25 Days Of Christmas_Day 7

What kind of Christmas traditions do you have?  Growing up we had several traditions, some were great and some were not so great to put it lightly.  Loved Christmas Eve because we opened up all our presents, there is something about doing it at night with the tree lit that just seemed magical.  We opened the small gifts from “Santa” in the morning.  Christmas Eve we would have tons of desserts and finger foods and there always seemed to be so much food.  On Christmas day we would have either turkey and ham and have all the fixings.  On the night before Christmas Eve we would drive around looking at Christmas lights.  I posted yesterday how I loved to see everything lit up and shining.  Those drives were always interesting and came with their own set of issues but either way it was a tradition that I enjoyed.

How about you?  When do you shop?  Do you do a real tree or a fake tree?  Do you have any special meals?  When do you open presents?  Any special story times?  When does all your shopping take place?  I would love to hear about your traditions and childhood Christmas memories.