Christmas Traditions

Uhmmm.... This is a tough one. We didn't have a lot of traditions as I grew up but I can tell you what we did do.

Every Christmas until we moved there, we drove from Alvin, TX to Seguin, TX to stay with my mother's parents for a week. I loved it.
I can still remember the smell of their house. My Grandparents lived on a ranch and were very basic kind of people. None of the pseudo western stuff you see in posh western stores there. I'm talking going to sleep with a huge deer head hanging over you then waking up and seeing a herd of cows or feral pigs ten feet from your window. So, the house was a mixture of animal smells (horses, dogs and cows,) the outdoors, hay, grain, and the smell of machinery. I think it was pretty much anything that clung to their clothes while they were working. It was a wonderful smell. I always felt safe and love there.
I guess one of the main reasons we stayed for a week was to stock our freezer with deer meat. I can still hear the mumbled sounds of my grandfather and dad drinking coffee early in the morning before they left for the deer stands. (Oh - by deer stands - I mean wood platforms nailed into a tree, usually 3'x3'. If you were lucky, you would have steps nailed into the tree to help you climb into the stand. Metal stands in the middle of a field were for city folk.) Anyway, I loved that comforting sound. I thought my grandfather never slept. He stayed awake to keep us all safe. I kinda felt sorry for my dad, because I knew he normally slept, but seemed to pick up my grandfather's habit when we were there. I worried he would fall asleep on the deer stand and miss a deer or fall out of the stand. (It's kinda silly what we come up with as kids.)
We were not allowed to open a presents on Christmas Eve, unless my grandfather said it was OK. So, as you can imagine, my brother and I pleaded with him for what seemed like hours before he gave finally gave the go ahead.
I guess that last thing that was sort of a tradition is that Santa wrapped his gifts. Crazy old Man! What was he thinking?! I am glad that Santa got wise and did not carry on this tradition.
The traditions I cherish most our those I shared with most of you. Stockings (what a wonder for someone who never had one), New PJ's on Christmas Eve, writing the Christmas poem, baking til we dropped, Julie and I doing our marathon shopping trip, going to see the lights, the gumdrop tree, decorating the tree, and buying a new ornament for everyone that represents that year for them. I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of traditions. I will be kicking myself later this evening. Oh, well. Julie will just have to pick up the slack - Hee Hee.