Since we have so many international folks, I am curious, how do you celebrate christmas in your respective countries?
I am from Brazil and there it's very different. First of all, it comes in the beginning of summer, so it's always hot. On the 24th at night, we would go to our family's house (usually the grandparent's) and have a huge Christmas dinner. We would fill the tree with gifts. Then at midnight (everyone stays awake, including the kids) we start opening up the gifts. Whenever we had a Santa costume (usually my aunt) she would show up, give out some gifts, then leave while we all go outside looking at the sky saying we saw the sled fly away (that always got the little kids).
So we would open up the presents at night and play with it a little bit, while the adults are out there eating, joking, bonding with each other, then we would all sleep in the house at whatever corner we'd find (I remember going to bed at 3-4am and I was 8 years old). The next day (christmas day) we would wake up, play with the toys in the morning, then go BBQ-hopping from friend's place to place. Basically, we would go from one house to another where there are always a good and random group of people (friends, families, friend's families, so on) and eat some good ole Brazilian BBQ (which basically means a lot of meat and occasionally some rice). At night we would go home and rest because everyone would be all beat up.
Of course, before every meal and before opening up the presents, there are always the speech about the meaning of xmas (my family is very religious) and I also forgot to mention that we go to church before heading to the family's house on the 24th.
Anyway, that's the way that we do in Brazil, at least I used to do when I was a kid. There was no snow and not as much xmas lights, carols, and a lot of t-shirts and random fireworks set out, but it was a good xmas nonetheless, mainly because you are spending with your family and the people you love.
Merry Christmas everyone!
