Our family Christmas traditions have changed over the years. Ever since I was a child, my family would always go to my mother’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve. This tradition continued until my grandfather died. The last 3 years he was alive, I lived about 4 hours away from my grandfather. My wife and I had committed to spending Christmas Eve with my grandfather and our children spending Christmas morning in their own home. This made for some quick visits and fast trips home but it was worth it in the end. After my grandfather died, my mom started doing Christmas Eve at her house. Soon, she started inviting my dad’s family. My father continued to have his siblings over for Christmas Eve after my mom passed away and that is the tradition we continue to this day.
Our traditions for my immediate family have stayed relatively consistent over the years. The big shift came the first year when we didn’t play Santa Claus. In previous years when we got home from my dad’s house, the kids would immediately go to bed so my wife and I could get everything set up for the next morning. That year, the presents were already under the tree. There was no rush for the kids to go to bed. And it was early enough in the evening that we still had time to do something. I asked if everyone wanted to watch a Christmas movie and we agreed to do it. One of the channels we got at the time was doing an all-night marathon of the cult film “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”. I was the only member of our family that had ever seen this before. My family enjoys watching bad movies and this one fits the bill. In the movie, Martian children watching television from earth are fascinated by Santa Claus. The Martian leader comes to earth and kidnaps Santa and two earth children. There is an evil Martian who doesn’t like Santa or the kids. He tries to sabotage Christmas on Mars but is foiled by Santa and the Martian leader. It’s a terrible movie that’s made to poke fun of. Before the next Christmas, I had found a DVD of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode with this film. My family is big MST3K fans and watching this episode on Christmas Eve has become our new tradition. My kids have gotten older and some have moved out of the house. I have wondered if this tradition would continue. The last couple of years, my kids would gather around the TV without prompting waiting for everyone to watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. I wonder how many more years this tradition can last?
