We always get rip-roaring drunk on tequila and scotch, then ride bicycles (don't want to drink and drive) over to the golf course for some real hilarity on the links. After that, it's the traditional "creep out the neighbors by looking in their windows as they unwrap their gifts" routine. Gets them EVERY time.
Seriously, my traditions have changed over the years, as I suspect most people's have. As a kid, we'd spend time on Christmas Eve with one side of the family and Christmas Day with the other.Then eventually Christmas Eve became time for the immediate family at home, and Christmas Day was spent going to various relatives' houses. As an adult, my traditions have varied depending on my location and marital status. One year Kian and I went to Disneyland on Christmas Day, thinking the crowds would be smaller because of the holiday. Apparently every Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim in Southern California had the same idea.
These days, we'll have a low-key get-together at my sister's house on Christmas Eve for a dinner of posole and other soups and stews (and possibly other local treats like tamales), then Christmas morning a larger group will again gather at my sister's house for breakfast, gift-opening, and then a midday meal of prime rib and Yorkshire pudding. For the gift exchange, all kids typically get gifts from all the adults, and the adults draw names at Thanksgiving so each of us only has to shop for one other person. Most of us also make a list of what we need or want and make that known to others. Originally all the lists were stuck on my Mom's fridge, then eventually my sister's, and now they are spread via text message. This year, just like every year, Kian told me exactly what to buy her for Christmas. Unlike me, she doesn't like to be surprised at Christmas...she would rather receive exactly what she specifies.
On the subject of gifts, our family has a several whacky gift traditions. One of them began many years ago when I started picking one present each year to do the "prank" wrapping job on. The primary idea was to make the unwrapping process as difficult as possible. (Foil, duct tape, baling wire, papier mache, lumber and wood screws, etc. I always considered my wrapping job to be a failure if the recipient had the package open in less than 15 minutes.) One person per year (often one of my nephews) would always receive the prank package. The gift was always something nice, to make all the effort worthwhile. Then there was the traveling fruitcake gift. For about 10 years, we had a fruitcake in a metal tin that changed hands every Christmas. When you received it, you wrote your name and the year on the inside of the lid, then the next year you were to give the fruitcake to anyone who was not a prior recipient. Someone eventually threw it away, but not before it had been invaded by ants and subsequently hosed down with Raid ant spray...and given to the next recipient. Our new tradition is the creepy Santa doll. About a decade ago, someone gave my BIL a hideous Victorian-style Santa doll. Just looking at it makes you want to kill it with fire. It has since changed hands every Christmas. Last year, one of my nephews combined traditions and got some major payback on me. I spent about 15 minutes working my way through the wrapping job from hell (there was at least a roll of duct tape and a can of expanding foam involved), only to discover the creepy Santa doll.
Dang smart-aleck kid. Ah well, he learned from the best, lol.
This year is the first year in about forever that Kian did not do a bunch of decorating for Christmas. Aside from the plastic Walmart wreath on our front door at the apartment, we have no decorations up. It has driven her crazy to see everyone else's decorations and know that hers are buried in a storage locker for another month or so. Last I counted (which was a few years ago), she had 18 large plastic storage bins filled with Christmas decorations. I'm sure she'll use all of them next year as she makes up for lost time.