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When does your family open their presents? Christmas Eve, Christmas Day – different times based on which side of the family?

This category has changed a lot over the years for me as I have gotten older and had my own family. Being a military family on a tight budget I’ve always  in the past started shopping early (like in January) to work everything in that we wanted to do so that it fit into our tight budget. It just became a habit 😀

But, my family traditions as a kid were of a BIG Christmas eve open with lots of family around. That carried on through college, but as we (cousins) all got older and started careers with odd work hours and began getting married with families of our own, our grandparents passed on, some of us moved away, blended families (each with their own traditions) were formed, etc… getting together for both Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day became harder and harder to do. 

Eventually Christmas eve became a MUCH smaller event for mainly immediate family. We would have a small dinner and open our gifts to each other that night. Christmas morning was for being at our respective homes with our own kids opening presents and then the larger family get together much later on Christmas day for dinner at just one place, usually my grandparent’s or parent’s house and then eventually it was at our house after my dad passed away.

These days with everyone all over the country, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are mainly just hubby and I with LOTS of phone calls to family and friends and we open our gifts on Christmas morning.

We usually attend the Christmas party at the Eagles which this year has been blended into a Christmas Dance that I’m in the kitchen for a special meal of Tri-tip sandwiches made by our president with sides of homemade baked beans and pasta salad made by my girlfriend and I (we’re making them today in fact 😀 Hubby and will deliver the neighbor plates and gifts to friends on Christmas Eve. 😀