Christmas Traditions

As if you didn't already know, Christmas time is here!  Like really, really here considering it's just two short days away.  And being that it's so close it has me thinking about my family traditions.

Growing up lunch on Christmas Eve was always at my great grandma's (my grandpa's mother) with my mom's family including my grandpa's brother's family.  But as my great grandma got older that tradition faded out. It just became too much for her to cook a big meal for every one.

These days Christmas Eve is rotated between my parents', my aunt Pam's, and my aunt and uncle Maureen and Scott's.  This year we're at Scott and Maureen's.  We've also changed things up a bit and only do snack type foods instead of a full sit down meal.  This year I'm in charge of bringing the crab!  I always look forward to Maureen's mushrooms.  (I wish I had a name for them!)  Of course presents are exchanged.  And once all the gifts have been opened we get comfy and watch a movie together.  A few years ago we watched Bridesmaids.  I'm sure you know how funny the movie is but I think the funniest part was watching my great grandma (my grandma's mother) not quite understand what was going on (she can't hear well) when the girl in the wedding dress sits down in the street.  We all tried so hard to not laugh and we came up with something to tell her... I think.

Christmas Day we all gather again, this time at my grandparent's for lunch.  We fill our tummies with ham, mashed potatoes, corn/broccoli, and of course dinner rolls.  With full bellies we get comfy once again to watch another movie together and just hang out.

I'm sure you're all wondering what my immediate family does for Christmas traditions.  To be honest, it's changed over the years and hasn't always been staying the same.  Growing up we always got a real tree but the last few years my mom has adopted a little three foot fake tree.  The little guy just fits better into our living room and doesn't require solving a puzzle to find where furniture can be moved to in order to fit a full size real tree.

We used to always open presents Christmas morning and sometimes we still do.  But then there are times like last year when we opened our presents on Christmas Eve after we get home from whatever house we were just at.  I think part of it has to do with whether or not my brother has to work Christmas morning.  Or maybe it has to do with what church service we're planning to go to.  I'll be honest, sleeping in is one of my favorite things to do even on Christmas morning.  Sometimes it's easier for us to not have to worry about getting everyone (everyone but my dad will sleep in like it's no body's business) up in time to open presents and eat breakfast before having to shoo everyone off to get ready for church.

So maybe our tradition is that what we do is always changing?

Are we the only family that has changed our traditions or that doesn't stick to the same thing every year?