TY CGT I think so :)

Eliza,

Our Christmas traditions are realized rather like a Japanese Noh play.

On the first Saturday of Advent, we cut down our Christmas tree, and decorate the front of our house. On the third Saturday of Advent, we bake the myriad Christmas cookies. Many new words are invented then! We decorate our Christmas tree on the last Saturday of Advent.

Each Sunday of Advent, we light the appropriate candles of the Advent Wreath at dinner, and read aloud the corresponding prayer.

Christmas Eve is packed. When the family was young, I read “The Night Before Christmas” to the children, then later we moved on to Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. We attend Midnight Mass. After the kinder are asleep, Santa leaves presents.

On Christmas Day, we each open one present before Mass, leaving the children tingling in anticipation until after the Christchild has been again welcomed. Finally, the Madding Crowd descends upon Chaos Manor in the afternoon for a family gift giving and feast.

Well just to throw a loop into things, we celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in my house.

For Chanukah we do brunch with the immediate family - my one last grandparent, my parents and my sister and brother-in-law (who also celebrate both) and light the Menorah for each of the 8 nights. We eat latkes with apple sauce and usually, bagels, cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon)

My wife gives me my gifts for Chanukah and I give her a token gift or 2 and the rest of us exchange gifts as well.

For Christmas, we have my wife's mom and aunt, my parents, sister and brother in law and my best friend and his wife (who also celebrate both) up to my house for Chinese Food - a somewhat Jewish Christmas tradition. After dinner, we all sit around the tree in my living room and exhange the gifts we bought for each other (except for my wife's family....)

Christmas Day with only my wife's Mom and Aunt starts bright and early with coffee, cinnamon buns and stockings.We then follow it up with a full breakfast and get dinner in the oven....then back to the tree for gift exchange (where I give my wife her gifts and she gives me a token gift).

Then we spend a day together and finish it up with a full Christmas dinner with enough food to feed at least double the 4 people who will eat it.

And that's that.