A friend was asking how I spent Xmas, and I thought of how I used to spend them in my youth...

I grew up French Canadians which are mostly Catholics while Anglo-Canadians are mostly Protestant - we have different ways to celebrate Xmas. In Quebec, when I was growing up (i.e. Before I turn 30 lol no serious from 2-12 years old) the 24th was a big day spent in psychotic expectation.

Everyone in the extended family congregates at the party place. We call it the 'Réveillon'. 'Réveiller' is 'to wake up', because we celebrate very late in the day and so to speak stay up all night. So one has to stay awake - which is not difficult.
24th we have a HUGE supper and I mean huge. The biggest in the year. Women are busy cooking for 2 days, guests brings stuff, alcohol flows liberally, etc. There's everything one can eat and leftovers last for days! The family specialty was the meat pie - from wild animal though, moose and hare and pheasant etc. We called that Tourtière.
Then usually kids go to bed around 8 pm until about 11pm or so, in preparation for the next big thing: the Midnight Mass - that's right on the 24th evening you go to Mass at Midnight until about 1am, that's when the Catholic churches have the most attendance, it's packed. Something really neat about this Mass with its unique set of songs, decorum, ritual, sermon, parable, etc. Plus it's in the middle of the night which is already more mystical.
When Mass is over we're all back home where - o my! We're opening up the Christmas gifts! SO it's really trippy when you're a kid - you're up all night, you get gifts you most wanted at 1:30 am. The gift giving is hierarchic and ritualized too, starting with the kids and the smallest gifts, working to the bigger gifts and older folks, and culminating in the surprise gifts and stuff. Of course one of the uncle dresses up as Santa, usually the one with the beer belly lol. He's making his apparition and it's a sight to look at the youngest kids, at once marveling at Santa and kinda spooked that he's right there. Plus the lingering suspicion that Santa's voice sounds a bit like uncle Joe...
All along there's food to be had... Tables filled with delicacies, sweets, liquors, etc.
So you go to bed at 4-5 am, full from delicious and rich food, wines and spirit, gifts, the kids bewildrement, etc. As you get older the magic changes... But the celebrations stays for family to get together, which is getting rarer in our communities, and to create magic for the kids...
Anyway now it's been about 10 years I live far away from my family, I can't remember the last time I spent a Catholic Xmas (more into partying with friends now that I'm a grown up...) besides the family imploded (heritage money, death, moving, etc.) so those evenings are gone never to come back... But I have fond memories of those years when the family was numerous and united.
Ok I hope you have a Merry Xmas on your side, XD XD XD
I wish you the very best!

Very nice story Baarainz. Sounds similar to my family tradition. We would start early in the afternoon with all sorts of sweets appetizers, relish trays, cheese trays, summer sausage, booze of all sorts. We would sit down for a HUGE dinner, Turkey, roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, etc etc etc. Then we would take the kids out in the car for a drive to look at Christmas lights. Of course when we returned we had just missed santa and would walk in to a huge pile of gifts. Then we head off the Midnight mass. Our celebration ended at that. :)