Christmas Eve

Image via WikipediaTwas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  Well that's not entirely true.  I am stirring and will be stirring for a few more hours before I lay down my head for a long winter's night.

I spent most of my Christmas Eve day delivering fresh hot pizza for my part time job.  Usually, I work from 5pm to midnight on Saturdays, but with this being Christmas Eve, we are closing a little earlier than usual.  Since I needed the money, I volunteered to work early today.

I started my day at 11:30 and worked an 8 hour shift.  I decided to wear a Santa hat on my deliveries today in hopes that it would spur folks to be a little more giving, if you know what I mean.  I don't know if the hat made a difference or not, but I did do pretty well tonight, even if we were not especially busy.  After work, I ordered a pizza to take home for dinner.

The great thing about working one of the earlier shifts was that I was able to get off in time to get home for one of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions.  I walked in the house just in time to catch the first airing of the 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS.  I am enjoying a few glasses of wine while watching my favorite Christmas movie of all times.  I will probably watch it 2 or 3 times in the next 24 hours.

Christmas Eve is one of those nights that each family has their own sets of traditions.  We currently do not have a lot of Christmas Eve traditions in my current household.  Of course, I watch A Christmas Story each year.  With the advent of the internet, I also track Santa's progress on NORAD as he makes his journey around the globe.

When we were growing up, we had a few family traditions in my home.  For years, when all of my siblings were still living at home, we would go to The Italian Inn restaurant in Hyattsville MD for a big pizza dinner.  There pizza was unlike any other that I ever had.  It was thick and heavy with toppings, but not think like a deep dish pizza.

Another tradition we had was that we could open only one present on Christmas Eve.  Every year, one of my grandmothers always bought each of us a new pair of pajamas.  We would open that gift on Christmas Eve, and wear them to bed that night.  As kids, we always new we were getting them and always disappointed to get them.  We wanted toys. Of course now I would welcome such practical gifts.

Most of our traditions over the years have been pretty simple, just the family enjoying time together.  What more could you ask for?  What kinds of family traditions have you and yours enjoyed over the years on Christmas Eve?