Christmas time can be a stressful time of year with all the obligatory parties and presents that need to be bought. Even though people can have a negative experience around the holidays it can also be a time when you pass down traditions and experience fun moments not only with family but with your community around you. There’s a pervasive joy in the air and many times people can remember the wonder that can accompany this time of year. Re-creating these traditions and experiences for our children can bring great fulfillment to us as parents. There’s nothing like seeing the face of a child who is so excited and full of wonder. Here’s a list of epic Christmas Traditions that you can have. These traditions don’t have to be done all in one year but they are fun to go through over a couple of years. Many of these aren’t difficult but they are there to create a lasting memory moment with the people you care about in your life.
- Go to a Christmas Tree Farm– If you have never been to a Christmas tree farm it’s such a fun tradition. There’s something about seeing all the Christmas trees and smelling the fresh pine that helps to bring joy. Personally, I love the smell of a fresh Christmas tree in my house so going to chop down one or buy one from a farm is one way to support a local farmer and have the joy of having the kids choose a tree. Yes, I’ll be real here it’s not always the easiest process getting it in the house, setting it up, or even well, let’s be real, remembering to give it water but at least for one year it’s worth the memories. If you do go this route I love this base it’s flexible and easy to stabilize your tree.
2. Hot Chocolate Night- There’s something about cold and hot chocolate that you can’t go wrong with. One of my favorite traditions is having a night where all the kids grab a mug of hot cocoa and fill it to overflowing with marshmallows. One year on Christmas Eve we got all the children their own mugs and filled them with a cocoa bomb. They loved it! They still talk about it to this day and it was years ago now.
3. Advent Calendar– An advent calendar is a fun way for children to keep track of the countdown till Christmas. Let’s be honest about this though there are times when you forget then your child gets a whole week’s worth of candy on one night. Forgetting to open the calendar at the correct time in and of itself is a tradition. It’s a fun way for the kids in your life to learn about how fast and slow life can be and to appreciate every moment no matter what is happening.
4. Decorate the Outside of Your Home– We all have different feelings about decorations. Believe it or not, it can be a heated topic in the family. The reason there can be so much contention is that it can become a competition between neighbors or family members. However, this tradition is supposed to bring light into the dark of the winter. It’s a symbol of hope when you are in a dark place. Along with this tradition, it’s fun during this holiday season to drive around to find people who have gone all out and admire their artistic flair for the season. You don’t have to decorate every year but at least one year plan to go all out and have fun!
5. Decorate Christmas Tree Together- One of the best traditions is decorating the Christmas tree together as a family. It’s not fun when it’s just left up to one person so make sure to include the children in placing ornaments on the tree. This is a moment to reflect on Christmases gone by when you pull out old family Christmas ornaments or child-made ornaments it’s a great time to remember the past and reflect. Sometimes I like to change how I decorate a tree. One year I will do a specific color theme like purple, blue, and pink, and the next year I will change it to red and green. The children get to choose new ornaments to add to the collection every year depending on what the theme of that Christmas is. This helps them feel a part of the tradition as well as they get to see their choices on the tree. Here are some beautiful decorations to start with as a base and build around. The tree is a place where you can let creativity take over.
6. Stringing Popcorn and Cranberry on a String for Decor- This is a fun tradition that started back when there wasn’t a lot of money or choices for decorating the tree. It’s fun to pop the popcorn and grab some cran berries and have the children create a garland that can go on the tree or decorate some part of your home. When you are done you can put it outside for the wildlife to enjoy. This is not a tradition I do every year but typically it’s a great way to get the children involved in decorating.
7. Go See the Nutcracker– While it’s fun to watch the movie the Nutcracker is a classic Christmas tale that is better seen live. There’s nothing like watching all the dancing and costumes that are so present in each part of the story. While it can be pricy depending on where you live it’s completely worth at least one year of spending the time to go and check out your local production. It can also be a fun night of dressing up for you and your kids alike to spend some time out and about.
8. Go Christmas Caroling- Christmas caroling is a fun way to get out and see your community and neighborhood. Whether you are a good singer or not it’s still fun to go singing for people who could be older or unable to get out of their houses to enjoy the holiday season. Here’s a great song book to help you know a list of fun songs to sing. This activity is also great for the kids to be able to get out and about and have some fun singing songs.
9. Hang up Mistletoe– Usually Mistletoe is reserved for the company Christmas party but this is a fun tradition to have at home as well. One thing that you could do is when two people are under it they can give each other a hug instead of a kiss. It makes it more of a fun tradition to show physical affection to others in your family. Another thing you could do is if there’s two people under the mistletoe they can say one nice thing to each other. This makes for a fun game and brings some unity to the holidy season. Here’s a cute Mistletoe for your holiday season.
10. Make a Big Christmas Breakfast– The most amzing thing about the holiday season is spending time with the people that we love. For centuries people have shared meals together. Food has been a way to connect families for a long time. Traditionally mothers are the ones who prepare the holiday meals and personally I love cooking so this works for my family. However, I don’t like cooking all day long especially on Christmas so I make a very large breakfast and then we have leftovers or a snack table for the rest of the day. Part of my Christmas breakfast will include cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, coffee, and OJ. No matter what your traditional food is for the holiday it’s an opportunity to share a meal and connect with your family. Usually we allow the kids to open their stockings before breakfast and then we eat breakfast before opening presents. It’s a day full of fun! Here are some fun serving dishes to add to your collection.
11. Make a Huge Christmas Eve Dinner– Whether your family has a large Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner this is a big part of the celebration. In my family tradition we have ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, veggies, and salad. The huge part of dinner is sitting around connecting with family. Children get to hear fun family stories and eating together gives everyone time to catch up. Here’s a great way to get conversations started around the table. Creating an atmosphere of joy and fun around the dinner table during the holidays is fun for everyone!
12. Go To a Christmas Service- Whether you are religious or not, one tradition is going to a Christmas service. At least once in the many Christmases this is a fun thing to do. To join with others singing and listening to a message about hope its a way to lift up your spirits and bring unity to you and those you love. Because the Christmas story is one that is based in Christianity it’s fun to go back to the source and hear about the origins of the story.
13. Hanging Stockings– Hanging stockings can be such a fun activity for the kids to participate in. It’s an opportunity to have fun thinking about past stocking stuffers. You can even talk about how children use to get oranges in their stockings and it was considered an amazing gift. Here are some cute stockings that you can add to your collection. You can also inspire your children to think of things they would like to put in your stockings or their siblings stocking. The joy of giving out weighs the joy of recieving and taking time to teach them how to think about others during this time of year is huge!
14. Enjoy a Christmas Movie as a Family– There’s nothing like having a fire in the fire place and a classic Christmas movie playing while it’s cold or snowing outside. This is a great tradition that can be fun to add hot chocolate to or cuddling up with a blanket. Here’s a great list of holiday movies and a little review. There’s a great mixture of old and new family friendly Christmas movies on the list. Christmas movies can be watched together year after year and there’s nothing like sharing memories and movie lines.
15. Enjoy Snow or Ice – Whether you live where there’s lots of snow or barely any its always a fun thing to find snow or ice to play in at some point during the holiday season. You can go ice skating or have a snowball fight. However you enjoy the snow it’s a great time to spend time having fun with your kids and getting some fresh air together. Playing in the snow is a great way to have fun during the holiday season!
16. Baking Christmas Cookies– Baking Christmas cookies is a great tradition. You can have them pre-made or make them from scratch either way this is a fun activity to do with kids. Whether you do ginger bread men or sugar cookies and decorate them you can make a fun night full of making cookies. Here are some fun Christmas cookie cutters! Enjoy the fun tradition of cookie baking.
17. Have Kids Write Christmas List To Santa– One of the funnest things to do is have your kids write their Christmas list. It’s a time for them to dream about possabilities even though they might not get everyting on their list it’s a fun tradition for kids to dream during the holiday season. This also helps you to know what your kids want for Christmas it makes shopping easier then just guessing. Here’s a cute letter idea for how you can have them write down their ideas. This is such a fun way to capture the season and wonder.
18. Serve at a Homeless Shelter- During this time of year it’s important to give back. It’s a time to reflect on all that you have and give to those who don’t. Whether you demonstrate that by buying toys for kids who won’t get any or by serving in a homeless shelter it’s good to remember how grateful you are for all the things you have. Bringing your children to serve along side you will also help them to see children or people who have less than them and it will create an ability to reflect on all they have.
19. Find a Charity to Give New Toys To- There are so many children in fostercare or in poverty that don’t get gifts for Christmas. Giving toys is such a fun way for your children to get involved and to think about other kids during this holiday. There are many different charities that are available in your area or around the country for you to get involved with. Have your children be a part of the process of deciding where to give toys and what to give is a powerful lesson for them. Not every year will you have the time but it’s important to give when you can to making the world a bit brighter during this time of year.
20. White Elephant Gift Exchange– The white elephant gift exchange is such a fun way for extended families to shar gifts without going broke. You can set a limit on how much you want to spend or not. Either way it always gets fun when people get gifts that they have to steal or get stolen from. Every year we add scratch off tickets to our christmas gifts which make for a fun party. One year grandma won $500! Mainly we play this game with extended family when we have our family Christmas party every year. It makes for such a fun time with lots of laughter and memories made.
21. Elf on the Shelf- There’s so much debate about how this is not a good motivation for children to be good which I do agree it can be a bit creepy however, I changed the rules for the Elf. Instead of the Elf watching my kid to catch her being good the elf gets himself in trouble all the time and gets caught for getting in trouble. This makes it hilarious and fun to wake up to see what the Elf did the previous night. I don’t do anything too extravegant but it is fun to come up with creative ideas on how the elf can get himself in trouble. I don’t recommend this every year because it can drive you nuts but its fun to do every now and then. Here’s the elf on the shelf initial box. Over the years I have added to the collection and made all sorts of fun things come out of the Elf’s silliness. Have fun with the Elf!
22. Read the Christmas Story of Jesus– Traditionally the story of Jesus and how he was born is part of the culture of Christmas. Passing down the story of how we celebrate hope coming to the world puts a lot of our traditions and songs into perspective. It’s fun to hear and go over the story that has shaped and formed the foundation of the holiday. Here’s an easy kids version of the story to read to your kids during this season.
23. Read The Night Before Christmas- One of the most famous poems and stories for Christmas was the Night Before Christmas. Reading this story is a tradition usually reserved for Christmas Eve. It’s a fun story for the children to fall asleep to dream about the wonder and hope for the next day. This story is full of fun imagry of Christmas and warmth. It’s a great classic story. Here’s a great version of this book!
24. Christmas Eve Present- Every family does Christmas Eve different but one fun tradition is to let the children open one gift on Christmas Eve. The way we do this in our family is to put the gift under a top hat with the children’s name on it. This top hat eventually goes on the top of their snowman boxes. These boxes hold all their gifts. Here’s how to make the snowman boxes. We usually pick games for their Christmas Eve presents because then we can have a game night that night and enjoy each others company. This creates and ability to connect and have fun the night before the big day!
25. Christmas Cards– Not always do we do Christmas card from us to family and friends but this is a tradition that is fun to have the children involved in. Instead of having them printed by a professional have your children hand make cards for a few family members who are far away. It’s such a fun treat to connect with family far and near and it’s also fun for the kids to get involved. Here’s a cute coloring kit for your kids to make their own cards.
No matter what your traditions it’s always fun to see what other people value in their homes during the holidays. Have fun with all the traditions here and add more to your list! Happy Holidays!
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