Need some new Christmas Tradition Ideas? Or looking to start a few new traditions? Here are a few ideas I’d like to share of what my family and I have done throughout the years.
1. Start on December 1st with an Advent calendar. Check out how this year my husband and I are doing 25 days of Loving your spouse with writing little love notes for each day.
2. The day after Thanksgiving, take a family outing and get your tree! Even if you don’t (or can’t) have a real tree where you live, opt for a little day trip. In our neck of the woods, we have Apple Hill. It’s a great day to get some apple doughnuts and enjoy the company of family.
3. While you are outdoors, and live near snow, take the time for a snowball fight or build a snowman!
4. Decorate the tree! Make it a family affair. Everyone can help. Rotate each year with who in your family gets to place the angel or star on top of the tree.
5. Make popcorn tree garlands. Have you ever done this? They can be simply made with a thread and needle, and popcorn. You can even color the popcorn if you want.
6. Have everyone write a little something to add to your family letter that you can send out to friends/family to let them know what you were up to this last year.
7. Have a cookie making day! Invite the neighbors, or have friends over and have each person bring the ingredients to make their favorite holiday cookie. At the end of the day, everybody takes home a selection of cookies. What a way to share recipes and the work to create a variety of holiday cookies. You can also choose to do a Gingerbread house making party instead – each person bringing some decorations to use and share.
8. Sing Christmas carols. Have Christmas music playing on the way to dropping off the kids to school. Sing in the car!
9. Plan ahead for your annual holiday party. Maybe you can do a potluck style of appetizers and have each person bring something to share.
10. Make a personalized ornament each year to hang on your family tree.
11. As a parent, be sure to either buy or create an ornament for each of your kids so that you can pass them down to their family when they move out of the house. Grow their collection as they are growing up.
12. Give something away to those that might need a little pick-me-up for their spirits at this time of year. There are plenty of NO COST things you can do to brighten someone’s day during the holidays.
13. Make it a tradition to watch a movie on Christmas Eve. It can be classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life, or animated classics like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer.
14. Open your stockings first before any gifts are open. I LOVE opening my stocking and remember as a kid, getting up in the middle of the night to see if Santa had come yet. Mums the word, but my sister and I would dump out our stockings in the middle of the night before our parents were even up. 🙂
15. Be sure to take family photos throughout the entire month. If you incorporate some of these traditions, there are plenty of photo opportunities. Don’t be in such a rush that you don’t document your family history!
Thank you for sharing these heartwarming and comforting traditions – how lovely! Our traditions have changed a lot since we moved to a new city away from family, but they’re still special to us. Thank you for the inspiration to do something new!