Yay for Christmas Eve!

I love Christmas Eve. Almost as much as I love Christmas day. All of the family traditions come out on Christmas Eve. The best tradition we have (and is somewhat embarrassing) is before going to bed, the whole family piles on the couch and my dad reads The Polar Express we each have our own bell, and at the end we all ring them to make sure we can still hear it (like in the end of the story). Other traditions include preparing the meal for the next day, my sister and I STILL sleep together on that night. This isn't weird I swear - it started out so that one of us wouldn't see all the goods before the other and now it has turned into a bonding time for us to catch up on each other's lives and just talk in general. My sister and I also open each other's presents that night, and I generally always make fudge (recipe to come soon!).

However, this year things will be different. My sister will be working at the hospital all day today, tomorrow and the next day. So we won't be having a traditional Christmas meal tomorrow and opening of the presents. Instead, we are eating tonight and doing presents tonight as well. Things will be very different this year, but I am thankful we will all still be together. I will still get the joy of new gifts tomorrow because we will be going to my cousin's house. She has 3 small children (ages 17 months, 7, and 10). I can't wait to see the joy on their faces and spend time playing with them and all of their new toys.

What are your traditions around the holidays?