Holiday Traditions

[MsSarah]

Hello :]
I thought I'd post a thread about your holiday traditions.

Every year for Thanksgiving I cook a meal for close to 200 family members which includes: 6 large turkeys (about 26+ pounds each), mashed potatoes (about 40 pounds, 20 cans of cranberry sauce, 4 extra large pans of stuffing (homemade), 20 pounds of yams, and mass amounts of a French onion green bean casarole and a cooler of salad. I usually start cooking this 4 days before thanksgiving itself, then we host it in my house in Nipomo which has lots of room outside to serve mass amounts of people.

What's your tradition??

[sealsm]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Wow, that is insane! I can't imagine cooking for 200 people! We only have around 10 people for Thanksgiving.

Every Christmas morning, my Grandfather makes oyster stew. When I was growing up, I remember everyone being more excited about oyster stew than presents. Forget the gifts, where's the stew?!

[LuvsLilo]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Tamales on Christmas Eve. It's not Christmas until I have tamales.

[Jazzman]

Re: Holiday Traditions

My wife and I wanted to start our own holiday tradition aside from the many that my family has, so we thought about how difficult it is to get together with friends during the holidays because of all the craziness and we came up with Yule Tide Tuesdays. Beginning the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and then every Tuesday until New Years we make dinner, put on a Christmas movie, build a fire in the fireplace and anyone we know has an open invitation to join us. We picked Tuesday so as not to interfere with weekend plans and we also figured that Tuesday was a good, unimportant day of the week that most people don't have anything scheduled and wouldn't mind a free meal. It's actually grown into a pretty fun regular get together and we usually have a packed house. A lot of our friends don't have family in the area, or their families don't really celebrate, so it's a nice opportunity to come together and enjoy the festiveness of the season, with the tree, lights, decorations and good company. It's very cool as we've now built our own patchwork family! It's very Nouveau Rockwell. :lol:

[Jazzman]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Every Christmas morning, my Grandfather makes oyster stew. When I was growing up, I remember everyone being more excited about oyster stew than presents. Forget the gifts, where's the stew?!

Gah! Oyster Stew!? That sounds like Booger Soup! Is it really that good?

[PrincessY]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Beginning the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and then every Tuesday until New Years we make dinner, put on a Christmas movie, build a fire in the fireplace and anyone we know has an open invitation to join us.

That just gave me chills! What a wonderful tradition! Wish I could stop by!

[PrincessY]

Re: Holiday Traditions

DH and I have had a tradition for about 6 years now, that we spend Thanksgiving day at DLR. (Our family is too far away to get together). We have dinner there and we see the Christmas (Holiday?) parade for the first time. By the time Santa shows up at the end, we are both bawling!

[knittingknerd]

Re: Holiday Traditions

That is such a great tradition!

And what is oyster stew?

And 200 people OHMYGOSH!

We fill each others stockings.... So somehow every member of my family (mom, dad, brother, sister, and I) get another person's stocking to fill. Originally it was secret but somehow it's now not that way anymore. It's really fun to see what another family member thinks you'd like. Last year my sister got me a bunch of old school cartoon stuff, chapsticks, knitting stuff with a silliness to it, and a lot of candy. I have my brother this year and was warned to no homemade stuff. Hm... But it's funny because everyone tries to be sneaky when they stuff the stocking.

[duckiedianne]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Every Thanksgiving morning a big group of my friends from the church that we all grew up at head out for breakfast! Last year we had 35-40 people!

Then on Christmas Eve morning we go out for Dim Sum for lunch.

Each time we take a BIG group picture!



Thanksgiving last year



Christmas last year

[aimster]

Re: Holiday Traditions

I'm a rebel. I get pizza on Thanksgiving and Chinese for Christmas (usually get takeout the day before to warm up the next day).

[MsSarah]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Wow, rebel :o

[PirateMickey]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Our first true family tradition for just us has been to visit the Resort for Thanksgiving and enjoy the Buffet at the DL Hotel's Grand Ballroom. This will be our fifth year doing so.

We have other traditions that we do with what is left of our family (my wife's actually), but our special time at the Resort for Thanksgiving is just for the six of us.

Plus we do share our special time with the Wolfpack. We've enjoyed their company the past few years and consider them part of our family. We look forward to spending this Thanksgiving with them as well.

Friends enjoying a good time together. That's what it is all about.

You can't ask for much more than that...

[Missviolet]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Every Christmas Eve, my mom lets us open one present each and it's always new pajamas to wear to bed! She also packs a flashlight in each stocking.. this stemmed from our childhood when we'd always wake up before 5.am. and we were allowed to open our stocking before Mom and Dad were able to drag them selves outta bed. Flashlight = no biglights on = more sleep for the 'rents!

Of course, I'm grown up now and married and this will be our first Christmas in our own home! Maybe I'll have more to contribute to this thread NEXT year.

I LOVE the idea Jazzman! That rocks! We do "fish taco" Tuesday at Rubios.. we bring them home and put on a movie and celebrate fish and tacos and each other and good film making.

I LOVE your idea though!

[SusieP.]

Re: Holiday Traditions

When I was little we would always spend Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house. Then they moved farther away and Christmas Eve wasn't convenient, so we moved it to the weekend before Christmas, so people could travel to be there. That left Christmas Eve open, so my sister and I alternate hosting dinner. My mom always does brunch on Christmas day, so that takes some pressure off of her and I get to prove that I can cook a full dinner, once, every other year.

[SorcererMickey]

Re: Holiday Traditions

My 2 Christmas traditions are quite simple but something I look forward to each year. Every year since I was 4 I would read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' to my brother and mother. Even the 6 years I was in FL we would do it over speaker phone. Since my mom died in '04 I go to my brother's house for Christmas Eve now and read to my sister in law's extended family. The past 2 years with my niece on my lap. She'll be 2 1/2 this Christmas so she's going to be great!

The other tradition is cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Since my brother and I are the only ones left in our family these 2 traditions mean a lot to us.

[sealsm]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Gah! Oyster Stew!? That sounds like Booger Soup! Is it really that good?

:lol: Yes, it is good. It's basically just milk, butter, salt, pepper, and oysters. I don't eat the oysters; they just add flavor.

The other tradition is cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Since my brother and I are the only ones left in our family these 2 traditions mean a lot to us.

Sounds yummy!

[MollyTrolly]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Our 14 month old daughter was hospitalized (for the second time in 11 months) with RSV induced Pnuemonia at 9pm on 12/24/2004, we spent the next 5 days in the hospital with her. We however didn't miss Christmas all tougether. Throughout the day on Christmas we had people we had never met before coming to our room giving her gifts, and it relaly made spending Christmas day at the hospital bareable.

For the last two years, we have been returning that favor by going to that same Hospital around 8am Christmas morning and bringing gifts for the kids and families who will be spending their day away from home.

We will be going again this year, which will be bitter sweet due to the loss of a family member at that same hospital last year. Hopefully continuing this tradition will in some way, help us make it through what I know will be a very difficult day for our family.

[PrincessY]

Re: Holiday Traditions

For the last two years, we have been returning that favor by going to that same Hospital around 8am Christmas morning and bringing gifts for the kids and families who will be spending their day away from home.

That is the nicest thing!! What a wonderful family you all are!

[knittingknerd]

Re: Holiday Traditions

Our 14 month old daughter was hospitalized (for the second time in 11 months) with RSV induced Pnuemonia at 9pm on 12/24/2004, we spent the next 5 days in the hospital with her. We however didn't miss Christmas all tougether. Throughout the day on Christmas we had people we had never met before coming to our room giving her gifts, and it relaly made spending Christmas day at the hospital bareable.

For the last two years, we have been returning that favor by going to that same Hospital around 8am Christmas morning and bringing gifts for the kids and families who will be spending their day away from home.

We will be going again this year, which will be bitter sweet due to the loss of a family member at that same hospital last year. Hopefully continuing this tradition will in some way, help us make it through what I know will be a very difficult day for our family.

That is so sweet.

[QuietViolet]

Re: Holiday Traditions

We spend Christmas Eve at my Granparents house and have a big dinner and exchange gifts with the cousins, aunts, and uncles etc... then we drive home in time for Christmas Eve service at Church which is a candlelight service so its really sweet... then we go home, go to bed, and when we were little we would all get up before the parents and snoop at all of the presents and open stockings until they awoke... now that we are older it's basically we wake up normally have coffee and a christmas breakfast until my sister and her hubby get to the house, then we open gifts and just hang out.. its a nice tradition.