Friday, December 17, 2010

Friday, December 17th

What Esperanza wanted more than anything was a place to call home. What holiday traditions do you have that give you a memorable sense of home? What do you and your friends and/or family do during this season? Was there a time when you received a special gift or when someone else received something special?

Today, share some of your traditions and special times. Explain what makes these memories so nice for you.

64 comments:

mmatysak said...

Christmas Eve was always a fun time in my family. It was just usually me, my brother, my mom, and my dad. We would eat a yummy dinner, get in our jammies, and then watch a movie together. Right before we went to bed we would each get to choose one stocking stuffer to open, and if my mom had her way, she got to choose which one. In my family, sometimes the stocking stuffers can be even better than the gifts under the tree!

Anonymous said...

Melani
Christmas day is when we get to open our presents and spend time with family and friends. We bake cookies and sometimes even sit by a warm, cozy fire.

Anonymous said...

Dakota

My family gose christmas charloing which i cant spell and they put the gifts under the tree and we have a large dinner with all my famly and then the test of my leave and my little sister wait by the tree wait for santa thats what happends on christmas eve for my family like a regular chirstmas tradition

Anonymous said...

austin


To me there is no place like home for christmas because its a time where all of the family sets apart there differeces and comes to gether for the holiday and we dont get special gift just waht we need or want because christmas is't all about the gifts or getting somthing its about being thankful for what you have and being together

Anonymous said...

Emily
on Christmas Eve my aunt, cousin, uncle, mom, brother, grandpa, grandma, and me all open our christmas presents then on Christmas day we just have dinner and we all watch movies or play games as a family together

Anonymous said...

Meagan,
During Christmas Eve was when my whole Family would be together, usually we would eat dinner and then we would watch some family video's and then we would open our presents after that we would watch a movie and take our gifts home. On Christamas day was when i would have Christmas at my mom's and my Dad's. I would wake up on Christmas morning and open my presents at my Dad's then I would go to my mom's and eat dinner and then open up gifts there. Christmas time is usually our family holiday.

Anonymous said...

Shawn
When my family celebrates christmas my brother and sister that live in West Virginia usually come over and we have a big christmas tree and have tons of gifts under it because we have a big family at our house on Christmas.

Anonymous said...

Melani
Emily, your soo lucky. On Christmas eve at our house we get to choose one present thats under the tree and we get to open it.

Anonymous said...

Emily
Melani we didnt always get to but my grandma said shes tired of all of us opening our gifts while she is stuck doing dishes or cleaning so we have to open them then

Anonymous said...

Chance

Christmas Eve is also what I'm going to chose. My dad comes up and stays for 4 or 5 days but usually we go out to see a movie and out to dinner. It makes it even more special because I only get 2 months out of the year with him and usually I don't see him for the whole 2 months. After we return from the movie we come back and hang out with the rest of the family or we may go sledding. Towards night time before we go to bed we get to chose one present and open it. Basically around Christmas is the most fun I have during December.

Anonymous said...

Emily
Dakota does your sister wait all night by the christmas tree because how you put it it sounds like it

Anonymous said...

Melani
Emily well thats kind of funny because my grandmother feals the same way but she would rather see us open them on Christmas morning instead of Christmas Eve.

Anonymous said...

Christian Jimenez
every winter me and my family put up a great big tree with lots of ornaments and lights on it. on the night before christmas we wear pajames and we will eat a snack and read a story about the birth of jesus crist.
and i agree with mrs matysak abou the stockings can be even better then the gifts under the tree! christmas is a good and rememberable holiday. everyone have a great christmas!

mmatysak said...

I loved Christmas mornings as a kid. My brother and I would be waiting and waiting, and of course my dad was "sleeping in." He would make us wait forever!! We would get so annoying that he had to get up!

Anonymous said...

Dakota

yes she try to but she falls a sleep at 12:00

Anonymous said...

Chance@Emily
Emily, that sounds like the most fun you could have almost the whole year as a family.

Anonymous said...

Emily
Melani i dont really know why we dont wait and just have dinner on christmas eve but i live with her so i cant say anything about it i guess

Anonymous said...

Nikki,
Every christmas eve me my sisters and brother and their children go to my dads house and have christmas. Then Chelsea and I go back to our moms and we help her wrap presents and stay up late drinking hot chocolate:). I think that every gift someone gives is special, because you should be grateful that they even gave you something. Although i do think that Christmas is over-rate. I think this because some people think it's all about the presents and it's not. It's about much more than that.

Anonymous said...

bradi

my family dosnt have any traditins and so all we do is open gifts on chistmas morning and that is about it.

Anonymous said...

austin

me and my brother just go to the tree and pick out wich one we think is the coolest and say wake up its christmas and then open it then get nagged at for not waiting and i now houw you feel mrs matysak

Anonymous said...

Emily@Chance
thats the only time my family doesnt fight we actually just act like a family

Anonymous said...

Chance@Mrs. Matysak

Oh yeah I hated that when I was little too. My mom and dad would always try to sleep in but as the years gone by(e) they eventually learned that we weren't waiting until noon to open presents. lol

Anonymous said...

Brandon
the only tradition we have is we all have to make something to put on the tree

mmatysak said...

Nicole, I agree it's not just about the presents!! It's about spending time with your loved ones!

Anonymous said...

tyler.

The only triditional thing my family does is have Christmas dinner at my aunts house then all the kids watch how the grinch stole christmas, thas about it.

Anonymous said...

Nikki@Meagan,
Your Christmas morning sounds identical to mine. We open presents at one parents house then go to the other ones and open more.

mmatysak said...

Chance-
I'm never going to be one of "those" parents. I like opening gifts probably as much as Brady does!

Anonymous said...

Brandon
oh and we open one present on christmas eve

mmatysak said...

Bradon - like what?

mmatysak said...

Now that my parents are divorced, Christmas Day never feels the same because the whole "family" is not together!

Anonymous said...

Sean-John
Befor my step mom came we would always go to china garden and get a bunch of food on Christmass eve. And now that she is gone we will more then likly do the same:).

Anonymous said...

Nikki@Matysak,
Yes it is about spending time with your family. Not about the presents. I'm not saying that the presents airn't a good thing, but some people make Christmas a little to over-rated.

Anonymous said...

Sean-John to Mrs.Matysak
thats how i felt to when my parents broke up.

Anonymous said...

Meagan to Nikki,
Yeah, your sounds like mine too me and my sister stay up all night and drink hot chocolate too, that crazy how they are almost the exact haha

mmatysak said...

Nikki- I was agreeing with you!

Anonymous said...

Shayla,
On Chirstmas Eve we get to open up one present and the next day on christmas day we get to open up the rest of them. After we open our girts we all gather up with the family and have a christmas dinner(:

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth,
On Christmas eve we usually get to pick one present from the tree, then on Christmas my dad or brother passes the gifts out and we will go to my grandmas and have a family dinner.

Anonymous said...

Brandon
MRS.Matysak like a ortiment made of what ever we waunt and what ever we waunt it to be

Anonymous said...

Isaiah
On Christmas eve we usually go to my uncles house where the whole have christmas eve at. My Parents , uncles and aunts usually get one present for eveybody and he have a dinner and we sit around in the living room and talk about stuff. Then when we are down we put the presents in the car and then leave. Then my sister trys to staay up all night to see how late see can stay up so she can see what she got for christmas.

Anonymous said...

Jake Ryan
A holiday tradition that gives me a memorable sense of home would have to be the movie A Christmas Story. My family seems to watch it every year. During this season my family usally gets together to celebrate Christmas. At the moment I can not recall any time i received a "special" gift.

Anonymous said...

Taylor;
On Christmas Eve our whole family gathers at my aunts house in Plymouth. We have a dinner and just sit around in talk. We play a bunch of games, we also have a gift exchange which at our thanksgiving dinner we draw names. We usualy put a Christmas tree up but this year we didn't. Then on Christmas day every goes to my grandma's house, then we go out for breakfast. Then my cousin and I usualy stay with my grandma the rest of break. Unless its my days year to have us which then we just g=have a dinner at our house.

Anonymous said...

i have never really had a christmas with my dad

mmatysak said...

Sean-John,
But hey, you have to make the most of the day, right? It's important to create new, happy memories too!

mmatysak said...

Jake, you kinda remind me of the kid from Christmas story : )

mmatysak said...

Anonymous - : (

Anonymous said...

Nikki@Matysak,
I know you were, I was just restating what we were agreeing about.:)

Anonymous said...

Chance@Emily
Yeah I hear you on the fighting part. You should see what my family household is like. It's not pretty....at all.

Chance@Mrs. Matysak
Yeah let's hope not!
I have a little cousin that's 3 and when he gets presents his eyes start bulging out of his head and he has the biggest grin. But now as everyone is older it's getting so hard to think of things for Christmas.

Anonymous said...

ya

Anonymous said...

Sean-John
Indeed Mrs.Matysak.

mmatysak said...

hot chocolate sounds yummy, I'm so lucky that I happened to get some today!

Anonymous said...

ya never

mmatysak said...

Chance - that's the best part- coming up with creative and meaningful gifts!!

Anonymous said...

Emily@Chance
its normally just my mom fighting with everyone since my step dad never comes

Anonymous said...

Jake Ryan
mmatysak, How so?

Anonymous said...

Sean-John
Mrs.Matysak, you are telling me that, you have hot chocolate..........AND YOUR NOT SHARING IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >(

mmatysak said...

The hot chocolate powder!! It's not like I have a hot water dispenser back here!

Anonymous said...

Melani
Elizabeth, your family does like the same thing mine does(:

Anonymous said...

Nikki@Sean-john,
I agree with you big cousin. She has hot chocolate and is not sharing:(

mmatysak said...

Jake - how do you not see the connection?

Anonymous said...

Sean-John
so i can still find some hot water.

Anonymous said...

Mason
My whole family meets at my great grandpas and that kinda makes me feel at home for some reason. My special gift was probably my first drumset ever.

mmatysak said...

Jake-
You've never received a "special" present? What does that mean? None have been meaningful?

Anonymous said...

Jake Ryan
mmatysak, what connection?

mmatysak said...

Sean-John,
Nope! I'm selfish!