What’s your plan for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

[Floridaman999]

I'll be at home both days just waiting for the family to arrive. We'll be spending the time hosting for everyone. Good time, good times.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Christmas Eve we'll be home during the day relaxing, probably watch a Christmas movie or two. We don't do a special meal for Christmas Eve, but we'll have plenty of snack-type stuff out. Church in the evening, only an hour or so.

Christmas Day, the ILs may come here when the kids open their stuff--kids are almost grown up now, so they aren't as fun to watch. We'll have breakfast here, probably an egg an ham casserole, fruit, cinnamon rolls or something. Then we'll go to DH's aunt's house for brunch and gifts, then to the IL's house for more gifts, cookies, etc., and then to DH's grandma's for gifts and dinner. Aunt, IL, and GMIL all live on the same road next to each other, so it isn't a lot of traveling.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We are still up in the air. Since we have no family nearby, I have learned that I have to plan something to look forward to or I get weepy and homesick.

Christmas Eve is church service followed by reservations at Seasons 52. DH is a 12 year old when it comes to presents so he'll try and convince me we should open all the gifts that night

Christmas Day is unplanned. The weather looks promising so the latest conversation is lunch at the beach followed by some time on the sand. DH really hates visiting the beach but will go for me. Maybe play putt-putt or do something equally touristy. Other possibility is making brunch here and then visiting the casino. Though I wonder if we'd be completely pitiful to spend Xmas at a casino I just gotta get out of the house.

 

[indimom]

Christmas Eve (day), I work until 4:30. Church at 7, then we're going to my parents house for a couple hours.
Christmas Day I'm on-call for work. So, I'll be home with the family, unless or until I get a call. We'll open presents in the morning, then hang out all day.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Christmas Eve
-husband works. I will do some food prep.
-evening go to ILs for supper

Christmas Day
-kids, husband and I open gifts/stockings. Breakfast casserole and sausages for brunch. Possible in-laws will stop in.
-mid afternoon head to my family dinner

Boxing Day
-sleep in and relax

 

[NYCgrrl]

GD will spend Christmas with her mother this year so the man and I are off to WDW for our first adults' only trip, tomorrow.

Christmas Eve

I'll spend the morning solo doing a run of the rollercoasters of Frontier Land and meet up with the man in time for the first MK parade of the day; think it's at noon. Next, we'll do a couple of early afternoon FPs together at MK. Rest of the day will be spent viewing various resorts' holiday displays. Then it's back to the hotel for a mini feast of caviar, lox, and sable appetizers with Champagne on the terrace. Boiling the potato as I type, romaine heart and endive are washed, and in the ziploc bag, dressing made minus the dairy and Champagne; 4 small tins of different types of caviar to sample plus the bubbly will be shipped directly to the hotel, and more than happy to let Disney provide the boiled eggs as well as eating utensils and barware. Take a walk after around WS or just roll into bed and watch the Battle of the Nutcracker.

Christmas Day

Mass @ the Contemporary followed by a short visit to AK utilising FPs for the two of us. More resort touring; still contemplating a horse carriage ride along the river.

Dinner at Bluezoo.
Back to the hotel for a video streamed performance of Handel's Messiah and maybe "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" or "A Christmas Story". It'll be the man's choice-after Handel.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Christmas Eve: I am supposed to get off work @1:00... I will see if that happens. There is a church thing and an in-law gathering that night.
Christmas Day: I think we are opening presents then going to my mother in-law's for more festivities. Hopefully after that, some rest.

 

[Poohforyou]

Christmas eve we'll go to a noon service and then have some friends and family over for an early dinner and games. Christmas morning we'll have some breakfast goodies followed by presents and then cocktails and lots of appetizers (we don't do a regular dinner). In the evening we'll watch movies and just hang out with family.

 

[Owlpost23]

We are in Germany so for us presents are Christmas Eve.
Raclette!!!

Christmas Eve:

Going out for brunch with friends and all our kids
2pm : Village meets up; band plays, mayor gives speech, Glühwein/Glogg/mulled wine is served ( think Gilmore Girls town like)
3:30: go to SILs.. coffee, cake cookies.. I then run home "to check on things"( 2 min drive), actually put presents under tree ( kids are old enough to know what is happening but it's tradition now). We then open family presents at SIL

5pm: DH and I argue if we go to mass or not.. I say too stressful, I need to get dinner started, we argue and then either we go or not go... our mass is from 6-7pm kinda a damper on dinner and getting the evening started.

7:30 we are home or coming home... ohh and ahh the presents and tree. then we do dinner in front of the tree. either something easy.. Filet and salad, or raclette.

RULE is we eat first and then open gifts.
open gifts... and then I spend with the rest of the evening drinking red wine, dark cholocate, cheese and nuts.

Christmas Day.
Sleep in
Kids do stockings. ( As an American I had Santa stop by and do stockings)
noonish. our main Christmas meal. either at home or we go out. this year I am doing a venision roast with chocolate sauce. Prezel dumplings.

Christmas Day2 ( yes Xmas is officially 2 days of HOlidays, no work by us)
this year we are going to a China buffett at noon and then afternooon the public pool with hot springs and slides ( stores are closed but public pools/ movies open).

This is where boredom/ dreary weather hits and I fantasize each year of skipping christmas and lying on a beach some where.

 

[MrsDuck]

Our son is 1 - important to note!

Christmas Eve: we will probably go to my parents' house for pizza and wear Christmas jammies. We'll read some Christmas books before bed.
Christmas Day: open presents at home, spend the morning relaxing, nap (son - maybe me! ) and then go to my parents' for Christmas dinner.

We head up to Disney tomorrow night to visit my in-laws (they're cast members) so we will do Christmas with them on Friday.

 

[tcufrog]

Thursday: DS7's school party and a lower school awards assembly. That night he performs his Christmas dance at dance class.
Friday: DS7 has a half day so he'll stay afterward at home with my MIL. DS11 has his school party and my DH has his work Christmas lunch. I'll probably go to that.
Saturday: We're having two other families over for brunch. I still need to lock down the menu since my DH and I don't agree. Saturday night we'll pick my sister up from the airport.
Sunday: My sister will take the kids to see our parents while my DH and I go grocery shopping and last minute gift shopping.
Monday: Wrap gifts and make cookies for Santa. Every year we have pasta carbonara for Christmas Eve dinner. Set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. The kids get to open two gifts: a Christmas book my DH and I have inscribed and Christmas pjs.
Tuesday: My DH and I sleep in while the kids open their stockings. DS11 and my sister make sausage rolls for breakfast. Eat Christmas dinner with my parents and (unfortunately) my MIL and then open gifts. IF we're not too tired we'll go to a movie.

 

[aprilgail]

I work with a local children's charity and this time of year is crazy with the toy drive so up until Christmas eve evening I will be working long days. Christmas eve we just chill out at home and on Christmas we will get up late, open gifts, then we are going to TGI Fridays for dinner then to see the new Mary Poppins movie.

 

[Wendy31]

Many years, DH has to work on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day.

So, we have always had our immediate family Christmas on one of his off days closest to Christmas, while the actual Christmas Eve (12/24) has been split between my parents' house & DH's parents' house - no matter what DH's work schedule has been.

And, on whatever day we celebrated our family Christmas, we would host both sets of our parents for Christmas dinner.

3 years ago, DH was scheduled to work on Christmas Day, but had some off time the week before Christmas, & we decided to go out of town & have our family Christmas on the beach.

The kids loved it so much that's it become our new tradition - even if DH is actually off on Christmas Day, which he is this year.

So, now that's what we do... we get out of town & go to the beach for our Christmas! LOL! We pack a small Christmas tree, our stockings, a small Nativity scene, & some other Christmas-y things. We also pack all our Christmas presents, & just pick a day to declare "Christmas Day"!

The only cooking I do is Christmas-cookie baking before we leave, so we can bring some Christmas cookies w/ us for Santa.

I got really tired of feeling like Christmas was just hustling between our parents' house, & I even got tired of spending all day cooking & then hosting our parents on Christmas Day. We would open presents in the morning, & then DH & I would spend the rest of the day cooking & preparing an elaborate meal.

Now, our family Christmas is nice & relaxed & on our own schedule. When we get back in town, we'll have Christmas Eve w/ my parents & sister's family on 12/24 & then have Christmas w/ DH's mom & brothers' families on 12/26 this year (which is different).

But, because we'll have already had our own family Christmas, 12/24 & 12/26 won't feel as rushed & busy - we'll just be able to enjoy extended family w/o feeling like we're sacrificing our own family time & I won't be thinking of everything we need to get home & do.

 

[neverlandsky]

23rd:
*Make Cookies.
*Dinner leftovers of pad thai, & larb.

24th:
*Prep food for Christmas Day.
*Dinner: Chicken Sloppy Joe's & Tater Tots with fry sauce.
*Watch It's a Wonderful Life.
*DH works 1 pm to 1 am Christmas morning. The kids want to stay up and wait for him so we might just open presents at this time and then go to bed.


25th:
*PJ day, always.
*Christmas Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, Turkey Bacon, & Deviled Eggs. Always a tradition for 20 years now. For the first time we're making the cinnamon rolls homemade.
*Christmas Dinner: Appetizers has now become our tradition after experimenting with meals for years. This is what pleases everyone. So it's the family's recipe hot bean dip, buffalo chicken dip, French onion dip, salsa, chips, crackers, chicken crackers, veggies, jalapeno poppers, probably more deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, & smoked oysters. Dessert Cherry Pie.

26th:
*Buy clearance Christmas gift wrap, ribbon, boxes, and maybe lights.
*Take down Christmas décor.
*Dinner: Leftovers.

 

[nikkistevej]

22nd- DH's family gathering- we do adult white elephant gifts, kids draw names, lots of food and drinks. We rent a hall as it's about 60 people. It really is a lot of fun, I love his family.
23rd- nothing
24th- straighten up, prep food, dinner out with my bestie and our families
25th- only place we go to is inlaws(DH's sisters and their kids all live there- long story), so it's a one stop. My sister is coming to my house with her family- we will exchange gifts and I am cooking- rotisserie chickens, baked potato bar, green beans w/bacon. shrimp mac salad, shrimp wrapped in bacon, deviled eggs, "dirt" cake, cherry pie and ice cream, and some other apps, oh and this Christmas tree bread thing I saw on pinterest.

I lost my mom in March, and it's been hard, I'm trying to "get in the spirit", although it's not working very well honestly.

 

[snoopy5386]

We don’t live near extended family and don’t travel to see them until after Christmas so it’s just the 4 of us at home.

Christmas Eve we’ll bake cookies, watch movies and eat Chinese for dinner and then go out and drive around and look at lights.

Christmas Day we will get up, open gifts, eat cinnamon rolls and then hang out and watch more movies and play games. Dinner is a Chick Fil A nugget tray and some home made family favorite sides.

 

[MIGrandma]

Our family Christmas gathering was on the 16th at our house, 19 here for dinner, gifts and visiting. And we got to meet our 3-year old great-granddaughter, Avalon, for the first time. Such a wonderful day!

So, for Christmas Eve DH and I are going for a long ride around the local towns to enjoy seeing people’s outdoor decorations then come home and watch a Christmas movie.

Christmas Day we are driving up to Sault Ste. Marie and spending two nights in a hotel, hopefully the weather will be nice so we can see a few freighters, maybe take a side trip to see Tahquamenon Falls in the winter.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Christmas Eve- Go to church at 3. Come back home and get dinner together. I make prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, etc. my sister and her family will come over.

The next day we open gifts at our house then head to my sister’s for dinner and more gifts.

 

[disneychrista]

Grabbing a pizza on the way home from work on Christmas Eve and then getting a weeee bit tipsy.

Christmas Day Dinner we will go to my parents house.

Don't do much for holidays because well...they all kinda depress me.

 

[marthachick]

My in-laws passed away 5 years ago. DH is an only child. On Christmas Eve, we go to my Mom and Dad’s. I have 1 sister and 2 brothers so it’s a bit crazy there. I love it. Except this year, DS is working (Paramedic). Not sure if his fiancée is coming to Mom’s or doing something with her family or friends. Christmas Day, DS and his DFiancee are coming for breakfast so they can fit in all of her family activities later in the day. Yeah, I’m not real happy because they’ll probably be here and hour and need to go. And end up seeing friends and family that they see more than us anyway. And I swear, we’re not bad people. Lol. Anyway, we will probably go back to my Mom’s sometime Christmas Day to eat leftovers. And I may or may not cook on the 26 for DS and his DF but they haven’t let me know. I know i shouldn’t be but I’m a little blue this Christmas because of this and some other stuff going on. Which I hate because this used to be my favorite time of year.