Originally Posted by romanojg

Well, I didn't have any traditions to carry on. Our dad stole us from our mom and then we never had a Christmas; he was too busy drinking. So, over the years I've created ones and my kids use them for their families; which gives me great pride. From what we have for Thanksgiving dinner right down to the sides and then for Christmas its rouladins with mashed potatoes n sour cream gravy. We have certain dishes we use with each holiday and even this yr when my daughter cooked because I was working she came to my house and picked up the dishes to be used. They each get Christmas PJS to wear for Christmas morning. The kids are allowed to only open their stockings when they get up before the parents (always allowed me to get extra sleep time in). I always get them lifesavers books, its great now because for the littler ones they now make lifesaver gummies. We have the Christmas pickle hung on the tree for the lucky child to find. Each present it given out to the person and told who it comes from and once opened and picture taken with it the person has to thank the one giving the gift if they are there. As the presents are unwrapped the trash is put into a large garbage bag. Not only does this make cleaning up easier but it also keeps from things getting accidently thown away. We put up the tree on Thanksgiving and it gets taken down on New Years Day. There are candle opras in the window. I may have not grown up with Christmas and would have to go to school and lie about the presents we got but I made sure my kids never had to go thru that. Even though one yr every thing they got was from the Dollar Store. I think traditions are great. The other one that makes me proud that my daughter does is that in order for my kids to have their name on a present as the giver they would have had to either help make or pay for the gift. No cheating allowed. Most of the time the kids makes crafts for presents. This week my daughter and her friends are getting together with thier kids to bake cookies and make gifts. I'm glad I could give my kids some things to hold onto and pass down to thier kids. Traditions can start at anytime and be added to as time goes by. Merry Christmas to all and no matter what else is going on I hope you all have a great day on the 25th rather you celebrate Christmas or not. May your next yr make you happier than this past year. I'm sure mine will.