Fun Christmas Traditions to Start With Your Family

Looking for fun Christmas traditions to kickoff in 2021?

I've been thinking lately about fun family unit Christmas traditions to kickoff in 2021. I think information technology'due south considering I know this year I'll take JUST given nascency to my first baby, and Christmas volition be… unlike.

In an exciting fashion! (Ok, likewise in a scary manner.) Information technology's easy for me to jump ahead of myself here, and start thinking about Dec. Its sort of like… the beginning of my "new life" is coming, and the offset thing that will happen in my "new life" volition be Christmas.

Plus I just beloved Christmas and look forward to it for months anyway.

I'1000 not allowing myself any sort of cracking expectations for our first Christmas with a baby… I imagine in reality it will be a very quiet Christmas, with us at home a lot and trying to go some sleep whenever possible. (I don't even know if I'll do likewise much decorating – considering what goes upwardly must come up downward. And I'm certain I won't be feeling up to un-decorating a whole house only a few weeks postpartum.)

But anyhow, Christmas traditions have been on my mind. What sort of fun Christmas traditions will we develop as a new family – probable not this twelvemonth… merely over the coming years? And what magical Christmas traditions can we steal from our own childhoods?

And which electric current traditions will we exist able to carry on with this yr?

Are there new trending Christmas traditions we should be considering?

Why bother starting family Christmas Traditions?

My family has awesome Christmas traditions – very few had to exist "put away" when my sister and I actually moved out. And with the coming of pinterest into my life, there are a few that I absolutely plan on starting with my kids – to make special memories that will concluding them a lifetime.

My sister pointed out recently that information technology's not the twenty-four hour period to solar day at home growing up that she REMEMBERS.

It'southward the special things nosotros did every bit a family, the things that were dissimilar from the day to mean solar day, that stand up out in her heed.

I want my kids to take great family memories, and Christmas traditions are 1 of the nearly fun ways I tin recollect of to create those memories!

(PS I've checked out a agglomeration of other "skilful Christmas traditions" lists on Pinterest, and I think you lot'll discover some totally unique suggestions hither!)

(THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS Chapter LINKS. OUR Total DISCLOSURE POLICY IS Really BORING, BUT Y'all CAN FIND Information technology HERE.)

Memory making Christmas traditions ideas (to first this year):

ane. Decorate the house on Dec 1st

I love having the whole month of December to enjoy the decorations.

And growing up I loved that there was never a question of WHEN we would decorate. We e'er got the tree upward and all the lights on as soon as December hits.

To this twenty-four hours on Dec 1st, I boom the carols, drinkable the wine, and deck the halls.

two. Make a Christmas playlist

Speaking of diggings the carols, everyone in the family should accept a say in which songs brand the Christmas playlist – and permit it exist the soundtrack for your December.

You lot can add together to information technology each year!

3. Make Bootleg Christmas Cards

These can be like shooting fish in a barrel or elaborate! Anything from a simple family photo stuck on cardstock to adorable handprint reindeers… it's more about the time you'll spend together than the finished product.

iv. Ditch gifts altogether and take a vacation instead

You could even Salve money past forgoing the trimmings and jumping on a aeroplane to Disneyland (if you exercise that, brand certain yous grab discount Disney tickets), or maybe spending a tranquility week on a embankment in Hawaii is more up your alley?

Memories you lot'll make will terminal far far longer than legos you purchase, and YOU'LL actually enjoy the suspension too! (You lot could still get the trivial people something fun to open up from the dollar store!)

Related: Giving the Gift of a Family Vacation at Christmas

5. Brand a family vacation bucket list at the beginning of the calendar month

On Dec 1st, sit down anybody down and let each person pick one thing they'd like to do (as a family unit) in December.

It could be skating, going for a bulldoze to come across the lights, edifice a snowman, baking cookies – whatever they want! And then effort to pick dates and schedule the activities so everything on your "holiday bucket list" gets checked off.

vi. Fill shoeboxes with treasures for less fortunate kids

Have the whole family shopping for shoebox supplies and teach your kids that Christmas is not ALL virtually getting. (If you've never looked into filling shoeboxes earlier you lot can get more than information on this awesome opportunity to bless kids here.)

This is a family Christmas tradition that will bless other people and assistance your kids become ameliorate humans!

(The next seven on this list are maybe my tops picks for fun Christmas Traditions for Kids!)

vii. Decorate a gingerbread house

This is never as much fun when yous have to do all the baking of the gingerbread firm pieces… but after they came out with pre-baked gingerbread houses, we did ane every year. (Tip: we found we never ate the house anyhow because later sitting out for iii weeks the cookie part is pretty gross. Try to find the kits on clearance right after Christmas and save them in the freezer for side by side year – save a LOT of money!)

You can also brand smaller houses out of graham crackers, and that's just equally easy 🙂

eight. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies

At that place are so many FUN ideas for decorating Christmas cookies, and it can be just equally much fun (and maybe easier) than decorating a gingerbread house!

Here's a fewSUPER CUTE Christmas cookie ideas!

9. Write letters to Santa

Write messages to Santa with your kids, and send them off… In Canada, you can send your messages to

Santa Claus
North Pole HOH OHO
Canada

And he will write back!

(You don't have to tell the kids, but you lot really should photocopy these letters and go on them in an album. Bring them out to look back on when your kids take kids!)

ten. Take a family sleep party

Everyone'due south allowed to stay up late and build forts in the living room! (OR have them build forts in mom and dad's room – this way mom and dad still get to sleep in their bed, but it'south even so a party.) Read Christmas stories and drink hot chocolate. Talk about all the wonderful things that happened throughout the yr – and write them in a special journal that you can add together to every year. Or brand pretty paper chains – this 1 is new to me since I married a Brit, only I LOVE them. (Threading popcorn for garland might be fun besides!)

Related: DIY Ornaments to Brand With Toddlers

xi. Have a Christmas movie dark

For as long as I can remember, we've had a family movie night (quondam during the week that is Christmas week) and my family always watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. With popcorn and hot chocolate, and when we were older, slightly stronger hot chocolate. We still do to this twenty-four hour period! On any mean solar day my family gets to celebrate together, we however sit down and watch Christmas Holiday. Our husbands roll their optics, but information technology'south ane nosotros aren't giving up.

(I have to say here, we had a from-Tv set-recorded VHS when I was a child and the station had made it a little more "family friendly" when information technology aired in the 80s. When we finally bought a DVD of it about ten years agone, nosotros were pretty shocked past the language. I don't recommend Christmas Vacation for families with minor kids – unless you lot can go an edited version. But there are TONS of other great Christmas movies that aren't so um… grown-upwardly sounding.) This is mayhap the simplest of all family Christmas traditions on the list, only I retrieve it'due south my favorite.

12. Or Take every nighttime is Christmas film night

Choose a week'due south (or two!) worth of Christmas movies and each night for the week before Christmas, cantankerous ane off the listing!

13. Family game night

But like movie night, this is ane my family never misses out on… fifty-fifty though we're all grown up and married. Nosotros only take all the new people nosotros've collected (and made) back to mom and dad's for game night, and I can't wait to practice this with my own kids!

As the years become on, track your game night stats in this family game night ledger! The Game Ledger will become a family emblem to look back on as time goes on. (I'd stick photos in in that location also!)

Our hands-downward favorite game (for adults) is Settlers of Catan. It's a litttttle chip like run a risk, merely 23 times more awesome. Settler'southward is likewise involved for the actually fiddling people; it might exist fun to invest in something festive similar Rudolph Monopoly and play it every year.

If you – like us – have modest kids, here's our favorite family games that even our 3 year erstwhile can play!

Here'south a whole big list of Christmas traditions for kids, if you're finding the rest of THIS list a little as well "grown-upwardly" for your family!

(These side by side few are the best Christmas traditions for adults or families with older kids!)

14. Fondue Nighttime

Maybe this just seems similar Christmas to me because we did it for the first time at Christmas…simply it became some other important affair on our Christmas traditions listing!

It's so out of the ordinary, and then much fun. At present that I'm thinking nearly it, I can't wait to exercise it this twelvemonth. A new fondue pot will be on my shopping listing since last year we found more than one would have been good.

If you aren't upwardly for all the hot oil and prep work, you could merely have chocolate fondue as desert.

xv. Garage auction gift exchange

Hear me out on this 1 – it's another one of our favorite Christmas traditions. It's better washed in large groups, at an extended family Christmas or political party with a skilful number of friends. Nosotros know it'southward coming all year long, and the longer you have to plan for information technology the better – because you tin can find the "best" gifts that way. (Bonus: these gifts tend to be dirt inexpensive.)

Related: How to Have a fun FRUGAL Christmas

Nosotros play it similar a standard gift exchange – where everyone "playing" brings one gift, is assigned a number and and then as numbers get drawn out of a lid you get to choose a souvenir from the pile. The commencement person opens a souvenir, the second person can either have that souvenir or open a NEW gift. The third person can choose from either open up gift, or can open up another gift. If someone steals your gift, you can steal someone else'south open gift (simply not the one that was stolen from you) or you can open a new gift. Each time a new souvenir is open, that's the end of that "circular" and the next number is fatigued. (We play that a souvenir is "frozen" – no longer available for stealing – after you lot have had it 3 times. But we were finding that no one really needed any of the very generic gifts you lot bring to a political party similar that, nosotros were playing just to play, not to get the gifts. And then we started calling information technology the garage sale souvenir exchange – meaning anything goes. Bring whatever you want to get out of your house. ANYTHING. Whatever you end up with you take to take home.

(I got a one-half-eaten box of liquor chocolates i year. Last year I got an antiquarian breast pump (circa 1900 mayhap) that a neighbor lady establish in an old cabin they were bulldozing. Serious. We literally laughed until we cried.) If you lot get something particularly terrible, keep if for next year and make someone else take information technology home.

16. Afterwards the kids go to bed – have "just you guys" Christmas traditions

So I'thousand already planning how to adapt this i – can you lot tell? My British hubby watches a girly motion picture (by selection) in one case per year – and that movie is Dearest Actually and information technology's at Christmas fourth dimension. We beverage vino and turn on the Christmas lights and cuddle up. (And so I try to sneak in watching The Holiday as well, if it's not too late! Nosotros bought both of these on DVD because they are non-negotiable Christmas watching.) Your "just yous guys" tradition can be super simple, but it's of import to focus on each other once in a while.

17. Attend Christmas Eve candlelight service

It'south so piece of cake to forget that Christmas is all actually about the fact the Christ came hither for usa, to be with us, to save us. This is something I will do with my kids, every year. Take the time out in the busy Christmas flavour to focus on Jesus, and give thanks Him.

18. Go for a Christmas lights drive (the almost magical Christmas tradition!)

For the last couple of years, nosotros've gone driving to look at Christmas lights tardily at dark.

It'south awesome! Take popcorn and hot chocolate in travel mugs. It'southward basically free entertainment for the kids, and information technology's nice quiet family fourth dimension where anybody is strapped downward. This is easily one of our favorite family Christmas traditions – my kids are starting to ask when nosotros can do this!

(I mean, the holidays can be hectic, and sometimes information technology's nice to merely practise something chill.)

19. Christmas eve gift box

My parents always chose one little gift that nosotros were immune to open on Christmas eve, after Church, and I ever looked forward to that SO MUCH! I love love love the thought of a Christmas Eve gift that's just ane gift for the whole family – like a family picture nighttime – since I exercise too similar the thought of keeping Christmas clutter gratuitous. Your Christmas eve box could include a movie, matching family pajamas (my favorite pajamas in the whole world are Lazy One pjs – I would do a whole family unit set of these…), and snacks.

Related: The Ultimate Clutter Free Christmas Gifts Guide for Toddlers – Teens
Related: The Ultimate Clutter Free Christmas Gifts Guide for Her, for Him and For Grandparents

20. Christmas morn music and hot chocolate

No one ever fabricated usa "swallow a healthy breakfast" on Christmas morning time – it was straight to the gifts, with hot chocolate and Christmas music. Almost always Elvis.

(PS – these next five are astonishing Christmas Traditions to get-go with toddlers or babies  – our picayune people tin can't exist as involved in all our traditions, only these ones work for Everyone!)

21. Read the Christmas story from the Bible

It is NEVER a waste of time to stop and remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas and to cement it in our children'southward minds.

22. Buy (or Make) a New Christmas tree ornament

Choice out one new tree ornament, and add to your growing collection of "special" ornaments. Or better still, MAKE a tree ornament every year. Y'all could make salt dough handprints and pigment them (these volition be precious forever), cutting a ring off the bottom of your tree and engagement it, or dip pino cones in glitter!

Related: Christmas Ornaments for Toddlers to Make

23.Hang up Christmas stockings

Become everyone in the family their ain Christmas stocking – a personalized one is fun! They can hang empty for the whole month, as decorations, and be magically filled overnight on Christmas eve!

Nosotros always opened our stockings First, and it's so fun to showtime your ain Christmas stocking traditions with your family.

Related: Toddler Stocking Stuffer Ideas (Under 10$)

24. Hang your Mistletoe bug

Alright, yours doesn't have to exist a bug.

Simply hang some mistletoe!

Here'south our mistle-toe bug.

How did this thing get to be a family tradition?

50 years agone, when my grandparents had NO money, equally some sort of joke, my grandma made this mistletoe bug from scrap bits that were hanging around the house… and this affair has come up out each and every Christmas for the past fifty odd years.

It'due south not Christmas around here without the mistletoe problems.

25. Christmas morning family photo

Everyone in their jammies, with their hair crazy, surrounded by wrapping paper. We prepare the camera on cocky timer. These are some of my favorite photos to await back on.

26. Special "Santa" wrapping newspaper

My mom had this massive gyre of gorgeous holographic wrapping paper (that she kept subconscious for literally YEARS) and every Christmas morning there was one more gift there than there had been the night before, wrapped in the special paper that only Santa used. (I still call back finding that newspaper years subsequently and thinking it was so fun that she had idea to do that.)

27. Desire, need, wear, & read gifts

This isn't something that we did growing up, but it'south absolutely something I would like to do with my kids! And it's a bang-up Christmas tradition to start with a toddler or a babe! I really want to go along Christmas from getting too materialistic (and I hate the idea of cluttering the business firm upwardly SO desperately). I dearest the thought of gifting everyone with something they want, something they demand, something to wear and something to read.

28. Christmas crackers at dinner – Yous MUST Clothing THE HAT

Besides new to me since I married a Brit! But it's a lot of fun… and I purchase the crackers after Christmas every year and put them in storage with the wrapping newspaper for the adjacent twelvemonth. (I become them for 75-fourscore% off generally, and then it's a pretty cheap tradition.) Just in case yous didn't get any concluding year – there are some pretty affordable ones available on amazon.

29. Hide a Christmas Pickle (- what a fun Christmas tradition!)

This i might accept some disputed origins, simply regardless of where the Christmas pickle tradition started, there'due south no denying it's fun.

Y'all don't have to use a pickle. (I've heard of using a crimson brawl and calling it hiding "Rudolph'southward olfactory organ"… that'due south beautiful too!)

You lot can totally hibernate ANYTHING yous want, and it can be unique to your family!

thirty. Volunteer for the less fortunate

Getting your kids out and doing something overnice for someone who has less is a groovy way to instill gratitude in them for what they have.

31. Special appearance c alendars

It doesn't have to be the standard chocolate variety, merely my goodness I have reservations almost the 25 book diverseness – unless you plan on buying them all second hand and donating them later on! (25 books coming into my house in one calendar month?! NO cheers. If your kids are a little older, I call up it would be fun to have each family member decorate their ain re-usable appearance calendar (like this one) – that manner you can go with the standard edible stuff and throw in the odd little toy or special care for (maybe for the Christmas eve drawer?). For the piddling people, an activity advent calendar similar this ane (from amazon) might be the best way to go.

32. Serve Boxing solar day appetizer dinner

I know I go on saying "this is my favorite tradition", only I tin can't actually selection one! Afterward the decorated and rushing (and cooking) of Christmas, we (my mom, my sis and I) love to do adjacent to NO cooking on boxing day. Nosotros purchase a heap of finger food type appetizers and exercise an titbit but dinner. (Our husbands ALSO whorl their eyes at this. We've told them that if they feel similar cooking a second massive dinner, they should feel free!)

Related: Gratuitous Printable Christmas Menu Planner
Related: Christmas Gift Guide for Toddlers – Teens here!)

Creating Christmas Traditions for your family is a very practical style to parent "on purpose"

I think making a bespeak of creating family Christmas traditions is 1 of the most "on purpose" things nosotros can do for our families – these are the things that will stand out in our kid'due south minds when they look back on their time at dwelling. (And retrieve, their fourth dimension at home is brief!)

Making the time to bask the holidays together, and create memories through family Christmas traditions is something you will NEVER regret.

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Source: https://mommyonpurpose.com/memory-making-christmas-traditions/