The premise is simple. The ladies provide appetizers judgment-free. The men each make a desert in the hopes of obtaining victory and the coveted Buck Knife Cup.

I wrote a post about it in case you would like to hear more.

When we were first married before kids, we always had “tree appreciation”. I would get the tree all decked out and then we’d snuggle on the couch with all the lights off and just enjoy the festive tree lights and talk.

Growing up, my family and the next door neighbors always had chili supper together on Christmas Eve. We would trade houses but it was always fun and mellow.

Now, my absolute favorite tradition of all!! When my DH’s family gathers, we play Christmas BINGO. It’s the best because EVERY member of the family can participate in some way – typically really young kids are the gift distributers. Each family unit brings 5 – 10 inexpensive and pratical or fun gifts already wrapped (like plastic hangers, fingernail polish remover, hot wheel cars, yo-yos, Christmas hand towels, candles, etc). Each time someone gets a BINGO, they take a present but do NOT unwrap it. This goes on and on until the pile is gone. THEN when someone gets a BINGO, they can take a present from someone else, again NOT unwrapping it! By this time in the game, multiple people are getting BINGOs (because we never clear our cards) and sometimes people have more than one BINGO at a time, so the presents are moving rather rapidly from person to person. We have a rule that you can’t take anyone’s last present so everyone ends up with at least one thing. It’s hilarious to see what people “fight” over – there’s always something like the shiny green box or the long, skinny package with Christmas trees. Sometimes it’s the shape or wrapping paper that people are attracted to, sometimes the package makes a little noise. No one knows (except maybe the giver) what’s in the package! Finally when the balls are completely used, we call the game and the unwrapping begins. This is when we find out what was in the shiny green box or what was in the long, skinny package (Saltine crackers one year and a plastic napkin holder once and a noodle for the swimming pool!) Then everyone trades stuff. Typically the kids walk from person to person trying to swap their candle or wallet for a puzzle or stuffed animal. It is definitely my favorite part of Christmas! It’s more of a family or group tradition and certainly wouldn’t be as much fun with just two – but it’s such a fun idea I wanted to share.

If you and your husband are going to be apart on Christmas, I think it’s even more important to have some kind of Christmas feeling in your own house. My husband and I are always visiting relatives on Christmas day, but the night before we leave home, we open our presents for each other by our Christmas tree at home.

Susys last blog post..On the Preservation Front: In the Freezer