Hi Everyone+

Just wondering what you all do for Christmas, not in terms of presents etc. but in terms of traditions, food etc.

Can you buy the "traditional" trappings of a UK Christmas where you live? Do you order things online? Do you go all out to make UK Christmas fare like mince pies and Christmas pud from scratch for your family if they are unknown where you live? Or do you prefer to go with the local Christmas fare?

Do you try to combine elements of Christmas from the culture you live in and the culture you were raised in? Do you have a "British" day and a day when you do the same as those in the country you live in?

Just wondering how people work it?

The last couple of years we have pretty much done a German Christmas (Christmas day itself with my German in-laws) and in all honesty I have never been a great Christmas fan anyway and prefer my in-laws Christmas traditions to in many ways to the way my own parents do Christmas - but I really strongly want my children to be equally at home in both cultures as well as both languages, and this means being familiar with traditions and foods from both countries. So it has occurred to me I really need to start introducing some more UK traditions! We did stockings last year, which are unknown here, and of course went down well (kids get double as the German equivalent of stockings is boots on St. Nicolas day on 10th December, which we do too!).

This year I am thinking about the food side of things, as to date my children have never eaten a mince pie, Christmas pudding etc - but making them is going to be a bit more hassle than I originally thought as not all the ingredients are easily available (well I have already realised I am going to struggle to buy suet, as I will need it to make mincemeat and Christmas pudding...)

Am wondering if others go to a lot of trouble to make sure their kids are equally familiar with UK Christmas traditions (and other times of year too come to think of it!)

Look forward to reading what others do!

:o) Hilary

Hello!

Well have just started seeing all the Christmas stuff in the shops this week and actually sent today by seamail a Christmas box to my mum's - missed the posting date as usual though!

Over here (Oz) you can generally get everything the same as the UK and our Christmas day is pretty much the same as back in the UK - roast and all the trimmings - of course not as good as my mum's Christmas dinner though! I've posted before though that christmas here is boring - nowhere near as festive as the UK - no Christmas tv shows etc etc - then again in the UK it's to the other extreme isn't it!

Anyway better dash, is bath time in our house again!

Dawn
xxx

Hello Ladies

Well as you can imagine, living in North America Christmas is a huge hype...but oddly its still not the deal that it is in the UK.
Mostly its about spending obscene amounts of money on crap and eating til you pop.....quite meaningless. TV is good though with TONS of christmas programmes although a lot are constant repeats like Griswalds Christmas

So we try to maintain the advent calendar, not chocolate necessarily but pictures for each day
We have crackers which although you can buy them, people generally don't have. I make mince pies and christmas cake which again don't really exist here.
I havent yet made a pudding but probably will one year.

But there are other things that are new and fun such as the Macy's parade and the Toronto Christmas parade - we have an afternoon of it and sit watching on tv with hot chocolate and treats.

Of course its different having snow too. Most kids don't get bikes for christmas as you can't ride them for months! Lol

This year will be exciting as ASton will finally appreciate all the decorations and goings on.....he's loving his pumpkins right now for autumn / halloween

Jane x