Traditions:

[The Iceman 6]

Every year on Xmas eve my parents throw a party for friends and family, home made food & catered food, plus plenty of drinks, the scotch usually comes out. The old man has been doing this since 1946. Every year after too much scotch, my older brother and I head outstide and take a light bulb (I'm talking the big colored bulbs) off a decorated tree or the banister and throw it into the street just to hear that POP. We've been doing this since we were kids. We'll after several years, Hesh2 was onto our little game, but we still do it, we're 38 and 40 respectively, the lecture we got 2 years ago, let's just say the conversation went something like this "Grow ******* up, you ******* idiots, I can't wait to go to your ******* house, to think you're both ******* married with ******* kids, go ******* sweep that up, you ******* morons , the glass is in my ******* driveway." Looks like that tradition won't be carried on.....

Ice

[BassDawg]

Christmas Eve with my wife and her family, Chinese Take Out, then they open all of their presents on The Eve. I think it's a NShore thang. Long lines at Kowloon's that night............

My family always opened just one gift on Cristmas Eve, and it had to be approved by Mom and Dad. Like yer not opening the Big One until Christmas.....................

Gag gifts, one or two in the stocking......................and then there is the BIG WOW!

My family used to get together at our Lake House in Oklahoma with as many relatives as could make it, over 300 acres, lots of shoreline, and my Mom's Australian Egg Nog Recipe. That sheet would knock yer dink in the durt if you weren't careful and was always kept outside in a 5 gallon keg ~with ladle

I'll never forget being sent to the porch to get some more wood for the living room fire one chilly Xmas morning. Pretty sure I was 9 ('69) only to find three shiny new Schwinns ~my "Lemon Peeler", my brother's "Orange Crate", and my sister's "Apple Dumpling" (??, the green one). Man!! What a thrill that was.

So now, my 4yo daughter has to go outside and see what Santa's sleigh may or may not have dropped from the clouds (my wife's spin) in our big evergreen bushes outside the apt building. She knows that Santa is not real, but we still have fun with the whole concept of the sleigh, Rudolph, and the North Pole story. It's usually the one present that's too awkward/big to wrap, or the one that is the Grand Finale