Holiday Traditions ?

[Dangermouse]

Anyone have any unusual holiday traditions that they do around this time of the year (apart from the usual family Christmas/New year stuff).

We were invited to one about 4 or 5 years ago where we went Christmas Caroling on Christmas Eve in a neighboring neighborhood with three other families. Now, every year, we meet at the hosts house, a Canadian family that we have known for years, and catch up with the other two families, have some snacks and beers and then head out around 8 with 20 or so adults and teenagers, guitars & mandolins and a proper printed songbook that the host makes up.

We are out for 1-2 hours, depending on the weather, knocking on doors and singing in the street. Some neighbors join us for a few songs, others greet us with mulled wine and more beer.

While the four families are from different backgrounds (One American, one Canadian, one Indian and one Irish) we stick to the traditional classics, until we return to the house and watch two (what have become) obligatory videos -

Bob and Dougs "12 days of Christmas" from Canada


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2oPio60mK4&feature=player_embedded

[Dangermouse]

followed by

and "12 Indian Days of Christmas"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DKMv4sGvyI

Unfortunately all the "12 Irish days of Christmas" ones suck :(

Anyway, it's one of my favorite evenings of the year.


Anyone else?

[jackb]

I'm Jewish, so every Christmas day for as long as I can remember, just like most other Jews, I've gone to the movies and a Chinese Buffet.

[thirdmanj]

I'm Jewish, so every Christmas day for as long as I can remember, just like most other Jews, I've gone to the movies and a Chinese Buffet.

Huh, that's what we do too. Does that make me an honorary Jew?

Side note: Doesn't this thread and its subject just seem to be "asking for trouble"? Or is it just me?

[ccurzio]

I watch Die Hard every year, usually on Christmas Eve.


Side note: Doesn't this thread and its subject just seem to be "asking for trouble"? Or is it just me?

Nah, we're safe for now.

[thirdmanj]

I watch Die Hard every year, usually on Christmas Eve.



Nah, we're safe for now.

YESSS!!! Me too, Die Hard is a long standing tradition! "Now I have a machine gun, HO HO HO."

[ccurzio]

You ought to be on fuckin' TV with that accent.

[dustybarn]

Every year my parents and I used to go to my grandparents' house. Among their decorations were a set of ceramic letters, approximately 5" tall, that spelled out "N O E L". They sat on top of the window air conditioner, right next to the Christmas tree. My dad and I had a running competition to see who would be the first one to rearrange the letters to spell "L E O N" without anyone else noticing.

[OverlandMan]

YESSS!!! Me too, Die Hard is a long standing tradition! "Now I have a machine gun, HO HO HO."

Not to stray too far off topic but a few years back I was watching Die Hard (possibly Die Hard 2.. can't remember) but it was an edited for TV version. I was extremely defeated and confused when I hear the dubbed line: "Yippie Kay Yay Mister Falcon" :bang:

Every Christmas I like to get tatered-up and belligerent and kick everyone out of my house like Dwight Yoakam in Slingblade.

[Rhsxo]

Here is how we celebrate the Holiday Season in my family (back story provided):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7-jcsB_WQ

[ccurzio]

Here is how we celebrate the Holiday Season in my family (back story provided):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7-jcsB_WQ

This too. My friend has a Festivus party every year.

[Shep]

My dad has a particularly oddball sense of humor, especially around the holidays. There's always at least one present that was wrapped with multiple batches of wrapping paper, different patterns and usually completely different colors. He claims he's "recycling the scraps", but we all know it's tradition now. On the presents with characters on the wrapping paper, he'll draw speech bubbles and have they say humorous stuff. Often bad puns and corny jokes. My sister can't stand bananas, and it's a running gag to work them into everything, so this year he had a snowman say "I wish I had a banana for a nose." Then for greeting cards, he tends to draw on the back to turn it into stuff. I've started doing this too now, and one card I made a circular "recycle" logo into a campfire, and the "H" in "Hallmark" into a 90's roof-mounted TV antenna.

Every year we also get scratch-off instant lotto tickets in our stockings. Usually the same one to each person to keep things fair. This year we all got a combined $20 worth of tickets, and wound up winning about $50! We've probably netted a profit over all the years we've been doing this, albeit marginally. Fun fact about instant lotto: there's usually three letters scattered underneath the scratch-off part that spell out what you won. "twn" means you won $20, "for" means you won $4, "hrd" means you won $100, and "wfh" means you won absolutely nothing, since it doesn't spell out anything. Neat way to verify your prize amount, and often I've found that reading those letters and seeing what they spell out made me realize I've won more than I first thought. At least, this is true in Ohio lottery, not sure about other states. You might have to scratch off most of the playing area to find them. I always scratched them off this way, and I guess I was just observant in noticing that trend.

As for traditions we no longer do, we used to make a slot car track that went around the base of the Christmas tree every year, and raced slot cars on it during the holidays. I even bought the BTTF slot car and used it two years ago, but last year we didn't set it up, and this year we couldn't because of a new dog with a tendency to chew things (including a strand of LED lights that is now chewed in half; I'll have to repair that one). Can't think of any others we haven't done in a while though.

[Fredmurphy]

Anyone have any unusual holiday traditions that they do around this time of the year (apart from the usual family Christmas/New year stuff).

We were invited to one about 4 or 5 years ago where we went Christmas Caroling on Christmas Eve in a neighboring neighborhood with three other families. Now, every year, we meet at the hosts house, a Canadian family that we have known for years, and catch up with the other two families, have some snacks and beers and then head out around 8 with 20 or so adults and teenagers, guitars & mandolins and a proper printed songbook that the host makes up.

We are out for 1-2 hours, depending on the weather, knocking on doors and singing in the street. Some neighbors join us for a few songs, others greet us with mulled wine and more beer.

While the four families are from different backgrounds (One American, one Canadian, one Indian and one Irish) we stick to the traditional classics, until we return to the house and watch two (what have become) obligatory videos -

Bob and Dougs "12 days of Christmas" from Canada


Nice video. Merry Christmas and Happy new year to all my new friends.

[Fredmurphy]

Nice video led bulbs (http://www.niceledlights.com). Merry Christmas and Happy new year to all my new friends.

Do you have more such videos?