I just love the beginning of a new giveaway. Everyone is excited, the images are fresh and it’s just fun giving stuff away.
I’ll admit I was a bit of a loss as to what to giveaway for December, but decided that everyone loves money, right? So, I’m giving away a gift card.
An Amazon $30 gift card to be precise. So, all you need to do is tell me what is something unique or fun that you do or have done for the Holidays. Let’s share some great holiday fun.
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PJ Fiala has published dozens of books and is carving her own unique niche in the romance genre, with authentic characters and dramatic storylines, often derived from her unique experiences.
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We always let our daughter pick a child from the angel tree network to buy Christmas presents… she loves going and picking stuff out… She loves giving to others!!!
That’s awesome. You are raising her to be a good citizen and care for others. Congratulations to you.
Thank you!!
Not sure if it’s unique, but my husband and also get ‘Santa’ presents. We have 3 daughters, 14 yr old, 8 yr old, and a 4 yr old. We keep Santa alive in their hearts until their 10th bday, in which I take her out to eat and tell her the truth about him, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. So, to keep it up Mommy and Daddy need to get gifts too because they have been good all year. We only wrap gifts to each other, and clothes for the kids, and open those Christmas Eve. Then Christmas morning we all have a little setup in the spots we normally sit at in the living room with all of our ‘Santa’ gifts and our stuffed stocking. The years we cannot afford much my husband and I take the hit and say something like we were bad because we didn’t eat our vegetables or clean this or that. And they have a wonderful Christmas dinner, even eating their veggies.
That’s an awesome story Corey and a wonderful Christmas memory for your kids too.
We have a tradition in our family when all the kids come home for Christmas we take time out and pick one night to all go to the movies. This year we will see another Star Wars movie. Also each family picks some place or someone to donate to at Christmas and then we all tell who or where we donated to on Christmas morning.
I love that Charlette. Donating and spending time together is the true Christmas spirit.
I have gone to our local zoo and adopted an animal for Christmas and bought them Christmas presents.
Awww, that’s so sweet. Thank you for doing that.
Each year I make some special treats for my pack of Terrier mixes. Smell like people treats. lol.
That’s great Debbie. Furbabies need treats at Christmas too.
I make some kind of homemade goodies for my neighbors.
Aww, that’s super nice of you.
Managed to get along with my brother for his whole visit!
Now that’s a great start to the Holiday season!!!!
I always get brass ornaments & engrave my kids’ names on them each year. When they are adults, they will get all of their ornaments to have for their own tree.
Oh, that so awesome. Care to share a picture?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8d3d733752a9fae1a65c7b90724d6354a54890a576cefa9f5b08a64d52df096e.jpg
Oh, those are awesome. What lovely keepsakes. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! My parents used to do this for my sister & me too.
Awww. That’s fantastic. I’m sharing this idea with my daughters-in-law.
Wal-Mart sells the ornaments for $3-$5 & before I had my own engraving gun, I would take the ornaments to the jewelry counter & they would let me use their engraving gun.
The ornaments from the previous years are still packed away but these ones are the current ones for this year.
We always pick out Hallmark ornaments and then decorate our tree together:)
Aww, that’s so nice. Together time.
<3
The first present my tree is Chocolate Covered Cherries for the men in my life!
Awww, that’s awesome. Any special brand?
I make rumballs for the holidays.
Oh gosh, I just love rum balls but haven’t found a good recipe. Do you feel like sharing?
I go to NYC to take pictures at the Rockfeller center and all the store windows.
I’ll bet that’s beautiful. Do you have a favorite picture from over the years?
I started a few years back. I have pictures too.
Our tradition is a lazy Christmas morning then going out for Chinese for dinner. Lazy all around!
After all the furor of the days preceding, that sounds lovely.
We would always open gifts from each other on Christmas Eve, which was always new pajamas. Then on Christmas morning, my father would wake us up with his movie camera, which had these two big spotlights on the front. He would then follow us with it into the den to see what Santa brought.
Awww, do you have those movies preserved so you can show them to your kids and grandkids? Hate to lose those precious memories.
We had them transferred to VHS at one time. We were talking over Thanksgiving that we need to convert them to newer technology.
We always have a Christmas Eve buffet. We go to church afterwards and then the kids get to open up one present. If there is a good family movie on we will watch that too.
That’s wonderful. Love the Christmas movies.
We all get together for Christmas Eve dinner and after dinner one of the adults dress up as Santa and passes out presents and take pictures.
That’s cool. Is there always a Santa volunteer or do you have to draw straws?
The guys rotate turns
Great idea.
When I was young, my siblings and I would go caroling around the village. We would sing one or two Christmas songs per house and our kind and tolerant neighbors would give us some money for our efforts. When we get tired from all the singing and walking, we head home, count our loot, and divide it equally 🙂
That’s fun. People don’t seem to carol around here. I haven’t heard a caroler in years, but they are fun. Good for you.
Yes, it was fun! We usually did it at night. While walking from house to house, it was also fun to watch the colorful dancing lights and other cool Christmas decor.
Oh yeah, that would be nice and certainly festive.
Thank you for making this offer. Thinking about making a wall X-mas tree using Sashay yarn and small glass ball tree ornaments, left over single earrings.
That will be very pretty.
I go to the beach.
That sounds very nice – warm too.
I like to bake cookies and other treats to share with friends and family.
Aww, that’s wonderful.
We go mummering. Its a NL tradition.
Thank you, but I must ask, what is mummering?
One year, my mom decided to take us all caroling. By “us all”, all the kids in our family, she was 1 of 10 children. We practiced every day after school and on Christmas eve, we went walking through our neighborhood singing, and yes, we did knock on some doors to sing for people we knew. We live in Indiana, so yes, it was snowing and we had about a foot already on the ground. I was about 9 then, now at 43 I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
That’s a great family memory. Thank you so much for sharing.
We have a pickle ornament that Santa hides on our tree when he comes Christmas Eve and the first person to find it Christmas morning gets and extra gift! Everyone in our family has one…my grandparents, my mom, sister, aunts…it’s a fun Christmas morning competition for us!
Now that’s a fun idea. Thank you for sharing.
One of the best memories I have is waiting for the kids to fall asleep and calling my mom so Santa could bring the presents down. I would sprinkle babypowder on the floor and put big boots on and make Santa footprints in the powder.
Terri, that sounds like so much fun.
I PJ – One of my memories is caroling, like Angie; I live in Indiana & we usually have snow for Christmas. But, we also went sledding down some awesome hills with the children while the older ones cheer them on. Enjoy the Holidays!!!!
Caroling sounds like so much fun. The sledding does too.
We make Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas Eve and decorate it. Then on Christmas we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Blow out the Candle (we only put one on it) together. Then we say together “We are not blowing out the light of this world, we are taking him into our hearts.”
That’s beautiful.
Thank You. My Father’s mom (my grandmother who passed away long before I was born) started the tradition, then my Dad continued it on, and now I continue it on. Some traditions are meant to be carried on and shared.
We like to bake cookies, make fudge and have a sweet exchange.
That’s wonderful.
We bake extra cookies and take them to a nursing home each year.
That’s wonderful Nancy.
Every year my son and I decorate the inside of the house while my husband goes all Clark Griswold on the outside. Then, I take my son to the store to pick out a new ornament. We’ve been doing it for probably 5 years now. He gets one new one each year and it is super fun to see what he picks out!
I’ll bet it is fun watching the ornaments your son picks. You can see how he matures by what he picks each year. Good for you for doing something you’ll both always remember.
He definitely picks some very unique ones!
We decorate the house, watch Christmas movies, and try and guess what the other person got us. My husband is unusually good at this game. lol. Thank you!
That sounds fun.
Nothing too unique about how we celebrate. We usually get a tiny tree, drink hot cocoa and/or egg nog, watch The Grinch (the Jim Carrey version), and go out to look at Christmas lights. We also do a present on Christmas Eve usually (for the years we do more than one present).
That sounds very nice.
My family likes to take a Christmas vacation together instead of exchanging gifts.
Awesome. Where are you going this year?
We’re pretty boring around here. With no kids, and me working just about every holiday, we don’t get out much this time of year. We usually just buy one large present for the 2 of us, instead of trying to figure out what to buy each other.
That’s what we do as well. 🙂
Going Christmas caroling. Piling into the back of a truck and going to see elderly people.
That sounds very nice and I’ll bet the elderly love seeing you all.
We like to trim the tree together while listening to Christmas music, and bake our own Christmas cookies for our family.
Lovely and festive.
We like to pile into the car and ride around after dark looking at all the beautiful lights & decorations that folks put up in their yards & on their houses 🙂
Yeah, we enjoy that as well. Some people are very creative.
We enjoy driving around town & looking at all the lights & displays.
Yes, so pretty.
I like inviting my friends over to bake gingerbread cookies. We have a lot of fun catching up with each other while decorating the cookies (and laughing at the misshapen ones)!
Yes, getting together and having a baking day is awesome.
Every year on Christmas Eve we bake cookies all day then have an early dinner. Then we watch Polar Express while eating cookies. Just before bed my husband reads A Cajun Night Before Christmas, in his Cajun accent and it is great. It is a day of family time and I love it.
Oh, that sounds like a fantastic day. Thanks for sharing Corey.
My son was born on Christmas Eve. As a child he hated it because no one could come to a birthday party on Christmas Eve, so we chose a day earlier in the month to celebrate with his friends. Now as an adult we have a family dinner on Christmas Eve and celebrate both.
That’s nice that you found a work-around and doubly nice now that he celebrates with the whole family for his birthday and Christmas.
We immigrated from Ireland just before my Son was born and so on Christmas Eve, Santa used to deliver PJs on his way to Ireland as a message that he would be back. Kids were delighted & the tradition still continues…even though they are grown up!! Anyone in the house Xmas Eve receives PJs from Santa 🙂
Oh, that’s a great tradition. I’ll bet seeing pictures through the years in the PJ’s is awesome.
When the kids were little, they had more fun with the boxes and wrapping paper than they did the gifts. They had such an imagination as to what they could use the boxes for but they came up with a train. Coloring the boxes and sitting in them was so cute.
I’ll bet that was cute. Yes, we’ve always commented that the boxes seem like more fun than the toys that came in them.
hmmm. didn’t get an entry in the Dec. giveaway..
We enjoy getting together on Christmas Eve to open gifts!
That sounds like fun. If you commented here, you’ve been entered.
Thank you for the giveaway. Every year, my grandchildren and I make ornaments that they can take home and put on the tree. I did this with my children as well and they still have and use them.
Now that’s a great thing to do and let them have keepsakes. Awesome.
There is a walk to Bethlehem. It starts when ‘Mary’ rides her horse up the hill from the nearby stable. She and Joseph procede down the street, stopping at the 4 churches along the way. There are carols sung with the church choir or high school chorus, a sermon by the priest or minister at each stop, the 2nd stop adds shepherds, the third Magi, the fourth serves refreshments afterwards.
I’ll bet that is beautiful. What a great way to celebrate the birth of our Lord.
We always pile everyone in the car & drive around after dark admiring all the Christmas lights & decorations in people’s yards.
That’s a fun night. I’m always impressed with how some people go all out on their Christmas decorations and so fun to view. Have a great time looking at the lights!
Christmas used to be a family holiday, but after my father died it’s not the same. Now I always go to a new place for Christmas. Last year it was Vietnam, this year it will be Iceland. I can’t wait.
Sorry for your loss, it’s never easy losing someone close to you.
Have fun in Iceland – I’ve heard its beautiful.
We hang a stocking for Jesus that thru the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve get’s filled with notes about things we are thankful for or wishes we have not for ourselves but someone else for the new year and on Christmas Eve after dinner we sit down and read the notes as a family.
I absolutely LOVE this idea. Thank you for sharing.
We always have Yorkshire pudding and pull crackers after eating. We also have mincemeat pies and plum pudding with custard many years. My mother in law is British and like to have some of the traditions she grew up with.
That’s awesome that you celebrate and include your M-I-L’s traditions. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Back in the day (as kids today say) it was customary for parents to name their newborns after saints. On the saint’s feast day a special meal was made for the child bearing the saint’s name. My husband’s special day falls on New Year’s eve so every year I prepare gnocchi and sausage for him. Sadly this custom has disappeared over time.
Oh, that is sad. But, have new traditions replaced it?
We no longer have any special things we do at Christmas. We celebrate Jesus,but except when Christmas falls on Sunday,it’s pretty much just another day.
That happens sometimes. Merry Christmas.
Happy Christmas to you,too.
Baking cookies today with my daughter, my niece and my sister. Double recipes for gingerbread cookies, springerlis, and peppermint meringue. Yes, 4 women, one kitchen, roll and cut men. Roll press and cut then airdry 8 hours, roll/crush candy canes, whip and fold.
That sounds like a lot of fun. Bet the kitchen smelled awesome!
Just enjoyed Christmas!
Yay! Glad you were able to enjoy!
My Mom always made pecan rolls that were so good. We would make about 10 dozen and give them as gifts.
I just love pecan rolls. ❤️ I’ll bet your recipients do too.
We are huge Disney fans, so every Dec. we spend some time in Disney World, view the decorations, watch the Candleight Procession, then go spend Christmas with my daughters in Tampa.
That sounds like a lovely way to spend Christmas. Warm too.
My niece is 3, so we thought we’do try new traditions with her and went to Disneyland for the holiday season. She loves Christmas so it was even more exciting when she saw all her favorite characters wearing Christmas outfits.
Aww, Christmas through the eyes of a child is so much better. Awesome.
We started a new tradition of chopping down a real tree a couple years ago. Not exactly unique, but it’s special to us.
All that matters is that it’s special to you.
We allow the kids to open one small gift Christmas Eve and my husband makes this punch also with Ginger Ale, sherbet ice cream and Hawaiian Punch.
Yum. I’ll bet that’s delicious. That’s sweet that you let the kids open a gift on Christmas Eve.
My husband’s mother used to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, now that she is gone, I’ve started doing that.
Cinnamon rolls are the best. Kudos to you for picking up the tradition.
We don’t have traditions anymore but as a kid we’d get together with ALL our cousins, aunts, uncles and have a blast. These days, it’s just the hubs and I so things are quiet…not a bad thing, just different!
Yep, peaceful and quiet can be very nice indeed.
Shared on FB, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest!! 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much Debbie.
Every Christmas Eve my grandmother would hold an open house supper. That meant from 5 to 10pm anyone was welcome to come by and would find the table full of delicious foods from potato salad to chicken spread to ham and home made biscuits and fruits and vegetables, and don’t forget the cookies! She came over from Germany as a little girl, and still made Springerle cookies, lace cookies, kringlas, and other cookies from her native country. This was a time family and friends looked forward to and would sit and eat and talk for hours. All of my married life I have tried to have a Christmas Eve dinner and invite family, friends, and any “strays” I knew of that didn’t have any place to go and celebrate that evening. The most important dessert on her table and mine is always a pound cake made in a ring with a candle in the center- Baby Jesus’ birthday cake.
Oh, I love that you invite so many people over. How sweet of you. And the pound cake for Baby Jesus is so special.
This Christmas was a bit lite, since many family members were not local or out of state, but it was delightful. Christmas Eve at our favorite restaurant, McDonalds and Starbucks for Christmas morning, opening presents with my husband, and a visit from my niece. My husband was so sweet, too. He found a coffee mug with “I Love You More” on it…his favorite saying, and a painting from my favorite contemporary artist…Red Grapes! The perfect subject for wine country. It was a happy Christmas!
Aww, sounds like a perfectly perfect Christmas. Sounds like you have a keeper in your hubby. Good for you.
He sure is…
Spent Christmas eve making tamales by myself, lol. Not something I have done on my own before.
Doing something new is fun. Good for you on the tamales, I’ve never made them before.
The whole family cooks. I go from house to house helping my family cook. I love spending time with my Mom, nephews, aunt & cousin during this time. This year I couldn’t do it because my aunt had a heart attack. Christmas didn’t feel right. But she’s fine & I was able to make her dish she brings on Christmas because I go & help her every year. This made her very happy!!!! We also play games which is a lot of fun!
Wow, you are a busy lady. Glad your aunt is doing well and good for you for helping her.
We always have a Jesus’s birthday party on Christmas Eve. My Mom started it when we were babies and we still do it together every year.
I love that. That’s a fantastic tradition.
We all get one small gift. And have cake and ice cream.
Thank you! Cooking, baking, decorating the tree with kiddos, and making ornaments.
Sounds busy, exciting and fun.
I love inviting family, friends and neighbors for mini “soirees”. That way my Techie Guy and I can really enjoy the group. It makes me happy.
That sounds super fun.
Hi, I’m sad. It would not take my entry. But I shared.
Did you get an error message?
No but when I checked I already had entries so I am a happy girl. Thanks, Jo
Glad it worked. Technology can be fickle.
Thank you and Happy New Year!!!
My family is not big on going out or throwing parties. So we make snacks and get sodas and pick movies and sit around watching together.
Favorite part of Christmas? Being together with our kids & now our grandsons. One is 3 & the other will be 10 weeks tomorrow.
On Christmas Eve we open a gift that has hot cocoa mix, popcorn, Christmas pjs, Christmas movie and a Christmas book in it. Then we snuggle up together with our goodies and new pjs and spend some quality time together.