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BBB Members and Their Christmas Traditions

I was pretty devastated about finding out Santa was not real. I was maybe 8/9... My mum tells me the eve of Christmas to wrap some of the presents up for my sisters so they think Santa came. That's how I found out. I was stunned but didn't say anything. I wrapped the presents and for the first time did not try and stay awake for Santa.

But I still love christmas with all my heart. Having children did make it more special though and I get excited thinking of all the moments I will share with them around this time. Like @Trala said, you make your own traditions and I have my own family. So I hope whoever you are with (or who you will one day celebrate Christmas with), will become a special thing between just you two and whoever else that means a lot to you. How we think changes over time. Well for me it did lol. I promise not to devastate my kids in the same way though haha
When I was still quite little (early primary school) I commented to Mum that Father Christmas had the same hand writing as her on the gift tags. Mum thought quickly and told me that as my sister and I had unusual names and Father Christmas didn't know how to spell them he asked her to write the tags. I thought about it, accepted it and moved on. Last year I was staying at my parents overnight on Christmas Eve and I told Mum before we went to bed that I hoped that Father Christmas knew I was staying here tonight. She assured me that he did. I love the way my mother enters into the childlikeness of it all in all seriousness.
 
My friends and I started a new tradition this year!! Major piss up starting at midday!! It was excellent!!

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A brief interval for some questionable Christmas wisdom

My mama always said: "Life is like a box of chocolates":

Always peruse the inner label that provides a detailed list of each variety; then select the desired num-nums.

Also -

Never judge a book by it's cover:

Always read the whole bloody thing in the bookstore, and then decide if you wish to purchase it.

Merry F#*@in' Christmas!

:wacky:

xo
 
When I was still quite little (early primary school) I commented to Mum that Father Christmas had the same hand writing as her on the gift tags. Mum thought quickly and told me that as my sister and I had unusual names and Father Christmas didn't know how to spell them he asked her to write the tags. I thought about it, accepted it and moved on. Last year I was staying at my parents overnight on Christmas Eve and I told Mum before we went to bed that I hoped that Father Christmas knew I was staying here tonight. She assured me that he did. I love the way my mother enters into the childlikeness of it all in all seriousness.
:) :) :)
 
What's the menu for everyone for their main Christmas meal? Traditional hot meal? Salads? BBQ? Asian? Seafood?
These days we go Thai influence combined with seafood, ham off the bone, my potato salad and sago plum pudding. Not to mention choccy covered aniseed rings, licorice allsorts, Long gone are the days when my maternal grandmother would put threepences or were they sixpences in the pudding. Even though we were in decimal currency she kept the old coins just for the pudding.
 
When I was still quite little (early primary school) I commented to Mum that Father Christmas had the same hand writing as her on the gift tags. Mum thought quickly and told me that as my sister and I had unusual names and Father Christmas didn't know how to spell them he asked her to write the tags. I thought about it, accepted it and moved on. Last year I was staying at my parents overnight on Christmas Eve and I told Mum before we went to bed that I hoped that Father Christmas knew I was staying here tonight. She assured me that he did. I love the way my mother enters into the childlikeness of it all in all seriousness.
That's beautiful... It really made me smile :)
 
Ok, so re: the whole Santa thing.

As I kid I noticed that Santa had the same handwriting as my mum and used the same wrapping paper and gave me things available in stores but I seriously never questioned any of it, not even the fact that he conveniently gave me lollies or chocolates that my dad liked so I had to share. I really just accepted all of that info straight up. I don't really remember finding out that it was all a lie either.

You totally do hear and see evidence of him though. I did see this red light going through the sky on Christmas Eve that I suppose was a plane but I was convinced was Santa. My little brother who is now 16 and knows better still swears on his life that he heard Santa on the roof one night.
 
I'm one of those people that gets way too excited about Christmas, I adore it.

As a kid we had split Christmas' (Christmases? No idea) because of divorced families etc. With mum we'd do the big extended family affair, everyone bring a plate and we all trek to one aunty's house, eat, drink, play games. My uncles would usually take turns dressing as Santa and giving out presents, just super fun. Dad's Christmas was just a bunch of presents and lunch, heading to the beach in the afternoons usually. Now we're all more grown up and dad has moved away we just do a smaller family affair with mum and then usually see all the rellies the days before/after.

Today me and my sisters put up our tree, which involved me getting out the shower in a towel, seeing my sister struggling to pull the tree out the box so go over to help. One of us on each end pulling, she lets go and I end up ass over tits on my back. Lovely start to the Christmas time, but the tree's up so hoorah! Here it is.

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I love reading everyone's stories, so please keep them coming :)
 
One Christmas Eve when my daughter was 12 I was running around the house as per usual, putting out cake and port for Santa and a bucket of water and carrots for the reindeer. Angie was chatting to Mr Jam and confided in him that she no longer believed in Santa, "but don't tell Mum! She'll be miserable!"

That's why I love a family Xmas. My kids are all awesome. :)
 
How much do the 12 Days of Christmas items actually cost?
December 02, 2014 11:11AM
by: FRANK CHUNG

IT’S a fun little Christmas song, but when was the last time anyone actually gave their true love a partridge in a pear tree?

What about a turtle dove? (Two, in fact.) Or three French hens?

It turns out, the classic items in the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ carol aren’t cheap.

A single partridge in a single pear tree will set you back $244.22, according US-based financial services firm PNC Wealth Management’s annual Christmas Price Index.

A pair of turtle doves costs $146.99, six geese-a-laying come in at $423.34, but it’s seven swans-a-swimming that will really blow a hole in your wallet: $8231.66 for the set.

In case you were wondering, sources for the index include retailers, the US National Aviary in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Dance Company and the Pennsylvania Ballet Company.

Ten lords-a-leaping will cost you $6289.27 — that’s per performance — while 11 pipers piping charge $3098.87.

If you wanted to get all 12 items — just once — you’d be forking out $32,542.36.

‘12 Days’ purists, however, better get saving: the cumulative cost of all 364 gifts (for each time they’re mentioned in the song) is $136,731.52.

PNC’s annual index, which has been running since 1984, tracks the change in prices year-on-year as a “more whimsical” take on the Consumer Price Index.

“While there are exceptions in given years, what’s most interesting about the index’s history is that since the beginning, year-over-year increases have averaged 2.8 per cent, which is exactly the same number as the US inflation index,” said Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Wealth Management.

This year eight out of the 12 items held steady on last year’s prices, but six geese-a-laying were up a whopping 71.4 per cent.

Other notable increases were for three French hens — up 10 per cent — and the partridge plus pear tree. That was up 3.8 per cent, driven by an increase in fresh fruit prices.

Of all the gifts in the entertainment category, only 10 lords-a-leaping upped their fee on last year, and only by two per cent.

Here’s the full list of prices from PNC:

One Partridge in a Pear Tree = $244.22

Two Turtle Doves = $146.99

Three French Hens = $213.44

Four Calling Birds = $705.52

Five Golden Rings = $881.96

Six Geese-a-Laying = $423.34

Seven Swans-a-Swimming = $8231.66

Eight Maids-a-Milking = $68.21

Nine Ladies Dancing = $8881.78

Ten Lords-a-Leaping = $6289.27

Eleven Pipers Piping = $3098.87

Twelve Drummers Drumming = $3357.11

[email protected]

http://www.news.com.au/finance/mone...ms-actually-cost/story-e6frfmci-1227141860687
 
My children have had a photo taken with Santa since the first one was 5 weeks old. I display them every year and it is always a talking point at Christmas lunch (always at our house) as it seems to be the one photo of all three of them taken at the same time every year. This year's photo will be photo number 19.

Christmas lunch is usually a week's worth of cooking - manicotti, twice cooked pork belly with fennel and apple, glazed ham, stuffed turkey breast, drunken chicken, fresh cooked prawns, threaded leg of lamb. Array of salads. Lemon meringue pie, pavlova, roasted balsamic strawberry ice cream, vanilla slice, tiramisu, pignulata, fresh fruit.

This year chucking traditional lunch and using the new swisho BBQ and doing BBQ meats, glazed ham on BBQ, garlic prawns, marinated chicken kebabs, corn cobs, chargrilled veges, and some uber awesome puff crust pizzas. (plus the usual salads and desserts).
 
Every year we get Santa to come over and give the kids presents. It's magical. The pic here is of Kurly jnr when she spotted Santa - and it's a special pic as it was her last Christmas that she believed.

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We put up the tree this evening. It's one of the most bothersome things to do. It's always so dusty after sitting in the garage all year, and for some reason it's 2014 and lights still get tangled up. My mum, my sister, and I were all miserably doing it until I was like, "Ha, you know, we really shouldn't be acting like such bitches about this" and then mum agreed and suddenly the mood lifted and we were talking about fun Christmas stories from when I was a kid, and it wasn't so bad.
 
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