My hubby said that he would like it if we could always open gifts on Christmas Eve, because that is what his mother taught them to do, then they would have the big Christmas meal afterwards and all go to sleep. Santa was never talked about, nor did he ever stop~very sad in my opinion. Then on Christmas morning they would just get up and play with the new toys as if it wasn't a special day or anything, not even head to church. And his mother never liked to wrap anything, and refused to waste money on bows or big trees~theirs was a table top one!! I know when I found this out I was set to change what Christmas was for him, and to make each year after we got together a magical time.
I remember I had explained that Christmas in my home growing up was a magical night, we would always get a new robe or slippers to go along with our matching new PJ's. Mom or Dad would read us a story or just make one up and it always centered around me and my sis doing something fun. Then we go up to our rooms and try to sleep, although we always strained to hear Santa and his Reindeer on the roof!! I remember one time we actually did see him out behind our house in the fields standing next to a huge eucalyptus tree~eating the bark. Daddy said he was stopping a snack because we forgot to leave carrots along with the cookies!! We never made that mistake again!! Then I further explained that on Christmas morning we would sneak as quietly as we could down the stairs and first go to the tree and see what Santa had left us, sometimes he wrapped the gifts if he had extra paper and sometimes he didn't because it wasn't our turn to have the gifts wrapped or he actually ran out and would put a tag with a big bow on it! Either way there was always a gift from Santa under that tree. Then my sis and I would go over to where are stockings were hung ( on the railing of the staircase ) and sneak a few bites of candy then we would run upstairs and pounce on our parents and yell with delight "He was here!! SANTA Came!! Come ON !!!!" Then Daddy would tickle and wrestle with us while Mom went about going down to the kitchen to put the coffee on and throw some cinnamon rolls in the oven or whatever else she felt like breaking out for a quick morning nibble with the coffee, she always had hot cocoa and marshmallows too for us girls! Then we would tear into the presents!!! There was always a huge mess of wrapping paper and bows thrown this way and that, there wasn't ever a disappointed face in the room on Christmas mornings or all day for that matter. We always had a really nice supper with a ham and the fixings....we even got dressed just for supper too!!
So after all this time, what is our tradition now with our children~Well you just read it!! I figured why change a thing, my Mom instilled the meaning and the traditions. My boys remind me of me and my sister when were younger on every Christmas Morning.
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