I have a large family 30 plus friends and distance relatives that drop in. We gather at my Moms home for traditional Christmas Dinner on Christmas eve. Every one is spread through out the house to eat. Lots of jokes, laughter and recalling old times. Then we gather in the den with every inch of space used. Mom reads from the bible the story of Jesus's birth, then we sing carols then open gifts, and every one buy the children some thing small, We tend to get eat other gag gifts like the 14 carrot necklace I told you about. This year my sister is planning on making chocolate candy and leave out the sugar, tell every one but my brother ha ha. Once gifts are cleared and put away the young parents tend to leave to get ready for Santa but us older children stay around to play card, tell joke and make a night of it. We put Jesus first then family and it is alway a special night.

Normally my wife and i spend Christmas with my parents but this year we are spending it with my brother and his family (he has 2 children under 5).
This should be a fun and exciting christmas this year :D

Aren't kids the coolest. With younger one they have as much fun with the paper as they do with what's inside. For them everything is so magical.

ill have my kid over for christmas eve and christmas morning and we will open his presents and have a time putting them together. wispers (i got him a big remote control 4x4 truck) hope he didnt here me. then we will call my brothers and sisters to wish a marry xmas to them. they are all on the east coast and i dont get to see them much.

It's usually a two day event for us.

My wife's family like to do things early, and on Christmas Eve. Her sister bought a new house this year, and they are just itching to show it off. I'm lucky enough to have my six year old daughter, 3 nephews, 1 eight, another 5, 2 that are 3, bringing a total of 4 boys that I keep entertained either with simple clown goofs and tricks, or by wrestling with them, so half the night I'll do that, then we'll have a huge meal, open gifts, and everyone will go home and sleep.

Then I get to do it again Xmas day, but with the older, more mature crowd....

Sometimes this can be boring, but I always manage to make them smile.....:)

Well our family is so big and it just wont stop growing! There's Mom and Dad and 4 brothers and 2 sisters and all there significant others... 14 neices and nephews & 1 great nephew all ranging in ages from 24 yrs - 3 yrs, my cousin and his girlfriend and 5 kids. So this year we're renting the hall at my Brother apt complex, and Grandma (88 yrs old) and My Aunt are going to join us too!

We'll all get there about 6 p.m. we all bring something to eat (yummy) when we get finished eating we get all the kids to sit in a circle around the tree and we sing carols and open presents, with my Dad acting as the gift passer outer. The kids will play with their toys and Dad will start a penny poker game and we'll all just laugh and have fun all night. Sometimes a few us go to Midnight Mass.

We've done this every Christmas Eve as far back as I can remember. We also do a grab bag which the 7 of us kids have done since we were wee little ones. Now we've added in the inlaws and cousins. There has not been one year that one of us is missing. This is our special day and we celebrate it with all of us.

On Christmas Day Mom and Dad stay home and have dinner, a few of us join them but most go to our in-laws to be with that side of the family for the day. I usually stop at Mom and Dad's after I bring hubby home and tuck him in to the couch!

Boy I love Christmas!:wink:

Tinks

wow sounds like your day is filled with buisyness and joy tinks. i remember as a kid always having family around i realy miss it but we are all scattered to the four winds now and dont get together as much.

First we will go to my youngest daughters house around eight then go to church at midnight
Then we go to my middle daughters house for awhile And on Christmas Day we go to my oldest daughters for dinner And finally we go home to recover

We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

How I celebrate Christmas depends on my job. As a firefighter it depends on what day my shift falls on. This year I was lucky enough to have it off. But often times I have to work. When I do have to work I get everyone up really early to open a few presents then I’m off to work early to let someone off work so they can be home when there kids get up. Later in the day my family comes out and opens the rest of there gifts. You have to make the best of it.

Well, this year my inlaws are coming from Mentor, OH to visit. We are all lloking forward to their arrival. We'll likely attend Christmas eve services, and then go to my Sisters for cookies, and Eggnog. I read the Christmas story from Luke chapter two. Then, we put the midget clowns to bed. Christmas morning, we have my parents over (they live a couple blocks away) and open gifts with the boys. Then, at some point we go over there to open gifts.Come home and eat lunch, overstuff ourselves, and then sit around like a bunch of Beefheads all after noon. Really, I like a nice Lowkey Christmas. Celebrating the REASON for the season and not the commercial side.
Then two days after my middle son, David AKA Buttons, turns eight. Dave was a One Pound 14 ounce three month early preemee. He is perfectly fine, just thick headed like his old man.

My girlfriend and I do the 2 family thing. On christmas eve we sleep over at my moms, stay up way late drinking and talking and on christmas day we go to a movie. Not religious at all.

We go to Christmas eve service and read the Christmas story and on Christmas Day my family comes over for dinner. We are blessed.

With industrial strength missletoe.

Oh, you want me to be serious huh?
Part of my wife's family is hispanic and we do all the fun stuff (gifts,eating, KISSING,etc.etc.) Christmas Eve and I get a devotional thought in there somewhere (Ex preacher that I am)-- the belly buster dinner is on Christmas day. Now the family is here and there (New mexico and Nevada) so it's a little less formal. By the way, when we decorate-It's what we can get in and out of boxes quickly is our style, We're getting too old to be "Busy,Busy,Busy,"during the season anymore. Imagine how knocked out I used to get by Christmas eve--as a Salvation Army Sergant-Major---and bell-ringer---and caseworkwe as well!