Christmas Traditions

I love traditions, and this time of year is rich with them. The familiarity of those traditions creates a sense of security, belonging, warmth, and peace. Some of the traditions from my childhood are gone, many still remain, and still other new ones have been created. What are some of your treasured traditions? Below are some of mine...

Traditions from my childhood:

• We never put up our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving. We would put it up one weekend in December (usually mid-December), but we always had to *clean* the house first. Then, dad would put the tree up and let it sit for a while (to let gravity "fluff" it). I'm sure he drank a beer or two during this process. He would then string our lights. We had bubble lights...candle shaped and multi-colored. All of us kids would then plaster it with a hodge-podge of ornaments.
• Dad would listen to LPs on the record player on Sunday mornings. During Christmas season, it would always be Christmas music. I never have been a morning person, but hearing that music early in the morning made waking up for mass a little more bearable.
• We always went to my Granddad's on Christmas Eve and ate supper there. Then we'd go to Christmas Eve mass, and return to Granddad's to open gifts from him. Christmas Eve will always be a special memory of my Granddad.
• We always opened all of our gifts Christmas morning, one present at a time. We rotated, either oldest to youngest or youngest to oldest, and every year, it was a fight over who got to go first the previous year.

Current traditions:

• We usually try to put up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. It never happens on the day after Thanksgiving, as I am an avid Black Friday shopper. You can read my blog posts about it here and here.
• My kids have to *clean* the house before we put it up.
• Our tree is pre-lit, so no one has to string the lights anymore. No bubble lights, and only clear lights. I like them, but I think there will always be that nostalgic part of me that misses the bubble lights.
• We still go to Christmas Eve mass, but we go here in Amarillo. Most of the rest of my extended family will still go to Christmas Eve mass in Groom, together. Part of me misses being at mass with my WHOLE family. That doesn't happen often anymore.
• My kids and me and Toby open our gifts Christmas morning here at our house, one at a time, with the kids taking turns.

Aaron just asked me why I typed that we open our gifts Christmas morning, so I had to explain that some people open gifts on Christmas Eve. To my surprise, he didn't wail and beg to please please please open ours then, too.

So, what Christmas traditions do you have? What ones do you treasure most? Which ones do you miss from your childhood?