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**Nitrus** · 12-12-2009, 07:07 PM

(12-12-2009 07:05 PM)almh Wrote: One year one of my parents sprinkled flour/caster sugar around the fireplace and put reindeer prints in.

Now that's dedication! My parents just used to ate what we left..but always left some lol.

Beatriz · 12-12-2009, 07:24 PM

wow! Truly dedication indeed

(12-12-2009 07:00 PM)JHyde Wrote: What are the Magician Kings, Beatriz? Is that the Wise Men or the Magi?

I've done a search at wikipedia (what would we do without it!) and you're right!!! I didn't know how to translate that! Now I know, I translated it literally (Most of the times, a bad thing to do!)

**JHyde** · 12-12-2009, 07:30 PM

You do incredibly well most times, Beatriz. Better than some of us who speak it as our first language!

The youngest in big families is always a little more world weary when it comes to Father Christmas. I'm the second of 5, so by the time there were four of us packing the youngest's sack......it got a bit noisy in the early hours of the morning. Having said that, the best thing about Santa is that you get your presents before the rest of the family sit around and do them in the early afternoon. We always opened them later and later it seemed.

My mother used to be really tasteful when it came to christmas decorations, but these last few years she's been compelled to buy those stupid bobbing singing stuffed animals. Is this something that happens with older women? Very weird.

almh · 12-12-2009, 08:19 PM

Yeah, I'm the eldest of four, except I found out from my next youngest sister, who realised that there was a reason a cupboard got locked around Christmas time, and twigged. I was being completely oblivious Blush

We aren't allowed to do that - the usual rule is stockings when we wake up, and presents are all opened at once when the potatoes are in the oven. Although it has been varied over the years depending where we go for Christmas day (between staying at home and going to my grandparents)

**Nitrus** · 12-12-2009, 11:06 PM

We do stockings, then have breakfast, then have to wait until the turkey is in the oven, then do presents under tree, then eat nibbles, then eat main dinner..

And drinking happends throughout lol.

**bertowud** · 13-12-2009, 04:34 AM

(12-12-2009 03:31 PM)lwhite53 Wrote:
(12-12-2009 07:35 AM)JHyde Wrote: Oh yeah. And you can make cakes without using packet mix too, you know

"Make cakes?" You mean like actually cook?

Yep! My aunt makes them now. My grandmother originated the tradition though. Very good. She made the best homemade pound cake from scratch.

(12-12-2009 03:41 PM)JHyde Wrote: Actually I can add watching Spooks to my list of things to do. I can get my hands on the finale Christmas Eve morning, which is great because I'm on a night shift the 23rd. So it's almost a Christmas special.

I started watching 24 on Christmas. They played the entirety of the first season. I had the second season DVDs by the next week.

(12-12-2009 03:49 PM)lwhite53 Wrote: Not such a stretch . . . as I had pizza on Thanksgiving.

Until we had kids, we would go to a Chinese restaurant, if we weren't at one of our parents' houses.

(12-12-2009 05:08 PM)Nitrus Wrote: Not long until Xmas! Does anyone have siblings/children that still believe in Santa? If so, what do you leave for him?

When I was a kid, we left beer, mince pies and a carrot for Rudolph lol.

Both of my kids do. My daughter got very excited in Target a couple of weeks ago. There's a guy who looks very much like the Coca Cola Santa Claus who works there. He plays it up too.

We leave cookies and milk for Santa and open everything before anyone can eat or start cooking anything.

**JHyde** · 13-12-2009, 11:15 AM

Have you taken your kids to get photos with Santa, bertowud? I love walking past them in the shopping centres. My sister made fun of me once when I wanted to go and have one taken but she's right, it would have looked trashy, even though I had really pure intentions.

I'm confused. Do you guys still get stockings even though you're too old for Santa? And presents under a tree? Because in our family, if you got a sack (we had sacks not stockings) then you don't get presos under the tree.

almh · 13-12-2009, 11:20 AM

I still get a stocking and presents from 'santa' although that might change this year as my sister has made it clear she doesn't think he's real so maybe not a sack. But in the past we had a sack.

You're never too old for Santa!!!

Beatriz · (This post was last modified: 13-12-2009 01:16 PM by Beatriz.)

(13-12-2009 11:20 AM)almh Wrote: You're never too old for Santa!!!

Agreed!!

We don't do stockings, but we still put our presents under the tree in the middle of the night, and when we get up we unwrap them while eating breakfast:hot chocolate with "churros" and a special cake.

**JHyde** · 13-12-2009, 01:09 PM

I want to try these churros. I can't believe you've never had chocolate almonds, Beatriz!

My mum has always made the pudding and the fruit cake. They're both very good. She kept a few shillings and six pence from the old days and they go in the pudding. my grandmother, who still makes one for the evening at my godmother's, just wraps the more toxic new coins in foil, which isn't the safest thing, but oh well....

This year I meant to start a new tradition of having my own stir-up Sunday, which is a prep day held on a Sunday a month before Christmas, where you marinate the fruit and other things for pudding and fruit cake. But not only was one of my best mates overseas, it was also the hens weekend I was hosting, so it was a bit full Smile