Blending Christmas Traditions

There are so many Christmas traditions and when you put two families together there is going to be some "overlapping" of traditions. If you are remarried and have children when you come into the holidays there is even more to consider. Your kids have done it the way you have brought them up too...your traditions. (of course)
Dave and I found several traditions, some that were completely opposite, and some we agreed on right away.
Stockings..I always hung our stockings on the fireplace mantel and "Santa" filled them and that is where you found them in the morning. That is how I grew up and my boys grew up. Dave on the other hand always had his stockings left on his bedroom door handle. He and his sister could open their stockings and play with what they had for a couple of hours until their parents woke up. Then they could go downstairs. I didn't like that one at all because I want to enjoy every part of Christmas morning with the kids, even opening the stockings. So we compromised. His kids and Tim put their stockings on their door knobs. My older boys leave theirs on the mantel. But the kids come wake us up when they wake up and I come in (with my camera of course) to watch them open their stockings. So it works out for all of us.



The other one is how you open your gifts. Growing up we all just tore into our gifts at the same time and it was utter chaos. Once I had kids I never liked that, I wanted to see the kids open everything. Dave feels the same about this one. We go around and have the kids open their gifts one at a time so we can all enjoy it.
We have breakfast first because the morning takes longer. But I love it this way!!