My Family's Christmas Eve Tradition

Since I was born my family has gone to my Grandma's for Christmas Eve. It is a great tradition that carried on when I had children as well.

We usually arrive in the early afternoon to visit and play games. My grandmother and whoever helps her cooks dinner which consists of ham and broccoli soup.

The family that comes is my cousins,aunts and uncles. We have been a close family. It is nice to get together and see everyone on Christmas Eve.

We usually try to get everyone a present and at the least the children get presents. When we open presents which usually starts after dinner, about 6 or 6 p.m. we start with the youngest first to the oldest last.

We have had funny times through the years but always it is enjoyable.

Play it while you are here

When I was younger we wore fancy dresses and everyone dressed up for Christmas (the 1970s)

We relaxed about how we dressed as the years went by.

I used to dress my girls alike some years like in this picture.

Have a good camera for taking pictures. This is the one I have now.

My senior year of high school my friends and I went to the Rose Parade. We got there two nights before New Year's Day and stayed on the sidewalk, giving us front row seats.

The Rose Parade is in Pasadena, CA which was about an hour or so from where we all lived in Orange County, CA.

It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun.

Going to see Santa is another great pastime I did when my girls were younger. As teenagers they no longer want to go see Santa. They grow up in the blink of an eye.

This Santa visit was in a place in Lake Elsinore, CA called Tom's Farms. It is a fun place to go to and hang out.

One year when my girls were toddlers my stepdad dressed up as Santa with a bag full of presents for the girls. My oldest daughter was so amazed by the ordeal, but right away they both said Papa is dressed up like Santa.

It was fun and funny that they could not be fooled.