Family-Focused Christmas Traditions to Savor the Season Like Never Before

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A mix of warm and cool air swirls throughout your home while you push the button on your coffee machine. It spickets and spats as you shuffle about the kitchen in your thick robe and soft slippers. A slow smile emerges and your heart fills with joy. You have the family coming over later for an evening of festive traditional fun! It’s Christmas, that magical time of year when we gather with family, overeat, and gain beautiful (or at least funny) memories. Anyone else thrive in the holiday seasons by way of Christmas spirit and sugar!

Table of Contents

1. Decorating the Christmas Tree Together
2. Advent Calendar Fun
3. Baking Holiday Treats
4. Christmas Eve Pajama Party
5. Holiday Movie Marathon
6. Writing Letters to Santa
7. Christmas Caroling
8. Crafting Homemade Ornaments
9. Reading Christmas Stories
10. Community Volunteering

While the holiday season can sometimes feel like a whirlwind of shopping and wrapping paper, it’s also the perfect time to slow down and savor special moments with your loved ones. Put on your cozy socks, grab that freshly made coffee, and let’s unwrap some family-focused Christmas traditions to get you jazzed up for the holidays!

Decorating the Christmas Tree Together

Let’s kick things off with the granddaddy of all Christmas traditions: decorating the tree. Whether you opt for a real pine or a trusty artificial one, the act of trimming the tree is a hallmark of the holiday season. Get everyone involved, from the littlest elves to the tallest ones (a.k.a. Dad on ladder duty).

Pro Tips:

1. Start with the lights, working from the bottom up. Are you a colored lights or the luminous white or yellow lights type of family? Share below!
2. Add your favorite ornaments, mixing cherished heirlooms with new additions. Our family loves to make one special ornament each year.
3. Finish with a sparkly tree topper and a cozy tree skirt.

Remember, the tree doesn’t have to be perfect—just perfectly filled with memories. As a perfectionist, I really have to remind myself of that each year. To get more inspiration about decking the halls, skip to my post “Christmas Decorations to Make Your Home Merry & Bright” when you are done here.

Advent Calendar Fun

Count down to Christmas with an Advent calendar. This delightful tradition keeps the excitement building day by day. You can buy a calendar filled with chocolates or small toys, or go the DIY route and fill each day with a special activity or a small treat.

DIY Advent Calendar Ideas:

1. Write 24 holiday activities on slips of paper and place them in numbered envelopes.
2. Fill tiny bags or boxes with candies and trinkets.
3. Use a chalkboard or bulletin board to display the daily surprises.

For more ideas on what to gift this Christmas, I wrote “Unique Christmas Gift Ideas for Each Personality on Your List” to help you get everyone on your list taken care of.

Baking Holiday Treats

Nothing says Christmas quite like the smell of freshly baked cookies. Gather your family in the kitchen and whip up a batch (or ten) of your favorite holiday treats. Sugar cookies, gingerbread men, and peppermint bark are all crowd-pleasers.

Baking Tips:

1. Let the kids decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles.
2. Use holiday-themed cookie cutters for extra festivity.
3. Make a double batch and share with neighbors or bring to a holiday party.
4. Challenge your neighborhood to a gingerbread house decorating competition. Set them out on your porch and have all the neighbor’s vote. Hand out different prizes for the winners!

Christmas Eve Pajama Party

Turn Christmas Eve into a cozy pajama party. Dress the whole family in matching holiday PJs and settle in for a night of fun. This is the perfect time for a movie marathon (see next section), reading The Night Before Christmas, playing family boardgames, and enjoying a warm mug of cocoa.

Pajama Party Must-Haves:

1. A stack of Christmas movies (think Home Alone, Elf, and The Polar Express).
2. Plenty of popcorn and holiday treats.
3. Play festive games that keep the laughs going all night. These ones looked really fun:
4. A festive backdrop for some impromptu family photos.

We always pick one gift to open that night after dinner. Does your family do that too?

Tip: keep the big gifts hidden until Christmas morning.

It could be fun to have plan a Christmas party and have everyone come in Christmas Pj’s! For help planning such a thing check out my article “How to Plan a Magical Christmas Party That Overflows with Holiday Spirit” to get started.

Holiday Movie Marathon

Speaking of movies, a holiday movie marathon is a must. Snuggle up on the couch with blankets, popcorn, and a lineup of your family’s favorite Christmas films. It’s a wonderful way to spend quality time together and get everyone in the holiday spirit.

Movie Marathon Tips:

1. Create a cozy viewing area with blankets and pillows. Or my vote:  put up an air mattress and create a Christmas fort in the living room.
2. Mix classic films with newer releases to keep everyone entertained.
3. Pause for intermissions with hot cocoa breaks and bathroom runs.
4. You can use a Projector to turn any room in the house into a movie room, but opt for a flat projector screen instead of a blow up one to lessen noise inside.

Writing Letters to Santa

Writing letters to Santa is a beloved Christmas tradition that never goes out of style. Encourage your kids to write their wishes and dreams to the big guy in red. It’s a great way to practice writing skills and fuel their excitement for Christmas morning.

Letter Writing Tips:

1. Provide festive stationery and colorful pens.
2. Help younger children with spelling and ideas.
3. Keep copies of the letters to look back on in future years.

Christmas Caroling

While it might seem old-fashioned, Christmas caroling is a charming way to spread holiday cheer. Gather your family and some friends, bundle up in warm clothes, and hit the neighborhood with your best renditions of “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night.”

Caroling Tips:

1. Choose a mix of upbeat and traditional carols.
2. Bring along hot cocoa or cider to keep warm.
3. Hand out small treats or holiday cards to those you serenade.

Crafting Homemade Ornaments

Get crafty with homemade ornaments. This tradition not only adds a personal touch to your tree but also provides a fun and creative activity for the whole family. Use materials like salt dough, popsicle sticks, and felt to create unique decorations.

Crafting Ideas:

2. Make salt dough ornaments and paint them after they bake.
3. Use popsicle sticks to create mini Christmas trees or stars.
4. Sew felt ornaments in the shape of stockings, stars, mittens, or reindeer.

Let me know if you want to see how I make personalized photo ornaments. Maybe I’ll make a post about it for you to follow along.

Reading Christmas Stories

Reading Christmas stories together is a cozy way to end a chilly winter day. Gather around the fire or snuggle in bed with a stack of holiday books. It’s a tradition that fosters a love of reading and creates lasting memories.

Book Recommendations:

1. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.
3. The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.

Community Volunteering

Give back during the holiday season by volunteering as a family. Whether it’s serving meals at a soup kitchen, donating toys to children in need, or participating in a local charity event, this tradition teaches the importance of generosity and community spirit.

Volunteering Ideas:

1. Organize a toy drive in your neighborhood.
2. Volunteer at a local shelter or food bank.
3. Participate in a community cleanup or beautification project.
4. Spend a day going through all the toys, games and clothes in the house for donations.

What are your family-focused Christmas traditions? Are there any you choose to do each year? Share your special traditions with us in the comments!

From decorating the tree to volunteering in your community, Christmas traditions are made to bring joy, laughter, and a whole lot of holiday spirit. Remember, the best part of Christmas is spending it with the people you love, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Please take the time this season to cherish these small moments that go by so quickly. Share memories from past Christmases that included loved ones who may not be with us any longer. And savor the magic wafting through the crisp air – if only we could bottle it!

Wishing you many beautiful moments this season,

Anna

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