Let's face it, we are neck deep in the holiday season folks! It's the second week in October and we will be on the other side of Halloween in a flash!!
So tell me, what are your favorite traditions? Bonus points for recipes!
Halloween plans?
Best thanksgiving food?
How do you handle Christmas/Hanukkah?
What about New Years as a parent?
Eta: I stole this from the Stay at Home Parents board
Halloween- daycare costume parade, trunk or treat then trick or treating in BIL's neighborhood. Trunk or treat last year was really elaborate with adults dressed up and decorated cars/tents. Trick or treat includes tailgate style food and drinks for adults. Cant wait.
Thanksgiving- staying local out of convenience and having dinner at MILs house. Last year there was a trip to Toysrus, Target, etc. after dinner. I know its a UO, but if there are any good toy doorbusters Ill send DH this year.
Christmas- Christmas eve with ILs, morning at our house, then driving to see my family. DH will go home after a few days while I stay with the kids. Then DH will come back New Years Day for a party with my extended family before taking all of us home.
New Years- DH wants to stay up late, but the kids will still want to wake up early, so i have no desire to stay up. We spent New Years apart last year and its better that way until the kids learn the concept of sleeping in.
So tell me, what are your favorite traditions? Bonus points for recipes!
Halloween plans? Probably staying home (at my in-laws) and handing out candy with Cole. Or we will go to my mom's and hand out candy. I'm not going to take him out anywhere this year.
Best thanksgiving food? Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. For thanksgiving we go see my dad's side of the family in NE. We haven't been there since last year thanksgiving (I was supposed to go for memorial day weekend but DH had a work project that he didn't get done in time~ the joys of owning your own business and only having one other employee!) It will be nice to see everyone and for Cole to meet that side of the family.
This was a tradition DH and I started several years ago. I used to text my cousin and ask him what time dinner was being served (still in IL when I sent the message). One year we decided to surprise the family. I texted him Thanksgiving morning and asked him when dinner was but we were already in Nebraska at my family's lake property with my dad (he was the only one who knew we were going to be there.) Drove to my cousin's house and walked in about a half hour before dinner was supposed to start. From then on we decided we were going to spend thanksgiving (weather dependent) out there. My mom has even started coming with us.
How do you handle Christmas/Hanukkah? Usually we would spend Christmas eve with DH's side (his dads family come for dinner, drinks, games and lots of catching up). Christmas morning was spent with DH's immediate family. Breakfast and opening gifts. Then we would head off to my mom's for a late lunch and more gifts. Then back to DH's parents house to see his mom's side of the family.
With Cole (and as long as we have our own place by then) I'm hoping to do a small Christmas just the 3 of us at our own home when we first wake up, then we can go to the other houses like normal. Since Cole will be so little this year will be trial and error.
What about New Years as a parent? We stopped going out for New Years a few years ago. If we did anything it was go to a friends house for game night. I doubt we will do anything this year, we probably wont even make it to see the ball drop!
Post by billyhorrible on Oct 6, 2015 18:10:32 GMT -5
HalloweenThis time of year we go to a pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins, then spend the evening carving pumpkins and watching Halloween movies. We decorate our house with graves and skeletons and spiders. When we were young and childless, we went to a huge Halloween party one of DH's friends throws. Since LBB came around we go trick or treating, then come back and hand out candy.
Thanksgiving usually- My mom hosts and the entire family, from across the country comes. We get up in the morning, drink hot chocolate and watch the Macys Day Parade. Then my mom and I hit the kitchen, while DH takes LBB to a movie (a tradition my brother and I used to do with my dad). My dad also used to make ice cream for the holiday, but after he died I took on that roll.
Thanksgiving this yearMy mom is going to London with her boyfriend so my brother is spending the holiday with his inlaws and we'll go up to my cousin's house.
Christmas/Channukah usuallyWe celebrate both. So we do candles and gifts every night of Channukah, then spend Christmas with DH's family. Christmas is always miserable with them, so we try to do fun Christmassy stuff before we go, like the botanical garden, tree decorating, Christmas baking, etc. Santa comes to grandma's house, but also stops by to fill our stockings at home (since DH's family doesn't think I should have a stocking)so we have something fun when we get home from the trip.
Christmas/Channukah this yearDH told his family we're not doing a 12 hour car ride with a young baby, so we'll be spending it without them. Which will be awesome!
New YearsWe like to go away for New Years, so we'll be doing that this year. Except our moms (and my mom's boyfriend) will be joining us. And maybe my aunt. We make a really fancy dinner (lobster, filet mignon, etc.) and then stay up and watch movies and eat crap until the ball drops.
Halloween plans? We're going to my parents' house the Thursday before Halloween to go trick or treating with our nieces. If it's too cold, we'll pass out candy.
We met on Halloween 6 years ago, so we'll hopefully be going to dinner.
Best thanksgiving food? My sisters stuffing!
How do you handle Christmas/Hanukkah? We spend Christmas Eve at my parents' and then have a boring Christmas Day at our house. Last year we went and got hibachi and decided we'd like to do that again this year.
We've gone on vacation twice at Christmas and would love to do it again, but not this year.
What about New Years as a parent? We never do anything anyways, so maybe we'll actually make midnight?
Halloween plans: stick around home and go trick or treating and handing out candy. We live in a very (very) small town with a close knit farming community and H is a vice principal here so the kids get a kick out of coming here and seeing him and I just find it so fun taking DS out. Last year was the first year we took him trick or treating
Thanksgiving food: my mom rocks at dressing!!
Christmas: we so far alternate between being at ILs and my parents for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year Christmas Day will be at my ILs. With H being at the school, and me now a SAHM, he's on Christmas holidays and it makes it soo easy to plan to spend a few days at each house. Christmas morning is 'my' thing though, and since having DS it is spent at our own house as our own little family. It's nice to have that morning together and slowly starting our own traditions!
New Years: we usually host a party, but last year one of my best friends did so we went to her place. We took DS for a bit, then my parents picked him up when he was tired (convenient having them so close!!). Usually New Years is pretty last minute plans though, so not sure this year. Next year my mom plans on taking us all to Maui and currently has it slated for New Years sooooo that will be cool!
Halloween is really about spending an afternoon at the pumpkin patch picking pumpkins, going on a hay ride, finding our way through a corn maze and just enjoying the outdoors as a family. My mom will be visiting the weekend before Halloween so we'll do it then. When we get home, we'll carve pumpkins (with one for B!) and roast the seeds. We're dressing B up for daycare, and then we're playing it low key and will stay home to hand out candy. B will probably be asleep, so I'll sit on the porch and hand candy to the kids before they ring the bell.
Thanksgiving food- I love my homemade orange cranberry sauce (I'll dig out the recipe and share), saltine toffee and cheesy scalloped potatoes. We can only go home for one major holiday a year, and this year it's Christmas. So I'll be making us a small turkey breast and we'll hang out and watch football all day. After dinner I usually start bring out the Christmas decorations. I go shopping on Friday while DH works, but don't bother dragging my butt our super early. I never shop ON Thanksgiving. That day is reserved completely for family.
Christmas will be crazy because we have so much traveling to do. We'll spend 4 or so days before with the ILs, the 23 and 24 at my parents house, Christmas is with my moms family in Boston, and the day after we all go shopping and bowling (I don't know why we bowl- we just always have). We'll come back and spend some time at my parents house before we fly back to AL on the 3rd
NYE will be weird this year because I am in a wedding and my parents will be attending, too. B will spend the night at the ILs house, and then we'll all have a huge dinner with my parents, ILs and DHs sibs/spouses at my parents houses on New Year's Day.
Post by ravinraven216 on Oct 6, 2015 20:39:09 GMT -5
Halloween: A friend of mine's favorite holiday is Halloween and she always has a party. Hopefully we can whip up costumes and go for a little while. Her party is on the 24th, so we're free the actual night of Halloween. Samhain (the day of the dead) is the next day.
Thanksgiving: DH's family go out for Thanksgiving dinner which I hate with a fiery passion. I feel it's unfair to keep people away from their family just to feed our lazy asses. Luckily I think I have DH on board for always going to my family's for that holiday. I think we'll have to day trip, since my mom moved down here and we 1.) don't have anywhere lined up to stay and 2.) I don't plan to board the dog if I can avoid it.
Christmas: With Thanksgiving up north, I feel obligated to go to DH's family shindigs for Christmas. The cool relatives live in Louisville and that's a lot of traveling I don't fancy. Plus, my FIL is against hosting in Cincinnati. So we're stuck with the less cool relatives. I really don't feel up to dealing with DH's nasty cousin and her homophobic husband.
DH and I don't Christmas. We we're raised Catholic, but jumped that ship for becoming Druids. Instead we have Yule where we celebrate the return of the sun and increasing daylight. It's like NYE with remembering the past year and starting a new one. Santa comes to LO's Grandparents' houses.
NYE: Probably a low key game night with our friends who have small kids.
Halloween - the week or so before we go to the pumpkin patch, carve pumpkins, roast the seeds and watch a scary movie. My Mom always DIYes our costumes and Ive continued this with my kids. We trick or treat a few houses around us that we are friends with for now, we will go for the whole neighborhood as they get older. Then pass out candy on our front porch.
Best Thanksgiving food - my Mom always makes her traditional stuffing and one new one, both are always amazing
Christmas is always my side since DHs family doesnt celebrate (Hindu) christmas eve is a big appetizer dinner, secret santa gag gift exchange, games, classic movies and reading Twas the Night Before Christmas. Christmas morning is seeing what Santa brought (unwrapped and on the sofa), stop to eat breakfast casserole, then exchange and open gifts. The rest of the day is prepping the big ham dinner, playing with our new gifts and just hanging out.
NYE with kids - nope not until Mama is getting enough sleep and the kids learn the fine art if sleeping past 7
Post by thecatsmeow on Oct 6, 2015 21:41:12 GMT -5
Halloween plans? We have already visited the pumpkin patch and bought LO his first pumpkin. It was so fun! I can't wait until he is old enough to enjoy it more! I will dress him up and take him to the Moms Club Halloween party where I will totally trick-or-treat with him, since I will be bringing candy too, less guilt and more candy for me. As for Halloween evening/night, I probably won't even put the lights on. We live in a rural subdivision so we normally get just a few kids coming by. Plus I will be doing bedtime.
Best thanksgiving food? DH's cousin's homemade stuffing. Really I just love all the different sides. Turkey is unnecessary. Give me all the fixin's!
How do you handle Christmas/Hanukkah? It varies a lot. DH sometimes works on Christmas so our family gatherings revolve a lot around that. At least with our immediate families. Sometimes our parents host, sometimes we do, sometimes our siblings. My mom's extended family usually gets together one of the Saturdays in December. I love this because we do NO gifts, just a meal, visiting, and games or trivia. Hosting rotates between my mom and her siblings.
What about New Years as a parent? I'm not sure the last time we actually did anything for NYE... and this year I will hopefully be sleeping. Fireworks are legal here for NYE and I will have my fingers-crossed that it will be blizzarding or at least to frigid for any of the neighbors to set any off. Oops! Scratch that... that would be a normal year. This year we plan to be in TX at BIL's place, which will be a zoo. I will probably be wishing I was home and asleep.
Post by musicfrk2002 on Oct 6, 2015 22:22:11 GMT -5
Halloween plans? Normally we don't do anything because I would be at work. Being that it is a Saturday this year, we will be expected to bring J trick or treating at my parents house.
Best thanksgiving food? ALL OF IT! But my favorite is mashed potatoes. And pie. Too close to call between those. Thanksgiving is at my parents house. We always go around the table before we pray and we each state what we are thankful for. Last year was how my siblings found out we were pg.
How do you handle Christmas/Hanukkah? The beginning of December is Christmas with my dad's side of the family. There's always way too much food, and we play bingo every year instead of everyone buying everyone else a gift, even though people still buy things for each other anyways. How bingo works is everyone brings 3 (or more) wrapped items from the dollar store (or things that cost about a dollar). Every time someone bingos they pick a gift. Once the gifts are gone you steal other people's but you cannot steal their last gift. The game ends when someone gets a blackout.
Mom's side of the family just started a Christmas get together a couple years ago. It used to be Christmas eve, until the drunken brawl of 2011. So we get together at my aunts house and eat/play random games/open gifts. This year is homemade gifts...guess I should get working on that!
Christmas day we go to my parents house late morning for brunch and gifts. Sometimes we end up at a movie later in the day, other times we all sleep or play board games.
H's family lives across the country so we don't see them very often. We did fly his mom in last year, might do that this year or we might just head that way in January.
What about New Years as a parent? Same thing as every other year...stay home and watch the countdown on TV. We are boring.
Halloween plans? - TOT is huge in our neighborhood. People put out as many Halloween decorations as they do Christmas, even if they don't have kids. The parents all go out with their kids and many take rolling coolers with them for drinks. Just about every house is lit up for the kids and we fill up an entire reusable grocery bag. It's awesome. DS1 will dress up and we'll go with him and carry DS2 and put our candy bowl on the porch. Love Halloween in our 'hood.
Best thanksgiving food? - Green chile and chorizo stuffing. My soul will always be rooted deep deep deep in New Mexico.
How do you handle Christmas? - Christmas is secular in our house. We usually get involved with some kind of community service project as a family: food drive, wrapping presents for foster children, adopting a family in need, etc. I also make DS1 clean out clothes and toys to donate. For us, the tree and decorations go up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We follow Santa on Norad on Christmas Eve and have chili for dinner. Then we go out to look at lights. At bed time we read The Night Before Christmas, put out the stocking, and sprinkle reindeer food on the front lawn. Christmas morning we do the traditional Santa thing with presents around the tree. Then we have a huge breakfast before DS1 goes to his dad's house for Christmas dinner.
This year will be a little bit different because DS1 will be with his dad for the first time Christmas morning because it just falls that way on our schedule for the first time. (XH doesn't really do anything for Xmas morning so he's never asked for that before, just dinner.) So this year we will just drink wine at home and sleep in with the baby the next morning before setting up the Santa stuff. We'll pick up DS1 from his dad around noon and then do the "morning" routine when he gets home, followed by a big spaghetti dinner.
What about New Years as a parent? - Meh. I haven't gone out for NYE since 2006/2007. We usually stay home and watch the ball drop on TV. But this year DS1 is with is dad for that holiday too so maybe, if DH doesn't have to work and we can find a sitter for the baby, we'll go out for a little bit. We'll see.
Halloween-my bff and I pass out candy together. H and I used to throw decent sized Halloween parties but stopped that last year and had an Oktoberfest party...which worked out better for me since I was secretly pregnant. Owen might sit with BFF and I to pass out candy this year if it isn't too cold. We'll go trick-or-treating next year. I think we're going to the pumpkin patch this weekend. My sister's BFF's family owns a large pumpkin patch so I go a few times every year and always get free pumpkins. They're all excited to meet O.
Thanksgiving-The Saturday before we have our Bible study Thanksgiving at my house. We do potluck style. It's the only time all year that we actually all sit together and eat at the same time. I love it. We have 'Cousins Thanksgiving' on Wednesday. It's usually at my mom's but I hosted last year. It's a chance for everyone to get together without compromising actual Thanksgiving. We usually eat lasagna. Thanksgiving we spend with H's family. Then I Black Friday shop with my mom, sister, and SIL. It's one of my favorite traditions!! Oh, favorite Thanksgiving food. My friend makes amazing mac and cheese. It's so good. I can't wait! And I love pie. And green bean casserole. Oh, and I'm a turkey fiend. Christmas Eve-usually is a hot mess splitting time between family but will be better because my brother, SIL & nephew are coming into town after Christmas starting this year. So Christmas eve is H's extended family. We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and eat cake (there are now 13 kiddos 13 and under!). It's just a nice time to all hang out together. I normally go to candlelight service at 11pm with my BFF. We'll see what happens this year.
Christmas-hoping to start having morning at our house so O can have it at home. Breakfast with my family, nap, dinner with H's family. Days after Christmas-my extended family, H's aunt & uncle that are only in town one day each year, and at least one other random family gathering. It's a lot.
New Years-We used to throw huge parties. Last year H got his wisdom teeth out on 12/30 and ended up in the ER that night so we didn't have a party. Don't know what we'll do this year. Maybe just have our BFFs come down and stay. We'll see. I know they don't want to stay if O still isn't STTN.
Thanksgiving is this weekend: to be honest I'm not fond of thanksgiving. Not my favourite.
Halloween: FFC-We already have three contsumes for baby because we couldn't decide. My friend is a photographer and she's doing mini sessions so we're doing that. We have a ton of Halloween decorations that I'm sooo excited that we get to put them up. We're having our annual open house/party and handing out candy. We'll also carve a bunch of jack o lanterns.
Christmas: We're hosting at our house, my parents will come over. We'll be doing stockings and santa, etc. I know LO is too little to get it but I have pictures from my first Christmas and since I keep a yearly Christmas scrapbook I want the pictures to show his stocking/ santa presents (in my family santa always leaves the big present out and set up so it's totally ready to play with. We're going to get LO the jumperoo as his big Santa present). We'll be doing ham Christmas eve and turkey Christmas day.
New Years: Fireworks- my husband is faculty at the local college and has an AWESOME view from his office.
Post by hannahl201477 on Oct 7, 2015 19:26:50 GMT -5
SO EXCITED FOR THE HOLIDAYS! I love all the craziness!!
Halloween- I use to have a home daycare and would take the kids to pumpkin patch. Now that I'm a SHM we will go as a family at some point. Carve pumpkins with out nephew. And we will go trick or treating to family and friends houses.
Thanksgiving- Thanksgiving day we go to my MILs house. Growing up we went to my great grandmothers. But it is at the same time as my MILs so we didn't go last year and it broke my heart. We will be making an appearance this year though! Then the day after thanksgiving we go to my nanas house and eat then play board games all night.
Christmas- Christmas Eve we go to my Mamaws for breakfast and gifts, then do Christmas with just my parents. My parents don't live around us anymore but will be coming down and staying for holidays. Growing up my Mamaw always gets us new pjs and we always go home and change and then do our Christmas with my parents and brother and would sit in front of the tree and my dad would read the Christmas story from the bible. This year we will do all that just at my house. I'm so excited my dad will be reading the story for my LO, so special to me. Then Christmas day we go to my MILs then to my nanas that night.
New Years- normally we go out with my DH siblings. But this year we will stay home.
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