Hi friends, and Merry Christmas Eve!
Growing up, we opened our presents on Christmas Eve and our stockings on Christmas morning. My husband did the more traditional opening of presents on Christmas morning, so that’s what we’ve done with our kids and, now, grandkids. But I still get to have everyone open one present on Christmas Eve, which is really special for me.
Picking which gift is always the hard part, but it usually comes down to something that makes our Christmas Eve more special. Such as a hot drink to enjoy. My daughters love special flavors like peppermint mocha, so I get them the mix and make sure I have all the fixings on hand—no mocha is ever complete without whipped cream. Years ago, I shared one of our homemade recipes as a character from my Alaskan Courage series—Gage McKenna. I thought you might enjoy!
My daughters always get one extra gift. Each year, I get us matching Christmas t-shirts to wear on Christmas morning with our PJs. This has been a tradition for years, and each year is a different themed shirt. One year, we had Fa-La-La Llamas. Another year we had Have a Lamazing Holiday. Clearly, we like llamas ☺
And, since it’s Christmas Eve and you’re kind enough to pop in and say hi, I have a gift for one lucky winner. Just leave a comment below, and I’ll pick a winner to announce in the comments section tomorrow.
I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
Insert Christmas Tree pic
What is one of your family’s Christmas traditions?
Blessings,
Dani
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Each year, since the year we saw The Polar Express, we have gotten a special bell for our Bell Tree. ♥
Merry Christmas!May this next year be one of your best!
Oh my goodness. I LOVE that. My husband is a HUGE Polar Express fan. I’ll have to let him know about it.
Merry Christmas! Enjoy your newly fixed home. I love the t-shirt idea.
A belated Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Merry Christmas. I love your T-shirt idea. We do the open one present on Christmas Eve thing.
Tree is in the main house and everyone is still asleep so no pic (it’s 4am).
Awww. That’s so cool you open one present on Christmas Eve too. Love that.
Our family opened gifts on Christmas Eve when we were older, and when I got married we carried on that tradition. Stockings are opened Christmas Day. I cross-stitched heirloom stockings for my family, and when my daughter got engaged she wanted one for her fiancé. They take about a year to complete, but look beautiful all together.
What a wonderful keepsake for your family.
Unfortunately, our family traditions have gone by the wayside.
When our kids were little, we would make the rounds to his parents’ house and
to my parents’ house, usually all in the same day.
Now they are scattered with families of their own.
Keep the traditions alive so that one day they will look back
and remember when ….
That is so true. They will remember when 🙂
Merry Christmas!When my kids were little the unwrapped a Christmas book to read aloud each night. They still like to pull out their favorites each year now as teenagers but we don’t unwrap them anymore. That tradition and memories have a special place in my heart.
I love that tradition. My mom used to do that with Christmas books for me.
My favorite Christmas tradition is now a wonderful memory. After our daughter was born, it became a tradition that my folks would travel the 40 miles to our home in order to be there when Jenet woke up. Dad started it by going down the hallway to her room after they arrived going “HoHoHo Santa’s been here!” It became such a tradition that as a teenager and not wanting to disappoint her Papaw, but still not wanting photos taken of her all sleepy headed, she would get up very early to fix hair and be dressed in something better than pj’s. Then she would crawl back in bed and wait for Papaw to “wake her up”. Both have gone on to their heavenly home now making it a precious memory for us.
Oh. That is so precious. What a lovely memory to have.
My family always celebrates our family Christmas on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas Day, we go to both sets of grandparents–one for dinner, and one for supper. My parents started that tradition when we were small that Christmas Day wasn’t so crammed and stressful.😊
That sound like a wonderful way to celebrate.
We, like you, opened one present on Christmas Eve after attending our Christmas Eve service at church. I loved that little indulgence to tide me over until Christmas day. While we didn’t wear matching pajamas, Mother often made us three daughters new pajamas as Christmas presents.
That’s a lovely gift she gave.
Christmas Eve service!
The best!
Love the Christmas T idea. May borrow your idea, going to run it up the flagpole.
Merry Christmas,
Ann
When we get together with all the cousins before we do anything, one of the younger kids is appointed to stand up in front of everyone and read the Christmas story from Luke 2.
Merry Christmas to you as well!
When I was growing up my family opened our gifts one at a time, so everyone could enjoy the moment together and the recipient could thank the giver. It wasn’t until much later that my mother explained they really did that because we didn’t have a lot of money and they wanted to make the few gifts last longer. When my husband was growing up his family all opened their gifts at the same time. When we spent our first Christmas morning with his family as newlyweds, I was dismayed that it was all over within 5 minutes and no one even watched anyone else open a single gift. I went upstairs and cried. ha. My husband now likes to joke that since our Christmases were so different growing up, we “compromised” with our own family…and open each gift one at a time.
My daughters and their families get together with us on Christmas Eve and we wear matching pjs.
We moved from Minnesota to Florida in 2019 and have not missed the white Christmas. One of our favorite things to do on Christmas Day is go for a walk on the beach, as we live in Palm Bay, just a few min from the Atlantic coast.
Merry Christmas, Dani!! Loved this post and the picture of you and your daughters in your matching t-shirts. 🙂
We attend one of the early evening Christmas Eve Masses at our parish and go out to dinner at a local restaurant afterwards. This tradition comes from when my parents and I used to go to my grandparents’ house for Christmas in CT when I was growing up. The collegiate chapel at my undergrad alma mater serves as an overflow location for a nearby Catholic parish in town since the college is closed.
Blessed, holy, and Merry Christmas!
A tradition growing up was to have my grandmother’s homemade sticky buns on Christmas Eve after we got home from church. I miss that!
Merry Christmas Dani!! We too open one gift on Christmas Eve. Our traditions is we go to Christmas Eve service and then come home and open one gift( usually matching pjs.) We also have a Happy Birthday Jesus cake, which I have made since my kids(16 and 18 now) were young.
A big tradition in my family is gag gifts 😎
Merry Christmas! We have traditionally done presents on Christmas Eve and have a VERY slow Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas, Dani!
Merry Christmas!Our little family eats fondue for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day big meals. We enjoy opening gifts on Christmas Eve night. We enjoy opening stockings on Christmas Day morning. It is such a blessing to be together and just relax.
Merry Christmas! We each get a new ornament.
Growing up my mom had an old nativity set that was the highlight of the season, to set the manger scene up. My mom passed away last February, so cherishing all the memories this year
Merry Christmas! Our children are grown and have families of their own now, but our Christmas tradition was to open gifts on Christmas Eve and stockings on Christmas morning. .
Merry Christmas to you and your family! A Christmas tradition for my family is: we would have breakfast on Christmas Eve at my mamaw’s (it was buffet style because she would make whatever you wanted). Then we would have a big meal at supper time and the dessert would be a birthday cake for Jesus. We would sing happy birthday to Jesus
My dad would read Luke 2 before we opened one gift on Christmas Eve. We would have doughnuts on Christmas morning before opening presents. Those are a few of our Christmas traditions.
May the joy of Christ fill your heart this Christmas!
May His peace steady you, His love surround you, and His presence draw you close.
Rejoicing with you in the greatest gift ever given—our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas!
Chocolate candy oranges. We’ll celebrate at New Years since I’m in the hospital after my 16th pacemaker change. Hopefully I’ll be home on Friday.
Watching Christmas movies together.
Merry Christmas!
We buy a new ornament for the boys each year. We go to a candlelight service at church. We also put candy canes on our tree on Christmas Eve. These are just 3 of our Christmas traditions.
Merry Christmas Dani!
Thank you all for the wonderful messages. I so appreciate them and I’m so sorry to just be replying. Some of you might know that I’ve been dealing with a broken foot but I fell again and broke yet another bone and with all the flurry and the holiday, I took forever making it here, but I’m happy to announce the winner is Elizabeth Litton. Super congrats.. Please email me your mailing address to danipettrey@gmail.com Thanks to all who entered. I pray you all had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you a beautiful New Year ahead.