Favorite Christmas Tradition

As an adult and as a child

As an adult I love that being part of the staying up late and getting things ready for the morning. '
As a kid (and ok a little as an adult) I love driving around and looking at Christmas lights (and maybe judging them mercilessly)

As an adult, I enjoy movies at Christmas time--new ones at the theater, and watching ones related to Christmas on Christmas day.

As a child, I enjoyed spending the night at my grandparents' house where on Christmas eve the tree only had lights on it and in the morning it was fully decorated with millions of gifts underneath.

meether369 wrote:As an adult, I enjoy movies at Christmas time--new ones at the theater, and watching ones related to Christmas on Christmas day.

As a child, I enjoyed spending the night at my grandparents' house where on Christmas eve the tree only had lights on it and in the morning it was fully decorated with millions of gifts underneath.

That's awesome that the tree was only decorated on Christmas Eve! How fun!

I'm a scrooge and don't like Christmas much.

However, I do, for some odd reason, have fond memories of getting walnuts in my stocking as a kid. So once I had kids, I talked my wife into including walnut in our kids' stockings, and lo and behold, it's a hit with them.

Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

meether369 wrote:Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

I'd say if you have nuts in your socks it signifies pain.

TheGreat&TerribleBob wrote:

meether369 wrote:Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

I'd say if you have nuts in your socks it signifies pain.

Or old age...

meether369 wrote:

TheGreat&TerribleBob wrote:

meether369 wrote:Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

I'd say if you have nuts in your socks it signifies pain.

Or old age...

You guys turn anything into something gross....hilarious!

Anyway, CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS......

well, as an adult, I love that we allow our kids to open their stockings as soon as we get up, but then breakfast has to made and cleaned up before the actual gift giving begins. Most people are done opening gifts so early, but we stretch it out as long as we can. And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

As a kid, we didn't have a lot of traditions, really. I remember one year my mom got a hot coal in her slipper before we opened gifts, as she was tending the fire place.... another year she broke her thumb when we got snow tubes on Christmas morning and then went sledding.

My poor mom.....but it is funny.

Angie wrote: And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

That's how we open gifts too. We start with the oldest person in the room and go down, too.

meether369 wrote:Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

Huh?

You have a stocking for each kid. You put stuff in there, toys or candy or whatever. Stuff you don't want to wrap. It doesn't signify anything.

JamesWilliams wrote:

meether369 wrote:Without sounding gross, what do walnuts in a stocking signify?! I think I am kind of confused...

Huh?

You have a stocking for each kid. You put stuff in there, toys or candy or whatever. Stuff you don't want to wrap. It doesn't signify anything.

I know what STOCKINGS are!! I know how stockings WORK!! HAHHHHH! Gosh, you crack me up!

What is the deal with the walnut?? Like, coal in the stocking means you've been bad. What do walnuts mean? Or WHY walnuts? Why not chesnuts, or hazelnuts, or brazil nuts? Or why not chocolate, or dates, or something else?

meether369 wrote:I know what STOCKINGS are!! I know how stockings WORK!! HAHHHHH! Gosh, you crack me up!
What is the deal with the walnut?? Like, coal in the stocking means you've been bad. What do walnuts mean? Or WHY walnuts? Why not chesnuts, or hazelnuts, or brazil nuts? Or why not chocolate, or dates, or something else?

You say you know how they work, but you are looking for symbolism or something, and I have never had a stocking stuff that signified anything. Thus my simplified explanation.

There is no deal. I have no idea why my mom put them in there when I was 4. That was 4 decades ago. My guess is she didn't just want to put junk food in there. Point is that for whatever reason, I thought it was cool to have walnuts, to break out the hammer and crack them open, etc. Might seem like work to a grown-up like yourself, but to a kid, it's cool. And to this day, my kids look forward to it every year.

For the record, they do get some candy and small toys, too. Walnuts is just the thing that has, for some reason, been a hit.

James, from now on i will refer (not reefer Bob) to as either nutsocks or socknuts!

adult - giving till it hurts.
child - eating till it hurt.

meether369 wrote:

Angie wrote: And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

That's how we open gifts too. We start with the oldest person in the room and go down, too.

we start with the youngest and work up, because the youngest one can't wait!

Angie wrote:

meether369 wrote:

Angie wrote: And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

That's how we open gifts too. We start with the oldest person in the room and go down, too.

we start with the youngest and work up, because the youngest one can't wait!

Yeah, I always thought oldest to youngest was a load of crap. Mostly because I was the youngest on both sides of my family until I was 15.

I was the youngest too, until I married into Nate's family, where only he and his parents are older than me.

JamesWilliams wrote:

meether369 wrote:I know what STOCKINGS are!! I know how stockings WORK!! HAHHHHH! Gosh, you crack me up!
What is the deal with the walnut?? Like, coal in the stocking means you've been bad. What do walnuts mean? Or WHY walnuts? Why not chesnuts, or hazelnuts, or brazil nuts? Or why not chocolate, or dates, or something else?

You say you know how they work, but you are looking for symbolism or something, and I have never had a stocking stuff that signified anything. Thus my simplified explanation.

There is no deal. I have no idea why my mom put them in there when I was 4. That was 4 decades ago. My guess is she didn't just want to put junk food in there. Point is that for whatever reason, I thought it was cool to have walnuts, to break out the hammer and crack them open, etc. Might seem like work to a grown-up like yourself, but to a kid, it's cool. And to this day, my kids look forward to it every year.

For the record, they do get some candy and small toys, too. Walnuts is just the thing that has, for some reason, been a hit.

Hah! Been a hit!

Ok, I get it now. Thank you for a more in-depth explanation! It does indeed sound fun!

Angie wrote:

meether369 wrote:

Angie wrote: And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

That's how we open gifts too. We start with the oldest person in the room and go down, too.

we start with the youngest and work up, because the youngest one can't wait! :)

Well, we do it to make my Grandma feel honored...she cares about things like that.

meether369 wrote:

Angie wrote:

meether369 wrote:

Angie wrote: And no one is allowed to open gifts at the same time unless it is a duplicate gift, then they sit back to back to open them.

That's how we open gifts too. We start with the oldest person in the room and go down, too.

we start with the youngest and work up, because the youngest one can't wait!

Well, we do it to make my Grandma feel honored...she cares about things like that.

Well that makes sense, is it explained to the younger kids (or was it if there aren't currently any younger kids)?
When I was little the youngest kids (re: me) went last because (according to my mom's mom and sister) they were spoiled rotten bad kids that never appreciated anything and would just ruin Christmas for everyone if they were permitted to go first. So I'm just not a fan for that reason

we don't celebrate with any extended family, so we don't have to honor any of them!

meether369 wrote:

JamesWilliams wrote:

meether369 wrote:I know what STOCKINGS are!! I know how stockings WORK!! HAHHHHH! Gosh, you crack me up!
What is the deal with the walnut?? Like, coal in the stocking means you've been bad. What do walnuts mean? Or WHY walnuts? Why not chesnuts, or hazelnuts, or brazil nuts? Or why not chocolate, or dates, or something else?

You say you know how they work, but you are looking for symbolism or something, and I have never had a stocking stuff that signified anything. Thus my simplified explanation.

There is no deal. I have no idea why my mom put them in there when I was 4. That was 4 decades ago. My guess is she didn't just want to put junk food in there. Point is that for whatever reason, I thought it was cool to have walnuts, to break out the hammer and crack them open, etc. Might seem like work to a grown-up like yourself, but to a kid, it's cool. And to this day, my kids look forward to it every year.

For the record, they do get some candy and small toys, too. Walnuts is just the thing that has, for some reason, been a hit.

Hah! Been a hit!

Ok, I get it now. Thank you for a more in-depth explanation! It does indeed sound fun!

for the record, I do think some countries use symbolism for their stocking stuffers...

we always got oranges and nuts...

Yeah, they do, that's why I asked.

I just watched Jonny Lee Miller on LNWJF and they were had Christmas Crackers because he is English and I started thinking it would be really cool if I had a family with kids in it, to every year, do Christmas like they would in a different country. Like, go ALL out! I bet with online shopping as it is, you could really get the stuff, etc. Man, that would be so fun!

Since I don't want kids, I'm just hoping for the time and friends to be able to do Christmas parties like that every year. I've always wanted to have an annual Christmas party, but my schedule over the last 7 years hasn't allowed the time for that sort of thing.