Christmas children dancing and laughing
We spend Christmas Eve doing silly things as a family!
It started when our kids were little but we all love it so it’s kept going – our kids are now grownup and bring along boyfriends and wives, too. The new comers find it a bit strange at first but soon they’re hooked – it’s a lovely way to relax before the big day and it really gets us feeling good and happy to be together.
Being silly on Christmas Eve is great family fun!Click To TweetA lot of it is just silliness that follows when you laugh a lot but some things we do are:
- think up lots of alternative reindeer names for Santa or give each other reindeer names
- tie pillows around our tummies and say ho ho ho a lot
- someone usually finds something silly at a discount shop and we all take turns wearing it and acting to suit – so we get snooty with a feather boa or have a twang with a cowboy hat
- read out spoonerisms (where parts of words are swapped around in a story e.g. Santa’s sleigh skies through the fly)
- having staring competitions
- sing silly songs (like ‘next verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse’)
Drawing on a parent’s face probably counts as silly!
- tell tall tales where one person starts the story and stops mid sentence for someone else to continue on
We’re always keen for more silliness so bring on your ideas please!!!!!
* Images courtesy of Love Santa and ximagaination (at 123rf)
Carlie, that sounds like so much fun! Can we come and visit on Christmas Eve? The first silly thing that came to my my mind was wearing stuff (especially shoes but a Santa suit would be appropriate) that’s too big – dancing in it would be even funnier 🙂 Kids always look funny in parents’ shoe etc – bit harder to find shoes way too big for Dad though…
Thanks for sharing Carlie!
You’re welcome – I love spreading the silly cheer around 🙂
Another one that always works with kids is playing with names – try saying your names backwards or in pig latin and see if anyone can keep a straight trace for long!
On CHristmas Eve we each give one present to someone in the family. We all start at the dinner table and do a
“John Cleese” walk to the tree – we are all in a great mood after that 🙂
Funny walks to the tree – I love it! Have a great Christmas, Jack and Carlie 🙂
For the first two years of her life, my precious neice sang ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ half-wrong and half- hilariously-personalized. Her mom, my elder sis was at her wits end with the constant shrieking but when we were together after Christmas and my neice was doing her skit we all watched her in partial paralysis and disbelief not sure how to calm her down.
Sometimes letting kids sing it out will stop them more effectively than asking them to stop – but not always!
Do you rememebr any of thh alternatve words your neice used, Magic Pixel? I love kids’ versions of songs – soemtimes it’s just pronounciation and other times they use fantastic (but wrong) logic to figure out lyrics.
What a wonderful family time. Being silly or childlike is especially wonderful at Christmastime. Your family must really enjoy theirselves and the new comers as well.
It does sound like a lot of fun, doesn’t it pocs. Hmm, I could see a family in pyjamas doing silly things, too 🙂
We are a funny bunch. I always surprised by what they come up with. This year might be aliitle calmer with the grand babies, but I’m nit counting on it. My bunch never disappoints.
The babies will either be asleep or fascinated watching you all laugh and muck around, pocs 🙂
I have a huge family and this would be great to do with them. We spend all night at my Mom’s house Christmas Eve watching Christmas movies and playing games. I am going to add some of your ideas this year. I think buying boa and acting snooty would be fun. I have very small nieces who would love it.
Glad we’ve inspired some silly fun for you, Lisa. Good luck finding some suitable boas 🙂
Can I be adopted by your family, Carlie, it sounds like so much fun 🙂 Just joking, I wouldn’t give up my family, but I may try getting them to do some silly things this year – perhaps on the night we set up the tree and stuff, I think.
My parents bought inexpensive silly stocking stuffers and we had a great time with these small but fun toys and gadgets. My sister kept up that tradition. Now that her children are grown, they still expect silly stocking stuffers. My family enjoyed having fun playing board games.
It sounds like you had a lot of fun, Clauzetta.
I’ve always wanted to start a tradition where on Christmas Eve we play funny charades. As my unfortunate luck would have it, nobody else here likes to play charades so it ends up just me making hand motions and people watching as though I’ve gone bonkers.
Sorry – I probably shouldn’t laugh but your description of bonkers hand movements is funny, sorrowscal:) It sounds like you have succeeded in one sense…
Well, I suppose you are right. In the end we all get a laugh and it’s almost like it’s become a tradition at this point. Also, it’s okay to laugh at that. It’s funny. Sad, but funny.