Christmas Traditions

Every family has their own Christmas traditions. Mine was no different than any other. Here are some of the things I remember from growing up that made the holidays so special!

Sibling Gift Exchange

First, I have to say that I grew up with 2 brothers and 2 sisters and each Christmas Eve evening my Mom and Dad would allow us to open one present from a sibling to hold us over until Christmas morning. I always picked the gift from my older brother. We were around the same age and liked the same things, so I was almost guaranteed to get something I liked. Myself on the other hand would buy gifts for my brothers and sisters at the school store. These "gifts" would include large jumbo erasers (Am I the only one who loved the smell of those things?), keychains and pencil sharpeners shaped like historical items.

In all honesty, I thought they were great gifts, I'm not too sure anyone else thought so though?

Opening Christmas Stockings

Every Christmas morning us kids were able to open the gifts that were in our stockings before our parents woke up. Looking back, I can see this as a brilliant idea from my parents. It allowed us kids to wake up early and it gave my parents some extra time to sleep while we played with our new toys that were stuffed in the stockings.

I remember one year getting an Al Toon Starting Lineup figure and some small Transformers that kept me and my brother busy for a while before we got prepped and ready to annoy our parents enough to wake up.

Early Morning Television

This really isn't a tradition in the classical sense, but every Christmas morning when we would wake up the TV would go on. It didn't matter what was on the tube, it was almost like a kid reflex. We only got 7 or 8 channels back in the day and most of the time the local stations just ran pre-recorded news programs.

The one I remember most were the "Shame on You" specials hosted by Arnold Diaz! I always loved watching that guy get kicked out of places after arguing with corrupt store owners. That sound is still the unofficial Christmas Carol of my childhood.

The Making of the Coffee

So after we opened our stocking gifts, but before we annoyed our parents to wake up so we could unwrap gifts, us kids had to make a pot of coffee for my parents. It was one of those things that had to be done so they would get out of bed and we could tear into the goodies under the tree. Finally the parents would be awake and we would go nuts with wrapping paper, ribbons and boxes flying everywhere across the living room. It was so great and I hope my kids have the same fantastic nostalgia of Christmas morning when they grow up. It truly is the best time of the year! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

What are some of your cherished childhood memories or traditions? Let us know in the comment section below and spread some holiday cheer!