Holiday Traditions

[JenNeedsABaby]

I think we might have covered this before, but we have some newbies, so let's do it again.

What are some of your Fall Holiday Traditions?

[JenNeedsABaby]

Halloween
We don't really have any unique ones. We usually go to a pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin and take pictures. We also go to a Fall festival and then hit a few houses in our neighborhood for trick or treating. We don't have many kids on our street, but that is changing. Three babies born this Fall. And with my two on the way...it's gonna be great in a couple of years!
edited to add: I just thought of one we started last year. Each year we get a professional picture taken with Kiera. We just get a few prints and they come out so neat! This year for decoration, I put last year's photo up! Also, great for scrapbooking!

Thanksgiving
We have been meeting my parents at the beach where my grandparents live. We stay in a beach house and have a very nice holiday dinner at my gp house. We also hit a few stores the day after. I LOVE shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I am one of the crazies who gets up at the crack of dawn! Sadly, I know the beach tradition will soon end. My gp are nearly 90 and with three kids, it will be hard to keep this tradition.

Christmas
To start the holiday off we celebrate D-day (Decoration Day). We decorate our house inside and out on one day. We wait to turn on all the lights right before dinner. Then we sit down to a nice dinner.
Our child (and soon to be children) get three gifts to symbolize the three gifts that the Wise Men brought. We try to keep the real reason for the season, but sometimes it's hard to not get caught up in all the commercialism and Santa.
My mom, my sister, and I started trading stockings instead of gifts. We have a $50 limit. It is fun to see what you can fit in a stocking. It requires creativity and is something I look forward to each year.

I am sure there is more, but that's few.

[MarchBaby]

Those are some great traditions and I love this thread, too. I'll have to come back and type our traditions when I have a little more time.

[Michellei]

Thanks for posting this...I'm a newbie and I'll enjoy reading all the replies.
For Fall:
When the leaves start turning and the colors are brilliant, we take an all day trip through the mountains. Then, there is a certain ma and pa type of restaurant that we stop at for dinner. It's very nostalgic.
Each year, DH and the girls get a pumpkin each and they carve them together.
Our church has a Chili cookoff each year around Halloween and I make chili to enter into the contest. It is something we look forward to every year because there is a lot of good food, fun & games for all.

Christmas:
We go to the zoo for their light display.
The girls open a new pair of pajamas to wear Christmas Eve night.
Christmas day I always make a ham.
Our church has a Christmas play that the girls are in every year. Last year, I directed the play and it was a lot of fun.

[MarchBaby]

Here are our traditions just off the top of my head:

Halloween
~Go to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and for some seasonal fun
~DH assist in carving the jack-o-lantern
~Toast the pumpkin seeds and eat them
~Take kids trick-or-treating on Halloween
~Kids may eat two pieces of candy that evening and the rest is piled together and stored away for special times (I actually throw much of it out being that they get SOOO much)
~I also usually have pumpkin muffins the morning of Halloween and being a former teacher I have lots of children's books with the Halloween theme so we will read those books throughout that week

Thanksgiving
~We alternate families (mine or DH's) every year. So, this year we have Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with mine and next year it will be my family for Thanksgiving and his family for Christmas
~It's always a toss up as to who will host the meal. Since we are in a new home and close proximity to DH's family, they will be coming here for Thanksgiving.
~Macy's parade that morning on TV
~Cook the traditional meal with turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, etc... and don't forget pecan and pumpkin pies for dessert.
~Before we eat and say the blessing, we go around the table and say what we are thankful for. I've been able to catch this on video now for the past two years. Also, both my children were baptized in November as well as our Anniversary is in November, so I have started lighting their baptismal candles they received during our meal so as to remember those special occasions.
~Guys clean up the kitchen after the meal
~We all watch football the rest of the day. We try to plan on getting our tree the weekend following Thanksgiving

Christmas
~Decorate the tree and house (the weekend after Thanksgiving)
~Make Advent wreath and begin lighting those candles every Sunday leading up to Christmas
~Advent tree with ornaments telling the story of Christ's birth. Every day the kids get an ornament, we read it and put it on our small tree.
~DS participates in Children's Chritmas Program at Church
~Church on Chritmas Eve
~After Church, we drive around look at Christmas lights before we return home.
~DH or his Dad (if his parents are with us for the holiday) reads The Night Before Christmas (we usually video this as well).
~Kids put out cookies and milk for Santa by their stockings
~Christmas morning we wake up EARLY for opening presents (I usually have sausage pinwheels waiting for breakfast that morning)
~Last year I started the tradition of doing an English meal for our Christmas Dinner. We had Standing rib roast with Yorkshire Pudding, Sauteed mushrooms, ???? (I can't remember what other veggies I had), and triffle pudding for dessert. I'll probably do that again this year (If we have Christmas dinner at our house).

[BC-MAV]

Halloween
~Go to a pumpkin patch or grocery to pick out pumpkins
~DH and I assist in carving the jack-o-lantern
~Toast the pumpkin seeds and eat them
~Take kids trick-or-treating on Halloween
~Kids eat LOTS of candyt that evening then the rest is piled together and stored away for special times (I too throw much of it out being that they get SOOO much)
~We save Halloween books from year to year and bring them out to read every season. I try to buy a new book each year that has to do with pumpkins or Halloween.
~We decorate the house with fake jack-o-lanterns on the porch and they are plugged in every night. We have 4, one for DH that is huge, one for me that is medium, and 2 smaller jack o lanterns for the boys.

Thanksgiving
~We USED to alternate families (mine or DH's) but now it's at our house every year.
~Macy's parade that morning on TV
~Cook the traditional meal with turkey, corn bread and oyster dressing, cranberry sauce, etc... and pecan and pumpkin pies for dessert.

Christmas
~Decorate the tree and house (the 1st week of December)
~Use our Advent wreath and begin lighting those candles every Sunday leading up to Christmas
~Boys participate in Children's Christmas Program at Church
~ Kids wear new PJ's the month of December
~During the month of December we drive around various neighborhoods and look at lights
~see the lights in City Park which is very big and fancy
~friends Christmas Eve party every year
~DH or me reads The Night Before Christmas
~Kids put out cookies and milk for Santa by their stockings
~Christmas morning we wake up EARLY for opening presents (We have Christmas Stollen that DH makes)
~Church on Christmas Day
~ They each get an ornament every year with something significant.... like year Harry Potter was big older DS got that ornament. Last year boys got Hot Wheel car ornaments with their name and year. So that way they have a collection of ornaments to take with them when they get married. We have also done filling stockings for the grandmas instead of presents.

[MarchBaby]

I forgot....we also do "Elf on a Shelf." My children love waking up and looking for him every morning in the days leading up to Christmas. Also, great reminder to "be nice."