Hey Everyone, now that the holiday season is upon us I thought it would be a great idea to share holiday family traditions we grew up with as kids and still hold on to today. Having so many people from all over the world in MM's SMB I'm sure many of us would be interested in reading how we celebrate these special days.

When i was growing up Thanksgiving was possibly the most important holiday because of it's emphasis on family and being grateful of the things we had. It's still very important to me and we keep a tradition of having just the immediate family and parents for dinner. Also everyone has to cook something. When my wife was with us she loved making all the desserts; I was in charge of the turkey and the boys did the prepping for the dressing and other goodies. We all had a great time in the kitchen and all enjoyed taking part in preparing our dinner. The boys felt really honored when we'd ask them to pour the wine. Yes, even when they were young they were allowed to have a small glass of wine on special occasions.

New Year's we pretty much stayed home and have a small party and break open the champagne or sometimes we would go to Disneyland to ring in the New year. I get up early on New Year's day and prepare buñuelos and coffee and wake everyone up to view the Tournament of Roses Parade, and of course all of the bowl games. On Jan 2nd, we head out to view the floats (which are quite spectacular) and then go to lunch or have dinner.

So, these are just a few of things we do during the holidays. What about you?

this is a great topic =]

christmas was my family's most celebrated holiday. on christmas eve we would celebrate with my moms side of the family with food, fun & games. my maternal grandma would always spend the night at our house & on christmas morning my dad would cook us breakfast. christmas day was spent with my dads side of the family & we always had a big italian feast.

in 2007 i got married & moved to an army base in kentucky USA, where i am now. right before christmas, my husband deployed to iraq. that year my cousin flew out from california USA to be with me.

this is the first christmas i'll be spending with my husband so we hope to create some of our own traditions.

When me and my brother ( 1 year younger ) were kids christmas was ( and still is ) magical . When we went to bed on christmas eve my mum would come in late at night and put a stocking full of little gifts and oranges and sweets on our beds . It was always such a thrill to wake up on christmas morning and fill that heavy "thing" on the bed .
Then we´d go crazy . All the big presents were in the living room which my mum locked so we couldn´t peek .
We´d have a big breakfast , but had to wait for my dad ( not a morning man ) so we got frustrated at times whilst still excited .
After breakfast mum and dad would open the room and me and Nigel would go crazy !
Now i´m older ( much ) and I travel to England to my mum´s farmhouse .. Big open fires and great food and wine . My brother , his wife and my 3 nieces will arrive from Russia . And we´ll be joined by aunts and uncles . The christmas tree will be left undecorated so that the kids can do it .
After the craziness of opening the gifts , and a huge breakfast we´ll go for a walk on the seafront to gain an appetite for the big turkey dinner ( my aunt cooks the turkey ) .
This year will be the first since my dad died ( a few months ago ) , so when I fly to England I´ll meet mum in London for 3 days of shopping , restaurants , bars , theatre . Then we´ll head on down to the South Coast and her house to meet my brother . I can´t wait !
Vanbags ... have a great time with your husband back from Iraq ! That´ll be very cool ! I have a huge respect for the armed forces , even when I was a kid !

Hey Guys, here are some pics of my Thanksgiving turkey...









Pic #1 Ready to feast!
#2 A bottle from the Jaramillo estate.
#3 Yours truly
#4 My younger son, Isaac.

Steve, really enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for sharing your family's traditions. Vanbags, I'm glad that you will be spending the holidays with your husband. Enjoy the holidays.

Great topic, OsoMajor! Love the turkey photos! I had the great pleasure of viewing the Rose Parade floats 2 years ago, what a sight!!
Our holiday has always been Christmas. Christmas eve we usually spent with family in New Mexico. Now that we are in California, I took it upon myself to make my grandmother's food. So, for Christmas eve, we have posole and tamales and open presents.
Now that I have a daughter, we've started new traditions: opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning (something I never did as a kid), and we decorate our tree on December 12th, Santa Lucia Day-my daughter's saint's day. We also get a visit from the kings on Los Reyes (Jan. 6th) because of our Spanish traditions. We get a roscon from the Mexican bakery and invite friends over to celebrate.
Can't wait for the festivities to begin!

Great photos OsoMajor ... Looks like a great feast !
Laduque ... I´m considering putting my tree up on December 1st . Much earlier than normal . I went to the christmas market in Plaza Mayor and oicked up a few sparkly goodies . My nieces also celebrate Russian Orthodox christmas on Jan 6th !

Great Photos, beautful Turkey...and a Texas fan....

Wow OsoMajor! Those are great pictures. The turkey looks ready to be in a magazine.

I have a funny story about Christmas traditions and I hope you won't kick me out of the forum for sharing this. I mean no disrespect.

A few years ago at church, the pastor asked several people to share about their Christmas traditions. When she approached me, the only thing I could think of was that we set up a wooden nativity set every year that my husband made. After our sons got airsoft guns, they were doing "target" practice on the Nativity set. I quickly put a stop to it, but I decided that I couldn't share that "tradition" in church.

I tend to stress about the gifts, when in fact, they really aren't that important. I love the music, walking through the neighborhood looking at lights, seeing family again, having a break from school, receiving cards, and baking cookies.

I told my son, "the pics have to look good, I'm posting them on Madrid Man!". Guess he did a good job!

Teachertraveler8, boys will be boys. It's not so bad. BTW, how big was the nativity scene?

Kipper, I'm a native Texan. Gotta be true to my home state. Since I've lived half of my life here in California (which I love), I think of myself as having Texas roots and California stock!