Our Family Christmas Traditions | 12 Days of Blogmas

As this post is my last one before Christmas tomorrow, I decided to reminisce on our family traditions at Christmastime in the past and how they have changed over the years. Go get yourself a warm drink and maybe a snack and let's take a trip down memory lane about my Christmas past.

The earliest memories of Christmastime I have as a child were always spent in South Africa. I remember one Christmas Day in Africa, there was a huge thunderstorm and we had planned to have a BBQ at our chalet which we couldn't do because the roof was thatched so we ended up resorting to having a cheese roll and a white chocolate Magnum instead!

My family always used to decorate the house and the tree 12 days before Christmas and take them down 12 days after and I got told that it was the Tree Fairies that put all the decorations up which I believed until I actually heard my Mum and Grandma putting the decorations up after I was sent to bed! I also remember, and there is still a rule about it to this day, that nobody was allowed to touch the chocolate decorations on the tree until Christmas Day Afternoon. I'm not sure why this is a strict rule in the house, but it is a definite test of my willpower to go so long with just staring at these chocolate tree decorations and trying to fight the urge to not eat them! They're from Cadbury's as well so its even more difficult!

When we spent Christmas at home, every Christmas Eve we used to leave a glass of milk (I think wine at one point too, remember Mum?!), a carrot and some kind of biscuits or cookies like most kids do for Santa and when I came downstairs on Christmas morning it would all be gone and there would be Christmas presents under the tree and I just thought it was so magical.

We used to have horses and on Christmas morning, I was allowed to open one present before my Grandparents went down the stables to feed them and then when they came back was when Christmas morning officially started and we opened our presents!

While we open Christmas presents, we always share a bottle of Bucks Fizz and croissants for breakfast and I remember one year a few years ago, my dog had stolen one of someone quicker than a flash! He got told off but we still laugh about it now!  Speaking of pets at Christmas, when I was a lot younger, my cat had used her paw to hit a bow off of a present as part of a game she was playing and I would have gotten the blame if my Mum hadn't turned around to see her do it!

Christmas hasn't really changed much since then compared to now. For one thing, I'm not in a huge rush to get up Christmas morning, but I still love getting together with friends and family over Christmas and especially the run up to Christmas listening to Christmas music and eating Snow Bites and wearing Christmas Jumpers.

 

What are some of your favourite Christmas memories?

 

SparkleEyes x