What weird traditions do you do around Christmas?
This post may include affiliate links.
When we went to Grandma's house for Christmas, her house was insanely small. So everyone (her 6 kids, their spouses, and all had at least 2 kids) would find a spot on the floor, sit, and not move until the unwrapping was done. Except Grandpa. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, and catch all the wrapping paper thrown at him after someone opened a present.
After he passed away, we all take turns "being Grandpa", and get used wrapping paper thrown at us for hours. It's a coveted job.
We hang a possum (toy!) from the bottom of our trees. When my oldest was 2yo he bought a stuffed possum at The Nature Center to take to his Nana 500mi away. They "teased" each other w/ it all week (my son would put it under Mom's pillow. Mom would find it and act overly surprised he was thrilled.) That possum lived in the branches of Mom's tree until she died 4.5yrs ago. For Christmas gifts that year, I made sure each of us kids had one in remembrance if Mom...and to pass along the story and tradition.
For 5 years in a row, some member of the family enden up in the emergency room on Christmas Eve or the day earlier. From gastroenteritis, to kitchen accidents. It was almost scary how this happened for 5 years straight (not serious injuries or illnesses but still something that needed medical attention). So, on the sixth year nothing happened, and it felt weird. We decided to go to the clinic we used to go every year and deliver the staff some hit beverages and cake (the family runs a bakery shop).
Now, fortunately, we're on our 9th year without accidents on Christmas Eve, but still go to the clinic and get the staff their beverages and cake, that now our tradition -and a much better one than injury oneself 😂-.
That is truly making lemonade! So neat. Bet you surprised them the first time. They probably don't ever get such foodback.
We do an open house on the December 24th for our neighbors and friends that do not have family, kids or spouses, and share the spectacular Cilantro Soup that my husband (and all his brothers in Mexico) prepares every Christmas Eve, for which he spends about 20 plus hours in the preparation!
I am from Peru, and have a very large extended family there. My husband from Mexico, with a big family too. We celebrate in our countries Christmas on the 24th. This is our way to remember our families and give everybody a little bit of spicy and very merry Christmas to all we can fit in our town-home!
We play UNO all night, but only use red and green cards.
My MIL does grab bag Christmas gifts. She will wrap nearly a hundred gifts for up to 17 family members. From the youngest to the oldest we take turns picking a 1 gift at a time until they are all chosen. We also must unwrap each gift as they're chosen. Some of the gifts are gag gifts and its so fun to what everyone gets.
Every Christmas, me and my auntie hop into a bed, watch a hallmark movie and take a nap together. Then when we wake up, we sit in bed, talk, and eat All Dressed chips. Love it even more every year
After we open all of ours gifts, we start a paper fight.
As Italian-Americans, we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. We ate from 8pm to midnight. Then, still sitting around the table, we opened our gifts and stashed the wrapping paper under the table. When all the gifts were opened, the aunts and older girl cousins would clean up in the kitchen, the uncles and older boy cousins would sit around the table playing poker, and the little cousins would slide under the table and play with the wrapping paper--because you could play with your new toys any day of the year but only on Christmas Eve could you play with wrapping paper under Grandma's dining room table.
That's not weird. That's annoying. "Let the women make the Christmas feast, serving it continuously for 4 hours than let them clean up everything, while the male members of the family have fun all day. They will be totally done at 2 am"
My family always goes for sushi for Christmas dinner 😂 We live in Pennsylvania and here is a list of places we go to for sushi
1. Kajimachi (Harrisburg)
2.Wild Ginger (York)
3.Sushi Heaven (Mechanicsburg)
We are hoping to find more places to go!
I am recommending these places! It's are really (and not too pricey sushi!
Eating turkey for breakfast.
I've had so much turkey this season I declared a moratorium on turkey consumption. No turkey for two weeks. So.... I go visit some friends for lunch yesterday... TURKEY sandwiches. (I was polite and ate them).
Cajun-style shrimp boil.
Shrimp
Sausage
potatoes
corn
mushrooms
Spaghetti and meatballs Christmas Eve. December 24th was my parents' anniversary, and spaghetti sauce can be made the day before. Pasta in the pot, sauce in a saucepan (what else?), and three hungry little boys are quickly fed and tossed out the back door (or upstairs) until bedtime so mom and dad can celebrate their marriage in peace (before being up all night setting up Christmas for the three little boys). Maybe not so weird, but unusual.
That's our Christmas eve tradition too! It's so fun to see someone else who does it
Stocking stuffers are usually useful/needed things, we put funny phrases on them and them. You have to guess what the item is before unwrapping.
My dad always hides one or more presents for my mum in the living room and makes her look for them every year. My partner found it really weird the first time but i love seeing them teasing each other after so many years of marriage.
We also tend to give joke presents. Like I got one a bag of 5kg of basmati rice for xmas (I love rice).
Going to some nearby pine plantations and getting an absolute MONSTER tree (from self seeded weed trees in the creeks and firebreaks). We have a mezzanine and a double height living room so a 5+ metre tree will fit even though you can hardly get in the front door and half the living room is swamped in prickly, sweet scented pine. It’s like in ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ when the forest grows in Max’s bedroom. We never quite get rid of all the needles before the next Christmas. This tradition began accidentally in 2015 when I was in hospital and my husband took the kids and got a giant tree. In 2019-20 bushfires fires ripped through half of Kangaroo Island but our favourite tree and picnic spot was only lightly burned; it’s kind of surreal, blackened trunks and more light coming through, but still some green. But this year we went 4 wheel driving and explored the REALLY burned bits which were truly haunting. Now they’re threatening to fell and burn all the island’s forestry after planning approval for a port was refused so our days of this tradition are numbered. So much emotion tied up with it!
Not Christmas, but for the past two years we binge-watched the newest season of the Mandolorian on New Years Eve, don't know what were going to do this year
Weird that this isn't "Weird Holiday Tradition", but I always thought that it was bizarro. This really *isn't* about christ,, or passover, or kwanza, or paganism, etc., because it's really about celebrating the shortest day of the year -The winter solstice. And I get why every sect created a day/time over it to make money, back in the day....but GET OVER IT ALREADY, YOU CAPITALISTS!
Only works if you're in the northern hemisphere! It's the Summer Solstice for half of the world.
We go to my sons grave and decorate it. Since everyone there is buried on the family plot we rearrange and make sure their grave sites are looking good also. It makes my children realize to not take life for granted. Life can be short. One love another and forgive often when you can.
My family goes to clean and leave flowers during All Saints (Halloween) for our own and the ones nearby
Load More Replies...
We dance wildly to the first song of Christmas at max volume (Barbra Streisand’s super fast rendition of jingle bells), then collapse dramatically on the couch. It’s super fun.
We go to my sons grave and decorate it. Since everyone there is buried on the family plot we rearrange and make sure their grave sites are looking good also. It makes my children realize to not take life for granted. Life can be short. One love another and forgive often when you can.
My family goes to clean and leave flowers during All Saints (Halloween) for our own and the ones nearby
Load More Replies... We dance wildly to the first song of Christmas at max volume (Barbra Streisand’s super fast rendition of jingle bells), then collapse dramatically on the couch. It’s super fun.
