CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Last Christmas was Tate’s first and our family was still in pure survival mode with a four-month old.  Continuing traditions or beginning any new ones was not at all on our minds! Holidays, though, are a time for building memories with your family and loved ones. Traditions help build those bonds and reconnect family members. So, this Christmas I have been all about traditions!

I have put together a list of Christmas traditions I have begun this year or just to help inspire me! Merry Christmas and I hope this list helps to make your season a little brighter!

20 Best Christmas Traditions

1. Every year make the same meal for Christmas Eve (cooked ham) or Christmas morning (cinnamon buns). It may be fun to even throw an unusual dish for fun!
2. Decorate sugar cookies or make a gingerbread house. You can even make it a competition! Are we the only family that a little friendly competition brings together?! … See pictures from the beginning of our sugar cookie decorating tradition!!
3. Get in your car, turn on a holiday playlist, and find brightly lit houses in your area Christmas Eve.
4. Visit Santa!
5. Encourage your kids to be on their best behavior with the ‘Elf on a Shelf’ tradition.
6. Start a “We Are Thankful For” list during the month of November. Have each member of the family write a different thing they are thankful for each day on a piece of paper. Turn the this into a decoration strung throughout the house and leave up through the month of December to remember the things your family is thankful for.
7. Make an ornament of each child’s handprint every year.
8. Make your own holiday decorations!
9. Volunteer as a family at a soup kitchen or food bank.
10. Visit a local festival of lights (i.e. city zoo, local farm).
11. Track Santa’s movement across the globe.
12. Video chat with family members far away Christmas morning as the kids open gifts so that everyone can share in the joy and excitement.
13. Make reindeer food on Christmas Eve and toss it on the lawn for Santa’s team.
14. Leave footprints from the chimney to the tree to show Santa’s route in the house.
15. Get matching pajamas for the kids to wear Christmas Eve night and photograph all the children in them Christmas morning in the same spot (i.e. stairs) each year.
16. Have family, friends, or neighbors over Christmas evening for games and desserts to decompress from the holiday.
17. Set aside one night each week, or on Christmas Eve, to watch a holiday movie or television special, such as “Miracle on 34th Street” or “Home Alone.”
18. Read about the birth of Christ from the scriptures or have little children help act out the story.
19. Read holiday books before bed each night for the month of December to book your family’s holiday spirit.
20. Find a giving tree that allows you to sponsor a family in need or purchase toys for children in need. Go shopping as a family and donate them together.

 

Our family has begun tradition #2 this year!! Tate had so much decorating the cookies, though, he may have eaten more icing than put on the cookie.

^^”What is this stuff, Mom?!”

^^”Oh, I remember this stuff now!!”

 

I love making memories as a family and hope we can keep up with a few of these each year to bond our family together!

 

What are some of your favorite family traditions?