What are your holiday plans this year? Going out of town to visit relatives or staying home? And for those of you that celebrate xmas, what is your routine? For instance, do you open gifts the night before, do you open gifts as soon as you wake up xmas morning or do you wait until later on in the day?

I'm staying home this Christmas and we have family coming in to visit us for a change. It's just too hard to travel over the holidays with kids & a husband who has a crazy schedule. We always open one gift the night before and this year we're having xmas eve dinner at a beautiful restuarant overlooking the ocean while my mom watches the kids. The madness begins promptly at around 5am when my kids wake up. Wrapping paper goes flying....kids screaming with delight...then it's all over. It's amazing how we spend so much time preparing, buying, wrapping, decorating and it's over in an instant. Then you realize as the night comes to an end, that the New Year is just around the corner & you wonder what the Hell happened to 2005? Where did it go? It's times like these that make me realize just how short life is. Then I reach for a White Russian or some spiked Egg Nog & drink til I pass out. :D

The kids & I are staying home & having Christmas by ourselves this year. :rockon: My kids wake up at the butt crack of dawn & rip open all the presents that took me HOURS AND HOURS to buy and wrap! :lol: It IS amazing how quickly it's over... but I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. I love watching them squeal & beam with joy when they open their gifts. My kids are pretty gracious, so they always yell "THAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUU, Santa!!!" :lol:

When they were smaller, I used to wrap everything & make them ALL from Santa. Then one Christmas, my daughter asked why I didn't get her anything. :eek: OOOPS... :lol: So now, Santa still gets pretty much all the glory, but Mommy does a little, too! ;)

We will have Christmas here. We are talking about going out to eat to celebrate Christmas dinner Christmas Eve since no one feels like cooking. Then Christmas day we will open gifts and do whatever. We don't get together like we used to. To be honest I never look forward to it.

We'll do the same thing we did last year. Head over to my parent's house and celebrate there with Family. That or go to My sister's house, depends on what my Wife, My Mom, and My sister have up their sleeves (The three of them usually get together and plot where it will be...the guys generally only concern themselves with GETTING there.). Personally, I would rather have it at the folks as it's only 8 miles (Versus 45 miles).

We'll spend it the same way we always do. The kids open a present on Christmas eve and bug the hell out of my parents to let them get up early to open presents (they got me up at 1:30 one year!:eek: ) My mom tapes the kids openinging EVERYTHING, so I don't even bother to go out to the family room until after 7:30. After the hurricane hits, I alternate between helping my mom and sister with Christmas dinner and helping the kids put their toys together if they need assembled. We then set down to a big feast, and after dinner, I either enjoy my gifts, or take a nap...whichever sounds better!:lol:

I work Christmas Eve, and the 26th so I wont be able to get home for christmas. Looks like Christmas at Denny's just like Thanksgiving!

It is tradition in my family to open one gift on Christmas Eve after we go visiting family out of town. That one gift usually is red Christmas pajamas, (my husband's tradition since he was a little boy ) On Christmas Day we stay home, open up our gifts around 9:00 a.m, then start preparing Christmas dinner. The rest of the day is spent watching Christmas Specials and movies, or entertaining anyone who should happen to come over to spread Christmas cheer:)