Fall may be my favorite season but, when it comes to Christmas, I like to celebrate BIG. For this reason, I am always itching to break out my holiday décor in early November.
Especially at Christmas, traditions bring a sense of magic and help create lasting memories with those we love. That’s why I’ve prepared a list of 25 Christmas Traditions You Can Start With Your Kids all of which my family participates in.
Why Start Christmas Traditions?
Traditions connect us to something larger and are often foundations of family and societal cultures. They provide children with a sense of security and help us connect to our past though life may have moved in many directions. Tradition is a large part of my core values. Perhaps it is the routine or knowing what to expect that provides a sense of comfort. Whatever it is, I love them and I have a lot of them.
While my husband typically doesn’t like me to decorate until after Thanksgiving, there’s no harm in preparing my holiday bucket list for all of the traditional Christmas activities.
25 Christmas Traditions To Start This Year
Cut Your Own Tree
With my family being in FL we travel every other December to celebrate with them. We’ve made a rule that, any year we have Christmas at home, we will have a real tree. A benefit of living in the north is that there are plenty of tree farms to spare and costs to cut your own are substantially cheaper. One year, we cut down a 7.5 ft. tree for $35!
There truly is nothing like looking across a field and knowing that a specific tree was meant for your home and the kids will benefit from learning about the process that goes into growing their pines!
Start an Advent Calendar
Whether you purchase one or make it yourself, an advent calendar is an excellent way to help build anticipation for Christmas. Our family has an advent pillow and we move the attached candy cane every morning.
Make Snow Angels
Have A Christmas Puzzle Going
I adopted this tradition from my grandmother who always had a Christmas puzzle out at Thanksgiving. I was usually the one to spend the evening working on it and, oftentimes, she’d frame the puzzle to hang over her mantle.
There are so many holiday themed puzzles out there. Pick one and give it a designated spot so that anyone in the household, or even guests, can work on it throughout the month.
Host A Tree Decorating Party
For us this tradition has always coincided with Friendsgiving. In late November, or early December, invite close friends over for brunch or dinner to help decorate your tree. They get bonus friend points if they bring an ornament to hang!
Christmas Movie Marathon
Select a day of the week or, if time is of the essence, a day of the month that will be dedicated to watching your family’s favorite holiday films. Break out the popcorn and cozy up on the couch for an evening, or full day, filled with love, laughter and Christmas cheer!
15 Best Holiday Classic Christmas Movies
The Top 22 Ultimate List of Family Christmas Movies To Watch Together!
Volunteer As A Family
Write a Letter To Santa
I vividly remember writing my Christmas list each year and popping it into the mailbox. There was so much joy and excitement wrapped up in that envelope and it was fairly simple for my parents to do. Now that I have children of my own, it is surely an event I looked forward to; we like to make ours the day after Thanksgiving.
Grab some paper, pens and markers and let that little one get to writing/drawing their list or use a free letter template for those littles that aren’t quite there yet. Make sure to send it by the first week of December so it can make it to the North Pole and Santa has enough time to write back!
Sing Christmas Hymns as bedtime songs
Beginning on Dec. 1st start singing a few hymns as your child is falling asleep.
Here are a few of our family favorites:
- Away in a Manger
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- Silent Night
- We Three Kings
- Mary Did You Know
- O Holy Night
Have A Cookie Day
Host a holiday baking party and whip up your favorite holiday treats. Decorate cookies with the kids or invite your friends and family over for refreshments and share tried and true recipes with each other.
In need of cookie recipes? Here are 41 that are a “MUST BAKE”!
Take Family Pictures
Drive Around To Look At Lights
Where we live, several communities band together to create magical Christmas light displays. So magical that we return every year.
Check in with your friends, do a quick google search or even look for Facebook event posts to find great displays near you!
Have a Snowball Fight
What is better than pegging a family member with freezing cold balls of snow? In my opinion, not much! Get outdoors throughout the month of December and create some great, or not so great, memories while getting exercise.
If the weather isn’t so frightful where you live, or it just doesn’t snow that year, pick up some of these Indoor Snowballs!
Wear Matching Pajamas
Before bed, snuggle up in your cozy festive pajamas. There are a ton of matching PJ sets out there and you can even include them as part of a Christmas Eve Box.
Mail Out Christmas Cards
Make Reindeer Food
Santa’s sleigh doesn’t run on gas but those trusted trotters need to refuel here and there. How about leaving out a special snack for Rudolph and his friends? Once you’ve mixed up your ingredients, let the kids sprinkle some in front of the house before bed.
PRO TIP: Sprinkling reindeer food on the sidewalk leading up to the house, makes for easy clean up.
Order Take Out For Christmas Eve
Open One Gift On Christmas Eve
The only tradition my husband can recall from his childhood is being able to open a gift on Christmas Eve. This happens to be one of my own family’s traditions as well. You could select one small gift or allow the kiddos to open a Christmas Eve box. Whether there is one for each child or one for the family, fill it with fun activities for the evening.
The box is a new addition to our family’s traditions. This year, ours will have Christmas PJs, The Night Before Christmas, and our special plate and mug for Santa’s cookies and milk.
Lay Out Cookies for Santa on Special Plate
Make a homemade gift
Homemade gifts are unique, can be fairly inexpensive and can be personalized making them super special in my book. I’ve made it a point to make at least one homemade gift for a family member each year and, oftentimes, I will stick with a theme and make one for all of my family.
Check Out These Easy Homemade Christmas Gifts!
Read The Christmas Story Before Bed
Christmas French Toast Casserole
Waking up to French toast casserole on Christmas morning sets the tone for the day; at least in my family. Having a Christmas breakfast tradition is a lot of fun and has always been one of my favorite memories.
When I was a child we had cinnamon rolls and as an adult I made the switch to French toast, but you could have whatever you like. This year, I am combining them both with this delicious Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole!
Use Special Santa Wrapping Paper
All you need to do is choose a roll of paper that you’ll use to wrap the presents from Santa. My parents always used ones that had Santa’s face and I like red or silver with “Noel” on it. It doesn’t matter what roll you choose so long as nothing else is wrapped with this paper.
Pro Tip: After the holidays, when stores mark their Christmas products on sale, you can stock up and use the same wrapping paper year after year.
Take Turns Opening Presents
The strongest memory I have of Christmas morning is watching everyone open their presents. It is a testament to the fact that gifts are one of my strongest love languages. We would always start with the youngest member and all of our attention would go to them.
While this may not be desirable for everyone, taking such extended time to focus on one person can help the day feel even more special. Kids aren’t tearing through paper at rapid rates to where the floor looks like the wrapping paper exploded. Parents get to enjoy the look on their children’s faces when they open that longed for gift and the experience doesn’t feel so rushed. For that moment, or several depending on how many gifts there are, that person is the focus of the family and I can’t describe how important that can make a child feel.
Have A Special Meal For Dinner
Most families host a traditional dinner similar to that of Thanksgiving. In my family, we eat prime rib. I remember this being a shock to my husband when we first started dating and I laughed because my friends always found it funny too.
It doesn’t have to be prime rib, maybe it is just a dessert or side, but having something that is only eaten on this one day of the year makes the occasion stand out even more.
Save a few, your child will not recall all of the gifts they received throughout the years but they will remember the special memories that were created with those that loved them.
What Christmas traditions does your family have and which of might add to the list this year? Let me know in the comments!
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