Recommended for you

Start writing a post

Lifestyle

Traditional Christmases Are So Last Season, Let's Ring In The Holidays With These 13 Uncommon Traditions

Make your Christmas unique with these new traditions.

Lauren Alice Margheim

Dec 27, 2018

Orlando, Florida

Toa Heftiba

Now don't get me wrong—I love stereotypical, plain old Christmas traditions as much as the next guy. I'll take a hot chocolate while we drive around and look at Christmas lights any day. Just don't try to convince me that Christmas dinner is anything other than those wonderful noodles, rice, veggies, chicken, and signature white sauce from Kobe Steakhouse.

Our Kobe Christmas dinner is probably the most uncommon Christmas tradition my family follows, so I was curious to see what other families do to celebrate the holiday. Below are some uncommon Christmas traditions I've gathered from friends and online submissions. Maybe you'll find one you want to start too!

1. Lasagna Christmas Eve dinner!

Keep it simple and classic the day before the big celebrations!

2. A movie and mimosas!

Honestly, just another excuse to drink mimosas. Sit back with the bubbly and relax while watching "Elf" or "A Christmas Story" or the "Prep and Landing" cartoons!

3. New toothbrushes in your stockings!

Too many Christmas cookies? No worries! Santa's got all your dental needs covered. He's teamed up with the Tooth Fairy to make your smile merry and bright for the holidays.

4. Ornament wishing game!

"Make a wish when placing the first ornament on the tree. If the ornament falls, the wish didn't come true."

5. Sub sandwich Christmas dinner and a movie!

"My family makes open faced sub sandwiches for a late lunch or early dinner and watches Oliver Twist in the evening. My mom told my dad to pick out a Christmas movie to watch the first year they were married and he picked that one because it had snow in the background on the cover. Oliver Twist is not, in fact, a Christmas movie."

6. New calendar on Christmas!

The rest of the year can be a bit of a blur sometimes. Make sure you have a way to keep track of how many days until next Christmas!

7. Traditional British Christmas crackers!

They're so cool. You pull them apart and inside are prizes, jokes, and a paper crown. Maybe this is normal in England, but in America, this is something fun and different than any old Christmas activity.

8. Keep your decorations up until April!

Just because you love Christmas that much. Keep that festive spirit going into the rest of the year.

9. Don't send Christmas cards!

Giphy

It's okay! Just post a bunch of pictures on Facebook! Your friends and family will get the idea.

10. Go see a movie!

There's no traffic on the way to the theater and then the theater itself is practically empty. It's almost like watching a movie in the comfort of your own home, but not!

11. Special wrapping paper!

Use new, surprise wrapping paper to reveal on Christmas day—a different one for each person! This makes gifts easy to find and keep track of before you open them.

12. Celebrate with ESPN!

Giphy

Not Christmas movies. In fact, don't even watch a Christmas movie. Focus on your favorite sports team and bring Christmas cheer cheering them on!

"We've got spirit, yes we do!"

(#10hana)

13. Christmas dinner at a hibachi restaurant!

Giphy

You just cooked a nice dinner on Thanksgiving. Who wants to go through all that work again so soon? Head to Kobe Steakhouse or another hibachi style restaurant for a Japanese Christmas dinner! The best part is you'll have leftovers for the next day too! Plus, the white sauce. Ugh, now I'm hungry.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

"God bless us, everyone!" —Tiny Tim, "A Christmas Carol"

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Student Life

Things I Am Actually Going To Do This Semester

Or at least try to do.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

1593

CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less

new year

Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

Southwestern University

1988

woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch

Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less

library

Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

Michigan State University

1244

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

University of Vermont

383

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less

finals

Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

Kennesaw State University

1794

group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.