10th December, 2024
It’s that time of year again. The tree is decorated, Micheal Bublé is on the radio and we’re all ready to loosen our belts after eating one too many mince pies.
We reached out to the team to discover their favourite Christmas traditions.
We found that, often, our favourite Christmas traditions can be found through our stomachs!
“We have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve lunch time, followed by watching films chosen by our boys, they eat popcorn and drink hot chocolate. Then, in the evening they have their Christmas Eve boxes. On Christmas day we have hot and cold party food as and when anyone is hungry, but this gives us the whole day to have quality time as a family.” Family Matching Administrator, Tanya’s day is all about good food and good company.
We love how Registered Manager, Bev’s Christmas traditions have been handed down through the family. “In my family we have a tradition that spans from my grandparents, so we’re now on 5th generation. First of all, ‘If you don’t believe you don’t receive’. We send letters to Santa, leave out carrots for the reindeer, a mince pie and what was milk for Santa is now a of shot whiskey! (It’s cold out there) Talc Santa footprints of course! Then on Christmas morning we always have tangerine, a shiny new penny, and chocolate coins. It takes ages to find a bright coin and sometimes we have to soak in coke, but we get there.”
Area Family Matching Manager, Sarah, continues her long held traditions. "A lifelong tradition in our family is to read The Night before Christmas on Christmas Eve together just before bed. It’s a lovely festive poem that is certain to get everyone in the family ready for the big day ahead."
Plus, this super sweet tradition from foster carers Cherie and Nicky, “We have our Christmas Eve box, with Christmas Eve pyjamas, hot chocolate, a teddy for the children, and a Christmas book which we read together. Then some popcorn whilst watching a Christmas movie. The children all have a mini-Christmas trees in their playroom. We leave our Christmas mince pies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, we take it in turns to stand at the front door and throw our reindeer food with glitter to leave on the lawn. We say, ‘The sparkles carry their wishes,’ and helps guide the reindeers and Father Christmas to find the house.”
While Recruitment Manager, Lucy’s Christmas’s sound fun filled with a snowman full of goodies! “Always new PJs on Christmas Eve! Then we have a big snowman and the head comes off, and gifts magically appear inside him after dinner for everyone!”
And for Marketing Officer, Jamie, the Christmas magic is alive no matter your age. “As a child while we were having our Christmas Eve hot chocolate downstairs, my dad would sneak upstairs and put a little present onto our beds and then make Santa noises. We would all run upstairs to catch Santa (I don’t know how my dad would manage it without getting caught but he never did). It would always be our Christmas PJs wrapped up from Santa. My Family still do this now even though we are all older and do it for my nieces too. My nan started this tradition, once we are all sat round the table just before dinner, she would say ‘Santa accidently left some presents at mine’ every year… but it would always be a smaller gift that we would all open round the table. My dad has now taken up this tradition and says, ‘Santa asked me to post this, but he forgot.’ He’s a post man so story kind of makes sense!”
We’re definitely spotting a theme that new Christmas pyjamas are a must have tradition!
This fostering family brings a competitive edge to their annual festive fun. “Every Christmas Eve we have a family challenge! A task is set, and everyone takes part in making/decorating a Christmas item. Over the years the challenges have included: to make and decorate a gingerbread house, decorate a Christmas bauble, make and decorate a reindeer and sleigh, decorate cookies. Nearly all the challenges involve chocolate and sweets and every year we eat more than what goes on the Christmas challenge. There is no time limit and often we split into teams (boys v girls), at the end we send photos to a friend and ask them to choose a winner (they are not told who decorated them).” Kevin and Heather, we love how this brings the family together. With over ten years of fostering experience, that’s quite a few Christmas competitions.
Of course, Christmas is a time for fun and festivity, but it can also be a hard time of year for others. So, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on what we have and think about giving back or remembering those who are no longer with us.
Supervising Social Worker, Lily, tells us about some of her previous altruistic foster carers. “They bagged up some old toys and books into a gift bag and left them under the tree on Christmas Eve. They would tell their children that Father Christmas takes these away and fixes them up and makes them look shiny and new with the elves to give to other children next Christmas, to make sure there are enough presents to go round for everyone! (And would then take the old items to the charity shop). I thought it was a nice sentiment, but also encouraged their little ones to help clear out the old items and encourage recycling and putting old toys and books to good use to ensure all children got presents.”
While one of our team also shared her poignant and very personal Christmas tradition. “Since my daughter died, I actually find Christmas very difficult. In the morning, we always go to the cemetery to think about her and pay our respects to all the people in our lives who are no longer with us. I have a good cry and then go home feeling a little lighter, looking forward to a glass of champagne and present sharing. It's a difficult way to start the day and I always feel sad when we see so many other people at the cemetery but there's also something cathartic about it. Including her in the day feels important for us.”
Christmas traditions both merry and more thoughtful remind us that the festive period is all about the people we love and celebrating them.
If you’ve got any questions or would like to find out more about fostering with Capstone, fill out the form below.
An experienced fostering advisor from your local area will then be in touch.
By signing up, you will receive our latest fostering stories every two months.
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
