a bunch of meatless Chinese dishes such as fried rice, chop suey, lo mein, egg foo young and sweet and sour shrimp. My sister was surprised by what I'd succeeded in arranging!

Admittedly I'm getting old and can no longer do justice to that many dishes particularly since there are only two (humans) in our household. The WOMAN does prepare the two dishes that I regard as most important, those being a beet, bean, pickle and hard boiled egg salad called 'mišrainė':



And a tart refreshing jellied cranberry pudding called 'kisielius':



I'd been buying absolutely spectacular Yule logs (and other cakes) from Klein's Bakery and Xmas kringles from Chapman's Bakery in London for decades but I lost these sources when the two fellows retired some 12-15 years ago. I've finally secured more than adequate replacement sources of supply, North Pole Bakery for the Yule logs and Hansen's Danish Bakery for the kringles, right here in Toronto. Xmas is also the time of year when I buy icebox cookies from Hansen's Bakery and Walkers shortbread cookies.

The Xmas season is also when we keep an eye out for good sales on boxed chocolates such as Laura Secord, Pot of Gold, Black Magic or Ganong. Our favourite though are Elmer from New Orléans. Cella's or Lowney Cherries, Terry's Chocolate Oranges and Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark are other seasonal favourites.

Nor would it be Xmas for me without walnuts and tangerines/clementines in the house.

Moreover about twelve or thirteen years ago I started buying Advent calendars to count the days down to Xmas with chocolate. Initially I bought the low end Regal ones because I couldn't resist the box art. The chocolate though was barely edible. We've now switched to purchasing higher end calendars which we buy when they go on sale at blowout prices a week into December. We then count the days down to the New Year with good chocolate! Mine this year is an After Eight Mints one while The WOMAN's is a Lindt calendar:



Then there's the fiber-optic Xmas tree we bought at a blow-out clearance price at Canadian Tire a few days before Xmas in 2006. We've been stringing seven colour (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and purple/pink) LED light strings around the branches but otherwise decorating it in only predominantly silver or white decorations to create a magical winter wonderland effect. It's full glory is tough to capture on camera because only the whiteness and not the coloured lights come through but here it is from twelve years ago:







This being the eighteenth year for the tree may also be its last because it's lost too many of its needles mainly due to age. (I've read that artificial trees are only supposed to last four to six years.) Feline depredations have also taken their toll.

I also like to get a white or marble/candy cane poinsettia from the supermarket. This is over and above any we rescue from the street where they've been cruelly discarded to die. The last one we rescued is still hanging on after three years!

Some twenty years ago I also embraced the British tradition of laying in enough Xmas crackers for the festive season. I usually get nice Tom Smith or Robin Reed ones:



These I pre-buy a year or three in advance after Xmas day when unsold stock gets marked down to blow out prices!   

Polar bears, hedgehogs and snowy owls are our Xmas animals of choice when it comes to seasonal bric-a-brac.

Finally I really do mean it when I say the Xmas season. We celebrate a second time by the old Julian calendar on or about January 6th. Hey, the pagan in me likes to stretch out the ancient Winter Solstice festivities!

[Rex fury]

Thanks for the link, Mike. I watched Magoo last night for this year's Christmas Carol. What a great trip down nostalgia lane!
RF

[TheMadScientist]

No matter where I am or what else is going on, I watch some version of A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve. My go to favorite is the musical version from the early 70's. For a cartoon, I'll take the Disney version from a couple years back, or if I'm in the mood for something darker, the FX version fits that bill. Aside from all the usual family and kid stuff that goes on, Scrooge always sets the mood for Christmas Day!
RF

My favorite has always been the 1984 version starring George C Scott. I recommend it, if you haven't seen it before.

[Mike Scott]

My favorite has always been the 1984 version starring George C Scott.

Probably my 3rd favorite. It has parts of the book not found in other versions.

[Hepcat]

We used to festoon the exterior of the house both front-and-back with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and purple/pink LED lights between 2006 and 2016:







We revived that tradition this year but with just blue and white lights for a more wintry theme.