Home For The Holidays?

[rps]

Thought it might be fun to compare how families spend the holidays. It seems there is no limit to the odd and interesting family traditions. The underlying theme here, though, is my hope you all have holidays as warm and wonderful as what we have planned.

I'll start:

The mother in law arrived yesterday; she is a spry upper 80's lady who actually wanted to fly from New Jersey to join us. She is also the last parent we have left.

Younger daughter arrives from Savannah late this afternoon with her blood hound, Blue. Older daughter asked if it was ok to cruise with her husband, and saying no would have been wrong.

We will put up and decorate the tree once the daughter arrives, and I have a lobster and bubbles dinner planned for afterwords.

Our guests will be with us until just before the New Year. Lots of jig saw puzzles, reading, and catching up. We will avoid metropolitan areas and stores - unless the daughter decides to drag the wife out.

[Zack Hoyt]

We always get together at a few places Christmas morning.

Brunch at my uncles with large breakfast, mimossa's, and dessert. Open a few gifts and enjoy everyone being under one roof.

Early dinner and my grandparents with the other side of the family. Setting around the fireplace and seeing everyone.

It's honestly the holiday I look forward to all season. So great seeing everyone at one time.

[laker67]

One of our family traditions on both thanksgiving and christmas, is to have a fish fry at some point. We always prefer the crappie to be fresh vs frozen. Matter of fact, I am about to go to the dock and clean the crappie in the live well. Kdan and I managed to catch 56 total over the course of three days. Another tradition, is to try to catch a crappie on christmas day and news year day. The first keeper of the new year is released for good luck. Merry Christmas to all of the wonderful anglers on this website, and a special thanks to Phil for providing us with countless hours of entertainment.

[Terry Beeson]

Already had one Christmas with Cindy's family. Usually we have a big dinner of prime rib cooked by my MIL. This year, due to some remodeling work on her house, we opted to go out to a local Japanese steakhouse. Then, back to "Grandma's" to watch my three year old granddaughter open EVERYONE'S presents... That was a hoot...

Now, we're leaving this afternoon for my hometown. Christmas morning is always breakfast at my sister's house with quail, biscuits, and gravy on the menu - been that way for over 50 years. Then open presents, and sit around and visit. Use to be, this was a big deal with lots of cousins and neighbors coming over, but this year it will be just five of us - my mom, sister, BIL, Cindy, and me...

One tradition a few years ago when my cousin lived away, he and I would get together in the afternoon and "tour" the home area catching up on who had moved where and telling stories from the past. We've come back full of Christmas cheer a few times doing that... Ah the old country backroads of years ago... Can't do that anymore.

[gotmuddy]

One tradition a few years ago when my cousin lived away, he and I would get together in the afternoon and "tour" the home area catching up on who had moved where and telling stories from the past. We've come back full of Christmas cheer a few times doing that... Ah the old country backroads of years ago... Can't do that anymore.

you sure cant. a coworker got a dwi last weekend 2 miles from the house on a dead end road down by the lake.

We had the inlaws christmas last weekend, tomorrow we will be at my mothers house and sunday we are leaving for Texas to see the rest of the family, boat and atvs in tow.

[duckydoty]

My wife (MonaChari) and I will be getting up in the wee hours of the morning, putting on all of our cold weather gear and heading out on Table Rock Lake in a canoe with all duck hunting gear in tow. While I will be setting out the decoys, she will be putting up the cammo and grassed tarps for a make shift duck blind. We will spend our Christmas morning together calling in ducks. The morning hunt will be followed by some hot off the griddle French toast and Bacon then off to the woods to spend the afternoon together in the tree stand for some muzzle loader action. Can't think of a better way to spend a Christmas together.

[Al Agnew]

Tonight we'll go over to my wife's sister's house. Their three kids are the closest thing we have to having children of our own, but now the youngest one is 12 so they are getting too old for the little kid Christmas thing. But we'll eat supper and open presents.

Christmas day we'll go to my brother's house. My sister, who lives in Tampa, is up for the holidays, and there will be a bunch of people there from both our family and bro's wife's family. This year, though, lots of people have other plans for the day so we won't get together until suppertime.

So for the rest of Christmas day my wife and I will cocoon in the house, reading...I may also tie a few hair jigs.

I miss things the way they once were, back when my mom and aunts were still with us. We'd have Christmas at Mom and Dad's house, and the aunts would be there, my sister and her late husband and their kids, my brother and his wife. We'd fix up a whole bunch of snack type stuff, everything from little meatballs to fudge, and eat on it all day. And we'd work big jigsaw puzzles, and mainly just have a great time with everybody there.

[laker67]

To follow up on the christmas traditions, I was fortunate enough to catch my christmas crappie today. Its a good thing that I didn't need a limit for our fish fry. Crappie are dressed and ready for the fryer, and in about one hour, 11 of us will set down to the finest christmas dinner going. A merry and safe christmas to all.

[Fredrick]

My family is he type of family who drinks and is full of smart asses. Every year it is civil until the drinks start flowing and then the cheap shot fly like grease off the lake. I use to get mad now I fire back with one liners, its somewhat in good fun. But some one always get mad . Their all ways good wild stories but its fun. But I skipped out on them this year I feel kinda bad. I can assure you even with out me the gang in st louis was out of order. But hey you don't you pick your family. Its like a roast of every one its dirty.

[laker67]

Kdan and I ventured out this morning to attempt to catch our traditional new years crappie. We succeeded, and following tradition, we each released our first keeper of the new year for good luck. We ended up with a few to go into the livewell for a near future crappie dinner.