Celebrating Christmas on a different day

We celebrate Christmas at my Father in laws house on a different day then Christmas Day. Since my husbands parents are divorced it has been this way for a good couple of years before the kids where born so they are keeping it this way so it's easier on everyone and we don't have to feel the need to rush to 4 different house. We still have to go to 3 different house. So it's I hated because it does get tiring because they want us to come and they don't always understand that we have other things that we need to do because it's more important then this random day out of the year that isn't Christmas to celebrate Christmas.

I remember one year and I was much younger 10-12 years old and school had just gotten out for the winter break. My parents had already bought all of our gifts for the year, which included snow pants and boots. Well, my Dad was anxious for us to have these items to help keep us warm during the playtime outside, so we celebrated Christmas early. We opened all our gifts that evening after school was out. It was okay, because that didn't mean the celebration of Christmas was over, it's just that he wanted us to have those gifts right away. I can see your dilemma though, making two trips instead of just the one, but maybe you could celebrate early with both families? While you are down there? Sometimes it's okay to break traditions and start new traditions, you'll get to have a new tradition on the actual holiday with your own family. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

My extended family usually spend a day early in Dec. to celebrate so we can all be with our families on Christmas....but this year we are waiting until after the 1st of the year...and I am happy about it. Less stress....and if we continue to do this I can pick up a few holiday craft shows next year!

I'm a traditionalist and do things the way I have always done them. I go to Mass on Christmas Eve and not on Christmas morning. We open gifts that are around the tree and the children will have their stockings too (once I have found something to put in them). We have a formal Christmas dinner all around the dining room table. My family come to me. However, my daughter and SIL will leave about 4pm and head back to town to have another Christmas dinner with his mother and father. They kindly have theirs in the evening so that their son and my daughter can attend. I usually invite a few close friends too. No changes this year as yet and I hope that there will not be any changes although I am flexible and I know that they are concerned that I am not well enough to cope with it all. But I am

I remember only once that our parents decided to do something different on Christmas. I thiink it had to do about us going for a holiday. But I remember that Christmas as the worst ever, although our parents took us out to a restautant (something they never did). Christmas means the trimmings on the very day. We celabrate and give out our presents on Christmas eve, but it has always been so in our family so it`s our Christmas tradition.

Growing up, we've always celebrated Christmas on the eve. In fact, we'd celebrate it on 12 midnight. Since this was the custom I've been used to, I wanted so much to make it the same for my kids. But to make way for grandpas and grandmas, we've had to move around the actual date of celebration. It took me a while to accept this. But last Christmas, since we went home, we did it the same way.

I am right with you. I dont like traditions broken either. Every year in my husbands family the annual Christmas party with all the family invited was on christmas eve from the time my husband was little. But the past few years they have started doing it at a community hall a week before or so. This year the hall is not rentable and so they are doing it at a smaller place this friday the 14th. Ok so that was the first change. Then a few years back after the first change my step mother in law decided she didnt like to have to take all the presents for the grandkids to this party to hand out so now she has us all come to her house on christmas eve to open the presents. The only one who it makes it easier for is her and my father in law. Its still just as much a hassle to all the rest of us to have to get together on an extra night now as well as bring all the presents down there.

Hi Dora, I can understand what you must be going through. The feeling of festival celebrating on some other day is not same as on celebrating day. So I know you must be feeling a lot awkward in celebrating a day before. But then family is family. Even though we may be alone in celebrating it on that day but it is still better to celebrate with family than doing it alone on festival day.

Hi dora, I am Hindu by religion and never had any christian friend to celebrate Christmas. But we do have our own festivals. I always make it a point to celebrate it with family and very close friends. I always try to celebrate on the festival day but family is more important than a festival and if i have to celebrate it a day earlier or late it don't matter so long family is with me.

hi dear dorann, first I have to tell you its only my husband and me here as we have no kids. As long as my mother lived we tried to fit in a visit there for Christmas Day or Dec 26th which is a Public Holiday here too when my mother agreed to it. Other wise we were free to spend Christmas here in our apartment and I enjoyed this very much. Spending Christmas with my family of origin was like walking on a tightrope without a safety net and I am a bit Christmas-Traumatized and run from the holidays. As my mother passed away in 2011 I gave in to plans of my sis in law of celebrating Christmas Day afternoon at her place and as the plans of my husbands Niece for Christmas Eve didnt pan out I said so lets celebrate Christmas Eve with mom in law as I had never been there for Christmas Eve so far. Not a good decision as she was quite nasty to the two of us, then then the Christmas Day lunch at her place was barely edible (potato dumplings a mush, meat dry and kale burnt) and she was even more nasty when we went to Sis in law plus family for the afternoon and evening. We got home Christmas Day after breakfast at the super hotel we booked in and both really wished we hadnt given in and spent Christmas at our own place like it always has been best. But now we know we will not make this mistake again for sure, I hope my husband wont fall for that idea again only cause his little sis influences him. LOL

Here in mexico we always do xmas on the 24th rather than the 25th. Its a mexican tradition here. Kids open gifts on the 24th. Then on xmas day families have been meals and go to church. Merry xmas to you and yours.