Hi, Friends!
I cannot believe the first week of December is already almost over! This week has been SO BUSY, but what’s December without a hectic schedule? My week has been full of decorating the house for Christmas, Christmas shopping, and preparing for one of my favorite Christmas traditions, our annual Christmas Cookie Decorating party. If I’m not careful, I’ll be too busy to enjoy any of it!
Public Service Announcement: Make sure you take time to sit back and enjoy this time of year with your family!!
December is such a magical time of the year. It is full of wonder, happiness, the birth of Jesus, and of course, a visit from Santa Clause! The cold weather is still a welcome change from the hot humid days that just left (however, after Christmas, the cold is no longer welcome!). There is so much excitement in the air between parties, family gatherings, and preparing for Santa’s visit!
I have wonderful memories of Christmas. My mom was really good about keeping Christmas traditions alive and fun! As a family we used to drive around town to look at Christmas lights. We would also have our pictures taken with the Santa at the mall, however I remember this tradition going on a little longer than it should have (sorry, mom!). My brother, cousins, and I were always involved in the Christmas program at church. We had rehearsals each week, and I remember rocking out to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” song in my aunt Lisa’s car the entire way. These are just a few of the Christmas traditions I remember as a child.
Now that I have my own family I have intentionally (and some unintentionally) started a few Christmas traditions that I hope my kids will look back on with a smile.
Why are Christmas Traditions so important?
Now, I am not a scientist/researcher/doctor/counselor (obviously). I am just a mom/wife/daughter/sister who is giving her opinion on why Christmas traditions are important to her.
I think all traditions, not just Christmas Traditions, are important. Traditions make you feel like you belong to a group, like “we are a family and this is what we do.” They enforce family values and demonstrate what is important in life. Lastly, and most importantly, they provide an avenue for amazing memories!! Think back to all of the fun things you used to do as a kid. Those are the things you probably make an extra effort to do with your own kids. Those are also the things your kids will probably make an extra effort to do with their own families someday.
My Favorite Christmas Traditions
Listed below are MY favorite Christmas traditions and how they came to be. I look forward to these things every single year and I hope my kids will too!
Gingerbread Houses
I had a neighbor who always hosted a Gingerbread House Decorating Party. I loved going – it was so fun! I remember a long table, everyone had their own homemade gingerbread house, and there were just bowls of toppings & candy decorations everywhere. I remember it being so much fun to slather on icing and decorate the gingerbread house however I wanted.
Maybe someday I will try something similar with my friends, but for now this tradition is just for our family of 4. We try to buy the Pre-Assembled Gingerbread House kits (like this). We accidentally bought the kit that requires assembly last year and…well…I barely had time to take the “after photo” before the houses slid apart. (insert face palm). We didn’t let the house set up long enough before we started decorating. The kids still had a blast, so it wasn’t a complete fail.
Cookie Decorating
For the past 3 years I have hosted a Christmas Cookie Decorating Party with my closest friends. This has become a fun annual Christmas tradition for all of us! We all have kids close in age, and it is so fun to get to experience all of these things together!
We buy a couple rolls of the refrigerated sugar cookie dough at the grocery store, roll it out on the table with a rolling pin, and let the kids use Christmas cookie cutters to make their shapes. While the cookies bake, the kids get to run around and play. Once everything is cooled off we let the kids pile on as many candies and sprinkles as they want. It’s a huge mess, and the kids eat more candy and icing than what actually gets on the cookies – they love it!
Christmas Lights
In Evansville we have a Christmas light display at one of our local parks. It has been around as long as I can remember. All proceeds go toward Easter Seals. It’s a great cause and a fun Christmas tradition with the family!
Pictures with Santa
Pictures with the mall Santa are controversial because they are expensive, but you know what – I love my expensive mall pictures!!
Pro Tip: If you pay in advance online you get to cut in line.
An unintentional tradition is that we go to the food court and eat dinner after our pictures.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Every single Christmas Eve for my entire life I have attended the Christmas Eve service at my church. There is something so special and magical about being at church on Christmas Eve – and when everyone has their candles lit – it’s my favorite.
My family always chose the 7 pm Christmas Eve service. Our group included my parents, my brother, my aunt, uncle, cousin, my grandparents, and myself (obviously). We would eat an early dinner at our house before church and then leave super early to get a seat. Afterwards we would come back to our house to play games and eat dessert.
These days, things are a little different. Unfortunately, some family members are no longer with us, but we still eat dinner at my moms house, we still go to Christmas Eve service, and we still play games afterwards.
Cookies for Santa
I don’t remember doing this as a kid, but it is something I have started with my kids. It’s nothing fancy (Sorry Santa, but no homemade cookies for you!), but we do leave out a little milk and a few Oreo’s for Santa to snack on before he heads out to deliver more gifts.
Santa's Magic Key
Our house doesn’t have a fireplace. The only time this is an issue is at Christmas, I mean how is Santa supposed to get into a house that doesn’t have a chimney!?!
Well, my sister in law saved the day by sending us an adorable magical key (similar to this one) for Santa. We hang the key on the doorknob Christmas Eve night right before we go to bed. The key allows Santa to come in through the door, so he doesn’t have to enter the house through a chimney. Brilliant!
Weekday Shopping with my Mom
A newer Christmas tradition is Christmas shopping with my mom. We take a vacation day from work, usually the first week in December, to go Christmas shopping ALL DAY. It is so much fun! We start around 8 am and shop til we drop!
What is great about this is, the shopping crowd isn’t too bad mid-week in early December. We have the whole day to shop as fast or slow as we want.
If you are looking for things to buy, check out this Gift Guide for Toddlers.
Christmas Memory Book
My mom gave me a Christmas book when I got married. I’ve linked the book I have here. I love it because there is space to write in what your family did Christmas Eve, what you did Christmas morning, who was there, what you ate, etc. I am excited for when my kids are grown up, we will have this to look back and remember the little details we swore we wouldn’t forget!
Ornaments
Every year, without fail, my mom gave my brother and I Christmas ornaments on Christmas morning. It was never really that exciting as a kid, but when I got my own house with my own Christmas tree my mom gave me my box of MY ornaments. It was so special to have a tree that felt familiar in my new house. My mom even kept track of when I was given each ornament in a notebook.
I have started the same tradition with my kids. I have tried to buy them an ornament that represented their Halloween costume for that year and one that went along with their birthday party theme to make it a little extra special. One day I will give them their Christmas ornaments too!
Food & Family Time
My all-time favorite family Christmas tradition is, of course, spending A LOT of time with my family eating great food, playing games, and making lots of fun memories.
Other Fun Christmas Traditions
- Matching family pajamas.
- Volunteering Together.
- Movie theater on Christmas Day.
- Opening one present on Christmas Eve that includes Christmas Pajamas and a Christmas movie.
- Placing the star on top of the tree.
- Christmas morning breakfast.
- Family Christmas Cards.
- Hiding the pickle.
- Hanging Christmas lights.
- Making a Christmas song playlist.
- Elf on a Shelf (Check out a few ideas HERE)
- Cut down your own Christmas tree.
- Decorate with homemade decorations.
- Write letters to Santa.
- Elf your friends and neighbors. (Free Printable HERE).
I hope this gives you a little inspiration for Christmas traditions to start with your family. It’s never too late to start a new tradition!
Whatever you decide to do with your family this Christmas season, make sure to have fun and enjoy the time you have together!
Until next time,
Julie
Wonderful post! Christmas eve has always been my favorite, it’s so magical and fun!
Yes, nothing beats Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas!
Amazing ideas to implement. It’s my first Christmas here in the USA (in Asia we don’t celebrate Christmas) so I was wondering what I could do and start a tradition with my husband. For now, I only have dinner planned and inviting a friend over. I guess it would be fun to decorate some sugar cookies together!
Yes, sugar cookies is a fun thing to do!! I hope you have a good first Christmas!!
Pingback: itemprop="name">How To "Boo" And More Awesome Holiday Fun (Free Printables) - Our Lively Adventures
Pingback: itemprop="name">Instagram Story Templates: Christmas Edition - Our Lively Adventures
Pingback: itemprop="name">December Bucket List: Guaranteed Holiday Cheer - Our Lively Adventures
Pingback: itemprop="name">40+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Ideas Your Kids Will Love - Our Lively Adventures
Pingback: itemprop="name">Beautiful DIY Christmas Tree Complete With Inexpensive Handmade Ornaments - Our Lively Adventures
Pingback: itemprop="name">You've Been Boo'd: How To Boo Your Neighbor [Free Printable] - Our Lively Adventures