Strange holiday traditions you have

[melodys_angel]

We have some traditions but they may change (much to my distaste) this year.

Normally, its open gifts and everyone on my mums side on the 24th in the evening (this is German tradition.  You can imagine me being confused as a kid on why everyone has to wait until the 25th, or the santa is coming on the 24th thing).

Morning of the 24th, I used to help my grandma make these cookie/candy platters that are traditional german.  You made them to give away and to keep.  There IS a name for them but I cant remember.

On the 25th, its usually spending time with my Italian side of the family.  This used to mean nonnas 4 course meal, but shes getting older so we are picking up the workload.


A few things that wont change will still be me doing my annual ornament making and cookie baking.

[invaderhorizongreen]

we would say up till midnight or 3:00 am to play mario party , and we were always up at 6:00 am to open stockings.  At my dads house we would listen to Christmas music from the Dr.Demento show. I personally always play werid Al's Christmas at ground zero every Christmas eve.

[kaoskat]

Leaving out cookies for Santa Paws? I dunno....I don't think we have any weird traditions yet....

[UrocyonFox]

My hubby and I actually celebrate a Halloween Christmas. We put up a black Christmas tree decorated with skulls (I hunt so they're like deer skulls, fox skulls, bob cat skulls ect) we wrap everything in Halloween themed paper and pray our pumpkins don't rot. (Our tradition is we each select and buy a pumpkin the day AFTER Halloween. We try to choose pumpkins that look the same size. We then keep them on our porch and see who's pumpkin lasts the longest. Last year we had a really warm December so the pumpkins only ended up lasting till about April, but other times they go as long as July and August. We don't carve them so the first pumpkin that rots with an opening is the looser.) So December we try to judge our pumpkins and root for them!

[little.fox]

Every year I watch the Nightmare Before Christmas as part of my christmas preparations, sometimes I'll just have it on in the background while wrapping gifts or decorating, sometimes I'll sit down to watch it properly, and some years I do both.

[Keelee_von_Cupcake]

My hubby and I actually celebrate a Halloween Christmas. We put up a black Christmas tree decorated with skulls (I hunt so they're like deer skulls, fox skulls, bob cat skulls ect) we wrap everything in Halloween themed paper and pray our pumpkins don't rot. (Our tradition is we each select and buy a pumpkin the day AFTER Halloween. We try to choose pumpkins that look the same size. We then keep them on our porch and see who's pumpkin lasts the longest. Last year we had a really warm December so the pumpkins only ended up lasting till about April, but other times they go as long as July and August. We don't carve them so the first pumpkin that rots with an opening is the looser.) So December we try to judge our pumpkins and root for them!

Oh my Ra, I am so jealous! It must be so beautiful!!! I could never hunt (I don't even like to be as far away from the city as the suburbs), but how I would love to have all those lovely bones. They would be the jewels of my tree too...heck, they'd be on display all year round. I'm planning to make lots of tentacles for my spooky tree, and probably get fake bones and other Halloween-type ornaments, but man. I don't think it will measure up to yours. 

[banditpony]

Hm.

I guess this is sort of weird.
I eat cold/leftover calamari spaghetti every Christmas morning. It really would not feel like Christmas without it.

I also have family-style Chinese dinner with my husband's family at night time, but that isn't weird to me. His family has been doing so since he was a kid since they owned a restaurant, and it was the one day they could go out to eat.

[kaninchen]

we have these ornaments made of tinsel, that look an awful lot like kooshballs. little soft spikey balls made of tinsel. there are red ones and silver ones. it was always the tradition that those ornaments went on first.... and not in the traditional manner. while the tree was naked save for lights, we would step three or four feet away and FLING! toss those sparkle-balls onto the tree. they stick!

i've inherited several of these funny tinsel balls since moving out. and it's a tradition mr. kaninchen and i still uphold. first ornaments on the tree....and throw them!

[Kaeldre]

I have my own personal tradition that's a little bit 'out there'.

The minute my I get up, I find the channel that's doing the 24 hours of A Christmas Story, and I park my TV on that for the entire day.

[Sky_Rocket_Sammie]

Not something I did but something that was done for me. And one I'll do if I ever have kids. My parents lived in West Germany and parts of the Netherlands for eleven years, while my Dad was stationed over seas in the 1960s.

My Mom brought back a pair of wooden clogs, not the fancy painted ones but real ones. That would have been worn. Anyways on or close to January 6th she would put hay in them. Hidden in the hay was a small gift for me and some candy. There's a story that goes with why she did this, as my Godfather who is Danish grew up doing something similar around Christmas. I loved looking in the shoes each year.

It's bee fun reading what everyone does.

[hilamb]

We bake muffins usually.

[Rhubarbpie]

I buy presents for all my family and friends, including their pets!  I also write cards for the pets too

I always put a little bell on the lower branches of my tree - so I can tell when my cat is gonna start climbing

My tree is traditional red and gold ornaments except my pink star, in honor of my gran and my aunt's (successful) fight against cancer.

[Marigold]

My hubby and I actually celebrate a Halloween Christmas. We put up a black Christmas tree decorated with skulls (I hunt so they're like deer skulls, fox skulls, bob cat skulls ect) we wrap everything in Halloween themed paper and pray our pumpkins don't rot. (Our tradition is we each select and buy a pumpkin the day AFTER Halloween. We try to choose pumpkins that look the same size. We then keep them on our porch and see who's pumpkin lasts the longest. Last year we had a really warm December so the pumpkins only ended up lasting till about April, but other times they go as long as July and August. We don't carve them so the first pumpkin that rots with an opening is the looser.) So December we try to judge our pumpkins and root for them!

This sounds like a fun idea!  I've kept pumpkins well into spring before just to see how long they will last.  A couple times I've thrown them out even though they didn't rot so they may have lasted longer.  It might be fun to do this competition with my husband next year.

[UrocyonFox]

My hubby and I actually celebrate a Halloween Christmas. We put up a black Christmas tree decorated with skulls (I hunt so they're like deer skulls, fox skulls, bob cat skulls ect) we wrap everything in Halloween themed paper and pray our pumpkins don't rot. (Our tradition is we each select and buy a pumpkin the day AFTER Halloween. We try to choose pumpkins that look the same size. We then keep them on our porch and see who's pumpkin lasts the longest. Last year we had a really warm December so the pumpkins only ended up lasting till about April, but other times they go as long as July and August. We don't carve them so the first pumpkin that rots with an opening is the looser.) So December we try to judge our pumpkins and root for them!

This sounds like a fun idea!  I've kept pumpkins well into spring before just to see how long they will last.  A couple times I've thrown them out even though they didn't rot so they may have lasted longer.  It might be fun to do this competition with my husband next year.

It is so much fun! We spent about 45minutes this year picking out our pumpkins. I lost last year and my pumpkin gave out a long hiss when  it released gasses. I was the one who had clean them up. Well not this year, my pumpkin is a champ, I've been pep talking her to prep her for the cold months! My hubby will be cleaning pumpkin goo this year for sure!

[Marigold]

Ew gross!  Lol, I've made my husband throw out the pumpkins when they've gone sour.  Although he is just as bad as me and sometimes refuses to even help when they are really bad.  My pumpkin, my mess.