Festive Family Traditions

I love Christmas, but it’s been difficult to get excited this year, especially with all the wedding stuff piling up! I’m a bit gutted that it’s already almost half way through December, and the most festive thing I’ve managed is a half assed attempt at erecting the 3ft tree and a quick blast of Christmas tunes on a trip to meet the wedding coordinator. Therefore, in an attempt to get back on track with my excitement levels, I thought I’d share a few of our family traditions with you…

My Mum’s Festive Food Hamper

 

Every year, my Mum puts together a fantastic collection of treats for the whole family to enjoy. At some point in November, she asks for her little wicker basket back, and then we wait excitedly, wondering what goodies are coming our way. This year, there was an enchilada kit, some Christmas themed pasta, a pack of my favourite cheesy puffy snacks in the world (M&S Cheese Tasters) and some Christmas Percy Pigs, to name a few things. There is also usually a tub of ‘White Chocolate Fudge Sauce’ hidden away at the bottom, but this year it was replaced by ‘Salted Caramel Sauce’, an addition that I know will definitely appeal to Paul! I’m sure my Mum didn’t expect this to be such a huge hit when she started it, but I’d think I’d cry if she stopped – it’s pretty much the only way we get any festive food in the house, Paul sorta frowns on me only eating mozzarella sticks for every meal!

 

 

Christmas Eve Boxes

 

Every year, on Christmas Eve, we all exchange a box packed with festive essentials to see us through until morning. I’d first seen the idea in a Facebook post, and the kids instantly loved it! It became a recurring tradition and also allows us to give the kids presents that don’t come from Santa. We give out the boxes on the afternoon of December the 24th and they each contain:

 

Pyjamas

DVD

Sachet of Hot Chocolate

Bag of Sweets
 

The children also get a bath bomb each, from Lush’s Christmas range, to use before they get into their new pyjamas. We all sit down to watch the kids’ new movies until their bedtimes then we get into our own new pyjamas and perhaps enjoy a whisky (or two) with our own DVDs. As lovers of Xbox, the boxes have been known to contain video games, but that all depends on what budget we have to work with!
 

New Decoration for the Family Tree

Okay, so this one hasn’t actually become an established tradition yet, but I’m working on it! Last year, we went to the Edinburgh Christmas markets and picked up a cute wee wooden decoration for our tree. I thought it would be a lovely idea to buy a new one each year and, when we are old, we will have all these wonderful memories to look back on. As a mentioned at the start of this post, wedding things have kind of been getting on top of us, but we will be at the Manchester Christmas markets later this month, so I’m sure we will find something!

What do you guys get up to at Christmas? Do you have any special family traditions?
 

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