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Post by jillywilly65 on Nov 30, 2006 10:23:41 GMT -5
I just watched Mrs Bush take Robin from Good Morning America for a mini tour at the White House and Laura talked about some of the food served for the lunch today . On the list of the traditional fare of Hot Chocolate and desserts she mentioned
Tamales and Green Chile will be served as well. I skipped a beat in my heart. In California my Hispanic family members will be making several dozen tamales and my step mom will make Menudo for everyone for breakfast while they work. One rule we had growing up was opening one present on Christmas eve and the rest opened Christmas morning. I know that we would go to church for a candle lighting Christmas eve service and make alot of snacks for guests that popped in, Chex mix, bagels and cream cheese, cheese cake, pies, and fudge. My brother Jeff would organize the decorating of the tree and since he is an artist we would obey his every command.
My parents are both gone and we almost never get together anymore but I wish we could. I am going to do my best to carry over those little things when we have kids some day.
What do you all do thats fun special or unique??
Jilly
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Post by jillywilly65 on Nov 30, 2006 19:26:11 GMT -5
Holy cow, I can't believe I forgot to mention our favorite Holiday flicks we had to watch... and I grew to love It's a Wonderful Life Miracle on 34th Street National Lampoon Christmas vacation A Christmas story Rudolph The Red nosed reindeer and Charlie Brown Christmas. We watched way too much TV I suppose but hey thats the American way  Me and TV? we go way back Jilly |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 2, 2006 14:18:17 GMT -5
Come on peeps, you have to have something to share?! I certainly was able to find remnants of niceness here and there from my crazy mixed up Manson family meets the Partridge family household. It was a conscious choice to focus on the good this year rather than the bad. Thats hard for me Mrs Half Empty. I would love to read about some neat traditions that maybe I could incorporate with me and the hubby.  Have a bitchin Day!! 23 more days ....yikes!!! Jilly |
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Post by whatsmynameagainn on Dec 2, 2006 18:21:47 GMT -5
yes - here is our big holiday thing that we do every year my parents are divorced and my ex and i are too so.... Christmas Eve: make a few dishes go to my grandma's (we call her Nanny, she is gma on my dad's side of family and we have gone every year since I was born) and my kids and I, my dad, my brother, my aunt and cousins, and Nanny are there eat dinner, read the birth story from the bible (the littlest kid that can read always does this) go to the den, open presents (my cousins are spoiled to getting literally 100 presents on christmas, and my kids get around 10 which is plenty....so my kids and i take turns opening and showing each other in our corner of the room while the cousins tear paper eveyrwhere LOL) pack up the presents and say bye go to my mom's around 9pm put the kids to bed and try desperately to make them fall asleep after they are asleep we barricade the entrance to the living room which is where the tree is turn on A Christmas Story with no volume my brother and I go and bring in the Santa Claus stuff (the goods, you know, the really cool presents, the kids get 6 or 7 each) we open them, put together, put batteries in, check it all outside quietly, and arrange everything around the tree like a massive toy store display - we put Amber's stuff on one side and Jake's on the other eat the cookies that are for "Santa" and leave a note courtesy of my stepdad's computer my mom gets everyone's stockings and disappears to her room to fill them with stuff by then it's about 1am or so - parents go to bed, me and my brother stay up for a while and chat go to sleep around 6am, kids get up and run like crazy with thier new stuff and scream through the house all excited  we all make breakfast (usually breakfast pizza, or biscuits and gravy) and my mom gets that sparkling cider and decorates the table up eat breakfast go to living room and open presents that my mom's side of the family gets us (usually around 10 more presents LOL) open the stockings and try to keep the kids from overdosing on candy get dressed - get the kids ready the kid's dad picks them up at noon Christmas day for his holiday - where they get about 20 more presents over there and he keeps them till noon the day after Christmas we always always always watch Harry Potter movies and Lord of the Rings all day on Christmas after the kids leave get big boxes and pack up all the new stuff and load it up eat a snack go back home and unload it all at around 8pm... that is our tradition xoxoxo Rachel |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 2, 2006 20:27:24 GMT -5
Dang girl It sounds like a blast!! What's your address so we can come over to your place?  I totally understand the materialistic kid thing, last year my 9 year old niece met me at the door to their house all sad that Santa had only given her a stocking  I get in the front door and theres a boatload of stuff like 100 presents for her and her sis. Iwas like" whats all this Alicia?" she was almost in tears and was like "this stuffs just from my mom and dad" I wanted to scream but said nothing and just gave her a hug. I remember getting pajamas every year and a new outfit to wear back to school after Christmas break. I always loved that. Jilly |
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Post by cjspas on Dec 2, 2006 20:59:50 GMT -5
Jilly-
I don't have time to write the whole family traditions but I have to tell you one I never thought I'd miss. Every year my mother would buy my sister and I new socks and underwear as stocking stuffers. I remember as a kid thinking "who wants socks and underwear for Christmas?" Well years have passed and my mother is now 84 and unable to shop and her years with us at Christmas may be numbered. Last year my sister and I were laughing about the fact that no one is buying us socks and underwear anymore and now we'd really appreciate it!
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Post by Trees on Dec 2, 2006 21:12:48 GMT -5
Jilly- Every year my mother would buy my sister and I new socks and underwear as stocking stuffers. LMAO Cjspas..... I always get my sons socks and underware too. Two years ago I didn't get them any. Just decided they could buy their own now their adults. The reaction was "Where the hell are the socks and Undies"  Needless I was  ;D ;D ;D Guess I'll just have to wait till I'm 94 before I can pass on the undie section at Christmas time!! Good grief.... that's a lot of socks |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 2, 2006 22:33:55 GMT -5
Cj & Trees I cannot tell you how much I miss getting socks and undies and pj's from my mom. She passed away in 1983 at 50 years old and looking back now that I'm 41..I would love to get socks and undies from her. I guess you never know how precious those things are till you grow up? Great sharing ladies, Thanks I love it!!! Jilly |
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Post by Sharon (sdbrins) on Dec 3, 2006 0:36:20 GMT -5
Usually right after the 1st of December I would come home one day and my father would be hanging garland from the ceiling. He always decorated like a madman inside and outside.
One night very close to Christmas Eve we would go for the Christmas lights drive around town.
At our house we too always opened one present Christmas Eve. It always seemed to be the new pjs one. lol
I live in south Texas and we always always eat tamales Christmas Eve.
Christmas morning we would get our stocking and then we had to wait for grandparents before opening the rest of the loot. As I got older I always got to play Santa and pass out the presents.
Christmas dinner always consisted of Turkey, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, and deviled eggs. My father and I use to always sneak a deviled egg and then tattle to my mother that the other one was eating the deviled eggs.
My father died in 1995 and I always miss him the most at Christmas. It was always good times, really good times at our house.
Sharon
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Post by whatsmynameagainn on Dec 3, 2006 0:55:51 GMT -5
The address is: 123 TheresNotEnoughEggnogInTheWorld Street Insanity, Texas FYI - the cousins....are 16 and 17 years old - OMG the 16 year old actually threw a fit in the den a couple years ago, like on the floor kicking because she didnt get the Ipod she wanted - what she didnt know is the ipod was dumped under the wrappign paper and presents she threw all over the floor....LOL i dont get those 2 anything - when I do its cheap (single mom syndrome) and they just throw it away with the paper so i quit bothering LOL christmas is my favorite time - i realllly love it - and this one is gonna be great - we will have to put together an art easel and a pirate ship this year - that should be fun xoxox Me Dang girl It sounds like a blast!! What's your address so we can come over to your place? I totally understand the materialistic kid thing, last year my 9 year old niece met me at the door to their house all sad that Santa had only given her a stocking I get in the front door and theres a boatload of stuff like 100 presents for her and her sis. Iwas like" whats all this Alicia?" she was almost in tears and was like "this stuffs just from my mom and dad" I wanted to scream but said nothing and just gave her a hug. I remember getting pajamas every year and a new outfit to wear back to school after Christmas break. I always loved that. Jilly |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 4, 2006 23:49:45 GMT -5
Sharon,
your memories are awesome and touching . When I got to the end of your sharing and saw that your dad had passed away my heart sank. I'm sorry, I know how you feel. My pop passed in 2000, 8 months after I got married. He loved Christmas and having us all pop in to say 'hello' and pick up our tamales. I miss being able to call him. I think in his honor I will have to get a Dean Martin Christmas CD. He loved Ol' Dino, and Sinatra too.
I'll have a rat pack holiday...........
Take care
Jilly
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 12, 2006 19:21:35 GMT -5
After a few years of protest I am giving in to hubby and going to try to watch all 3 Lord of the Rings movies for either Christmas eve or Christmas day. I don't kow how we are going to squeeze in nearly 9 hours of movie but we will make a way. Rob and I want to start new traditions for our home. He wants to start with a big one. Wish me luck Jilly  |
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Post by chk on Dec 12, 2006 21:12:49 GMT -5
okay, it would take a novel or 2 to list everything, but it seems (surprise surprise) that we are always traveling on the holiday. This year it's skiing in Japan.
Still, some things are necessary.
1. Huge tree, at least 6.5' tall -- and decorating party for all of our Asian and Jewish friends who don't usually get to decorate trees.
2. videos with kids: Charlie Brown, Frosty, Rudolph, Year without a Santa Clause
3. Xmas moves: It's a Wonderful Life, Nightmare Before Xmas (see avatar), Elf
4. Christmas cookies -- lots made by me and the kids and hot chocolate --the real kind.
5. Christmas music -- lots
6. growing up we exchanged family presents on Christmas Eve and got Santa stuff Christmas morning, but now it's usually all Christmas morning.
7. Dinner. If we're home we usually attend a traditional British Christmas dinner at Yacht Club -- complete with Christmas crackers and silly hats. Those of you who have seen Bridget Jones will get it.
that's all I can think of --it's hard to maintain too many traditions when you don't know where you'll be from year to year, but we do alright!
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Post by chk on Dec 12, 2006 21:15:02 GMT -5
oh, thought I'd mention that Christmas is not a holiday in China, of course, but it is in Hong Kong, which was a British colony until 1997 and still marks most of the same holidays as the UK (minus the Queen's Birthday!)
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Post by starcrossed on Dec 14, 2006 13:55:23 GMT -5
There are not that many holiday traditions around my house anymore. After my Grandparents passed on, the traditions went away with them. I miss the gatherings and the whole family coming together like the did.... It's a wonderful thing that so many of you have these traditions still. Keep them up!!! I never got undies...I did get socks....and even a few bras? They were not even my size which I never could figure out. Well, Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!And God bless all those that are no longer with us in body, but will have a place forever in our hearts. |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 18, 2006 23:56:37 GMT -5
Man oh man did I want to have a good Holiday this year, but me and the mom in law had a big a** fight. After 6 years I keep hoping that we can make peace and be civil but my hubbies family stood him up for his birthday party and I snapped. I called her names I never should have and I hurt my hubby but he agrees that the family dissed me one time too many. So this new tradition will be the two of us alone for Christmas, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. At least we have each other. That is a gift in itself.
I hope your families fair better than mine
Later
Jill
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dawn
18 and over
I reject your reality & substitute my own
Posts: 12,473
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Post by dawn on Dec 19, 2006 11:42:02 GMT -5
Man oh man did I want to have a good Holiday this year, but me and the mom in law had a big a** fight. After 6 years I keep hoping that we can make peace and be civil but my hubbies family stood him up for his birthday party and I snapped. I called her names I never should have and I hurt my hubby but he agrees that the family dissed me one time too many. So this new tradition will be the two of us alone for Christmas, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. At least we have each other. That is a gift in itself. I hope your families fair better than mine Later Jill Oh no this is really bad timing Jill, hopefully things can get sorted before the festivities really begin. If not, enjoy the time you spend with your hubby, that can be nice too.  I don't have many holiday traditions, as I've never been a big Christmas fan really - more of a new year lover myself. I will always watch muppets christmas carol & will always visit my parents for Christmas Morning Breakfast as I'm veggie and can't deal with the fuss of them having to cook separate for me. Here's hoping that the family rows can stop - for just a few days |
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Post by jillywilly65 on Dec 19, 2006 22:38:17 GMT -5
Dawn thanks for the kind words, I hope things settle too.
A veggie breakfast sounds so yummy. Maybe a quiche with mushrooms and peppers and tomatoes and onion?? I am making myself hungry oh and throw in some zucchini too with extra cheese and I'll be right over. I'll use my invisible Wonder Woman jet ;D
Have a great time and I think I may rent the Muppets Christmas movie, I haven;t seen that one. I love Miss Piggy
Take Care,
Jilly
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Post by Sharon (sdbrins) on Dec 19, 2006 23:17:04 GMT -5
Sharon, your memories are awesome and touching . When I got to the end of your sharing and saw that your dad had passed away my heart sank. I'm sorry, I know how you feel. My pop passed in 2000, 8 months after I got married. He loved Christmas and having us all pop in to say 'hello' and pick up our tamales. I miss being able to call him. I think in his honor I will have to get a Dean Martin Christmas CD. He loved Ol' Dino, and Sinatra too. I'll have a rat pack holiday........... Take care Jilly Thank you for your kind words, they are presious memories I will always treasure. Sounds like to me you married a really cool guy. I hope you have a most excellent Christmas together. Sharon |
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Cheza
18 and over
Lady of the Silver Rose
"Seeking peace amidst the chaos of life..."
Posts: 9,039
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Post by Cheza on Dec 20, 2006 2:14:04 GMT -5
There are not that many holiday traditions around my house anymore. After my Grandparents passed on, the traditions went away with them. I miss the gatherings and the whole family coming together like the did.... It's a wonderful thing that so many of you have these traditions still. Keep them up!!! I never got undies...I did get socks....and even a few bras? They were not even my size which I never could figure out. Well, Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!And God bless all those that are no longer with us in body, but will have a place forever in our hearts. ;D ;D ;D Starcrossed, that sounds like my grandmother who still is delusional about what size I actually am! Everything she buys is too small - so it's either returned or given to my mom. ;D ;D ;D I'm with you on the traditions seem to be dying out comment. My grandpa (mom's dad) seemed to be the glue that held our family together. After he died, the family stopped getting together as much - whereas before, we had a big family Thanksgiving and Christmas each year. My grandma (dad's mom) sadly does not get much company anymore...my dad rarely comes home...or if he does I'm not aware of it. She and I do not have as good a relationship as I would like (guilt trip syndrome - always telling me what I should be doing that I'm not...and I eventually got tired of that), but I love her nonetheless. As for me, I'm still single and I've boomeranged back home (living with mom and helping buy a new house). So, I haven't had a family of my own yet to start traditions with. I guess our biggest tradition is trimming the tree, and even that is sporadic. I'll probably finish it alone tomorrow. I fell asleep this afternoon and didn't get the lights on it as I had planned. Which if I have trouble going back to sleep, I may go put them on tonight in the dead of night. Peace. |
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