<p>Another jewish family here. We used to go ice skating on Christmas Eve as the Chabad house sponsored this at a local (now sadly defunct) rink. You haven’t lived until you’ve skated to Klezmer music ;-)</p>
<p>Recently, we started celebrating Christmas with my friend’s family. They go on a hike and picnic.</p>
<p>After years of blowing off Hanukkah, my family is starting to get together again to celebrate. No presents, just oily food (latkes), gambling (dredyl) , and pyromania (candles)</p>
<p>^^^^ I avoid my extended family’s Hannukah celebration. It is just a big competition of who can eat the most carbs and still stay skinniest. I always lose on all counts.</p>
<p>We have favorite movies for each holiday. Our current Christmas movie is The Family Stone. New Year’s is When Harry Met Sally. Thanksgiving is Hannah and her Sisters. Valentine’s Day is well, Valentine’s Day and Fourth of July is 1776.</p>
<p>Since our children were born, we have always limited Christmas gifts to 3 each - something they “want” (hot toy, etc.), something they “need” (winter coat, shoes, etc) and a “surprise”. We label the gifts so they can choose which to open first - usually the “need” goes first and they save the “surprise” to the end. And the surprise is not necessarily an item - since both my kids are musician/actors, it is often tickets to a concert or play. They also get a stocking filled with small gifts and candy. And a small Epiphany present on Jan 6 when the Three Kings arrive. </p>
<p>Because I am a pastor, I am usually working on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, so I don’t have time to cook. My daughter cooks a late night meal for us to eat on Christmas eve after church (usually chili and tamales - a Texas tradition). H makes cinnamon rolls to eat on Christmas morning and then, after church on Christmas day, we drive to my mom’s for a big family meal and gift opening. And then I take a well deserved nap!!!</p>
<p>Both H and I get the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, so that is when we do family activities - cooking together, puzzles, board games, watching movies, sight-seeing, etc. We have never had much money, so Christmas is more about our faith and family time, than presents. We always laugh about the year that we had exacly $25 per kid to spend. It’s really amazing how creative you can get!</p>
<p>Sounds perfect! ^^^^^</p>
<p>Ah, well, thanks. It just kind of evolved out of necessity. Over the years, we have also fostered several kids and we wanted to keep things simple for them (since we never knew what their next Christmas would be like).</p>
<p>megpmom - our X-mas presents are usually simpler than that. But, even our $100 spending limit we place for both kids seems a bit stiff right now when there are so many other needs. I think I would like to try to think about eliminating X-mas presents entirely.</p>
<p>Here is the recipe my mom gave me. Not sure how to better post it, so I’m just going to post it like a recipe lol…</p>
<p>1 cup margarine or butter
½ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup finely chopped nuts
¼ teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar</p>
<p>Heat oven to 400. Mix margarine, ½ cup powdered sugar and the vanilla. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together; shape into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until set but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes. </p>
<p>Roll in powdered sugar while warm; let cool. Roll in powdered sugar again. (Makes about 4 dozen). </p>
<p>We don’t always use nuts because we have a friend with nut allergies. I think they taste mighty fine either way. Actually, I’m not a huge nut fan so I think they taste better without lol. </p>
<p>PS: wrote this while really tired, so if there’s something that doesn’t make sense, lemme know.</p>
<p>Since the kids and I are Jewish we do Chrismakuh. We do the eight nights of Chanukah. But that has never included presents for the kids every night. When they were young we would go to the toy store and buy two presents from each child and take them to the Toys for Tots barrel. And then we would go out to eat together. </p>
<p>For Christmas I do a Christmas Eve party at our house which started as a party for my husband since we weren’t allowed to go there. (Jews spoil a good Christmas party according to them.) It tends to be mostly Jews because most Jews don’t have a place to go. Until last year, Christmas day was spent opening presents, going to the movies…and having dinner with us and any stragglers. Last year we were invited (for the first time) to the other side (the other side of the family aka the dark side) for the most formal of dinners that we have ever been to in our lives at a home. The best part of the meal was when someone tried to spear an undercooked pearl onion in bechamel sauce and it flew across the table. </p>
<p>My family, the low class raucous ones, started a low giggle…and then it went to a roar. The other side, not so much. I have never seen two women pretend that a flying onion that hits a mirror with a splat doesn’t exist. My MIL was so mortified at the undercooked veggies that she burst into tears. I thought it broke the tension. They were simply mortified. (My philosophy has always been, worse comes to worse we’ll call for pizza. It totally doesn’t matter. And I am a very good cook.)</p>
<p>Can’t wait to go back again this year. (and yes, I volunteered to bring Chinese food for Christmas.)</p>
<p>ellebud, you and yours are SO invited to my house for Christmas.</p>
<p>We’d LOVE to come. </p>
<p>Now what should we bring?</p>
<p>that accepting attitude and your senses of humor!
(and the creamed onions)</p>
<p>…I’ll get the recipe. Should I bring the mirror cleaner as well? (just in case)</p>
<p>That is optional.</p>
<p>Sort of like a garnish.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, though, we don’t have a mirror in the dining room, so don’t go to any extra trouble</p>
<p>My kids are getting money for Christmas. I know it’s crass, but it’s what they want. They both have trips planned that are somewhat out of their budgets.</p>
<p>S wants to take a 3 week trip to Europe with his college buddies after he graduates this May. He’s told us since last summer that all he wants for Christmas, birthday and grad is money towards this trip (I already told him we can’t fund the whole trip). So he’ll get a contribution toward that.</p>
<p>D (college freshman) has asked to go on a service trip with her Campus Ministries group over her spring break. I told her if we decide to support this, the funding for it will be her Christmas present. She said that’s fine. </p>
<p>So I’ll have to buy some sort of fun family game or Christmas will be pretty boring at our house!</p>
<p>Um, “Jews spoil a good Christmas party” Um, I don’t even know what to say!!!</p>
<p>Do “Jews spoil a good Christmas party” because their horns might be distracting?
What???
Or is it because those good Christians can’t indulge in Jew bashing, so that ruins all the fun?</p>
<p>We don’t have the right spirit (did I mention that my husband was raised Episcopalian?) for a Christmas party. And we have Jewish germs (no kidding, I was told that when I tried to touch my “nephew”) so we might infect them with Jewish germs. And now, my Jewish germs might infect them with…hostess gifts?</p>
<p>
Sheesh, bah humbug, and other appropriate noises of disgust.</p>
<p>Half-Jewish here. My Jewish family loved coming to our house on Christmas Eve for Deli and Tree Trimming. And my Catholic father loved hosting them. He and my aunt (the one from the “wrong” religion, lol) had an annual tussle over whether to “toss” the tinsel onto the tree or hang it carefully strand-by-strand. My Jewish uncle owned a popular toy store (clearly, he liked Christians 
), so his family arrived late, very worn out, but totally unwilling to miss this annual event.</p>
<p>So, ellebud, I know that your family will be in high demand for the holidays… but you can come to our Mixed Family Holiday any time. Do creamed onions go with Deli? :)</p>
<p>ellebud, you and your immediate family are invited to our place for Christmas but please leave your mother-in-law at home! What a toxic person.</p>
<p>^^^I think the spritz of glass cleaner is the great equalizer that will permit the onions to go with anything!</p>