What are your Christmas traditions?
Today I want to talk about Christmas traditions. What were your family traditions as you grew up? What traditions are you implementing (or do you plan to implement) with your own family?
Growing up, we always got to open one present on Christmas Eve, and that present was Christmas pajamas. We also received a personalized ornament each year.
I made Christmas cookies with my aunt, and we drove around looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve after our family supper.
Now that I have a child, I am so pumped about Christmas! This is my favorite holiday, and I want Cooper to know the commercial aspect of Christmas (Santa) as well as the story of Jesus’s birth.
Here are some things have done/plan to do as our family traditions:
Elf on the Shelf – this will be our first year with our elf. We’ve watched the movie several times, and I plan let him open the elf/read the book on December 1st.
Meredith had a great idea… let your elf make a special breakfast for your children. Please go see her blog post about Cookie’s surprise breakfast for her family! I’m planning on doing this and at the breakfast, Cooper will write his letter to Santa. (I purchased the Letters to Santa kit she referenced in her post.)
Book advent: Last year after Christmas, I scoured Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other stores for discounted holiday books. I now have 25, and they will be wrapped and ready on December 1st (the first book is Elf on the Shelf). He’ll open one book per day, and we’ll read the book to him. The great thing is that the books can be used year after year once you purchase them! If this is out of your budget (which I completely understand – even buying on sale I still spent about $100) you can always use library books!
Make a special evening (with a special meal – chili, maybe?) of putting up the tree and decorating.
Go get Cooper’s picture taken with Santa.
Do several local Christmas events around town (Lights of the South, Lights Before Christmas at the zoo, holiday parties).
Go to see a Christmas musical at church.
Listen to Christmas music.
Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
Watch Christmas movies.
Bake cookies.
Decorate a gingerbread house
Make a Christmas craft (which will end up being a gift for the grandparents).
Purchase Christmas pajamas for each member of the family – open on Christmas Eve.
Purchase Christmas ornaments for each member of the family.
Display a nativity.
Make treats for Santa.
Make a birthday cake for Jesus.
Read Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. Celebrate Jesus’s birthday!
Make a special Christmas morning breakfast.
What are your traditions? Please share!
10 comments:
My family was never big on traditions. However, we almost always would go looking at Christmas lights. Afterwards, we'd come home and have gingerbread cake with whipped cream on top.
I don't have a family but yes, I'd want to incorporate this with them if I were going to have one.
A few of ours are to hold a cookie swap with friends (although sadly, I couldn't get it together this year!), go on a Holiday Home Tour, and participate in our church's Angel tree by adopting a family for Christmas.
Growing up, we didn't have a lot of yearly traditions. I definitely want to do Christmas pjs with Gene (bought them last week!) and leaving cookies out for Santa. :)
I didn't realize that I had so many Christmas traditions until you asked! :-)
I love your pajama tradition. Hopefully, when I have little ones, I can do that too.
We always opened pajamas on Christmas Eve too!!
Hmmm, what else?
-We always have cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning.
-We always go look at this ONE specific house with a fabulous light display.
-My sister and I picked out one new ornament per year to put on the tree. I LOVE our mish mash tree. It always brings back great memories to pull out all the ornaments.
-We leave all the Christmas lights on all night on Christmas Eve.
those are great traditions.. I love the list of ones to do with your Family..
Thanks for hosting..
Your memories of Christmas are so sweet. The wrapped book idea is a great idea and Elf on the Shelf sounds like fun. You certainly have a lot of ideas!
Cute idea with the books. It will be fun for him to have a new book to read each day!
We didn't have too many traditions growing up. We always opened all gifts on Christmas Day and had to wait until the video camera and Trans Siberian Orchestra or something like that was playing through the house. This week I'm taking my dad to see TSO live for his birthday. It will be fun for us to see the music and performances that we grew up listening to!
When I was growing up my grama and popa always bought me and my younger siblings pajamas and we opened them on Christmas Eve as well. A tradition that I hope I will one day start with my family.
we frame our Christmas card photo every year in a christmas frame with the year on it for fun!
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