I'm looking for a nice way to spend Xmas eve with my daughter.
she's a young adult, we're exmos and we are not wanting to get caught up in the machine of following along with TBMs this year

So far a couple of my ideas are:
- dinner, a movie & ice skating
- if I could find a cathedral playing nice music or concert, would sure like to go (European cities and towns have this but unfortunatley in North America, some churches have it but it's mixed in with too much evangelizing or the entire nativity thing. I just want the music!)

Look for a church having "lessons and Carols" It's mostly carols, and some Bible readings. Probably no sermon.

Drive around and look at all the lights while listening to Christmas music of your choosing?

If you are in SLC, the Cathedral of the Madeleine is having a carol service at 4:00 Christmas Eve. You need tickets but they are free. They are just to insure a seat. If there is room you can get in without them. I am assuming other churches do the same.Going to see Christmas lights is nice too. We always have a special dinner and open a few gifts.

I like midnight mass.

But in the meantime, you could get some Christmas goodies, some different cheeses and cheese biscuits, some wines, Port's a good one, and sit back and watch the 1951 version of Scrooge, or the 1984 version, starring George C. Scott.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2011 08:02PM by matt.

I like the idea of seeing Christmas lights. When I was a kid, my dad would drive up and down all the streets in town (very small town) and we would vote on which lights were the best.

if you are in the slc area you are welcome to come to my house - there will be a mix of peeps here but it should be a great time and if we're lucky my current stray will sing for us - she is flippin amazing - has an album out and will be returning to NYC shortly - I think it'll be amazingly fun!

My 16 yo son and I do the Christmas lights every year on Christmas Eve. Just the two of us. We make an evening of it. We go by a local drive thru coffee house and buy hot chocolate, then drive around all the neighborhoods. We look, but most important...we talk. About everything. It's great quality one on one time with my son. We have been doing it since he was 6. When he was 5, I took him to a local Lutheran church for the Christmas Eve service. I wanted him to see what the service was like. We do not, nor have we ever belonged to a church so he had not had any exposure to church. I knew it wouldn't be too preachy as I had visited the church when I was a child. He only wanted to do that once. It's a fun way to spend time with your child, no matter how old they are. I was actually a little surprised when he asked me the other day if we were still going this year. I figured at 16 he wouldn't want to hang out with his ole mom. It was a wonderful surprise when I said I didn't think he would want to do it this year. His response was "why wouldn't I?" LOL love that boy!

A quiet evening at home watching a good movie while pigging out on Christmas goodies is fun too. It is especially nice to watch a Christmas classic.

Are there any botanical gardens in your area with Christmas displays? We're going to Longwood Gardens in PA this year. They put on a jaw-droppingly spectacular Christmas display.