A Collection of 25+ Christmas Traditions to Start This Year!
December is one of my absolute favorite times of the year! There are so many special memories to be made, so many moments to be shared, and fun and festive things to take part in! Over the years, we’ve continued on traditions that we remembered doing as kids – and added in a few new ones that we now look forward to each year. Maybe you just started a family and are looking for some ideas to start with them. Enjoy this collection of my simple, joy-filled Christmas family traditions!
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1 // Baking & Decorating Christmas Cookies
Every Christmas (and most other holidays and occasions for that matter) we bake and decorate cookies! We make our cookies from scratch using my Ultimate Fool-Proof Sugar Cookie (GF) recipe. It’s fun to watch your kids being able to help out more and more the older they get as far as the baking goes – and a great way to teach them some skills in the kitchen.
At this point we have so many great cookie cutters to choose from, as I’ve collected a few favorites each year from our local home store. It might be fun to have your kids pick out some that they like if you don’t have many yet, or you can simply order these standard holiday cookie cutters. Get a little collection going. Sometimes it’s fun to deviate from the typical Christmas Cookie shapes you would normally expect and instead do something unique like woodland animals, and decorate them to look more holiday by using holiday sprinkles and other decorations! I think this ugly Christmas sweater cookie cutter is a fun idea!
This winter-themed sprinkle duo is my go-to for the past few years! Natural, no-dyes, gluten-free, soy-free and vegan. They also carry these Christmas sprinkles as well.
You Could Throw a Christmas Cookie Decorating Party!
Why not throw a Christmas Cookie decorating party?! This is a fun and festive thing to do together. We have done it every year since my kids were very little – sometimes with just family, and other times we open it up to some friends. Blast some Christmas music, bake your cookies ahead of time and set out all of the icing, sprinkles, piping bags for the icing, etc. Make everyone a cup of hot cocoa and get decorating!
…Then Deliver Cookies to Friends and Neighbors!
We’ve had a lot of fun in the past surprising neighbors with our homemade Christmas cookies! Once you’ve got your cookies made, think of who you could surprise with your cookies! You could deliver them to your town hall, fire or police station, a nursing home or anywhere there are volunteers that could use some Christmas cheer! It’s also nice to come up with creative ways of packaging them using tin cookie boxes, clear wrap with festive ribbons… the possibilities are endless!
2 // Host A Christmas Party!
When my girls were little, we first started hosting gingerbread house-making parties, then over the years it morphed into cookie decorating parties. Why not think about hosting a kids Christmas party, an adult party, or both??! Have everyone bring food to make things easier since the holidays can get a little crazy for everyone!
3 // Send Out Christmas Cards
Some years I’m much better about this than others – getting out a Christmas card in a timely manner! Sometimes I’m just getting them out right before it’s almost too late, and other times I have them done by the beginning of December. Yet regardless of whether or not I send out a real Christmas card or simply choose to send a photo through e-mail or post on social media, I will always take the time to snap photos of my kids in some festive Christmas clothes! It’s fun to have them pose in similar spots year after year so you can look back and see how much they’ve grown. Some years I’ve had them dolled-up in dresses, then other years in Christmas t-shirts or Christmas pajamas. I find great joy in taking the perfect picture that will highlight our children’s unique personalities and all their excitement about Christmastime! If you have a pet it’s also fun to try to include them in the photo as well!
This Fall we had a dear friend take family photos of us so I will most likely use those for our Christmas card, but I’ll still take some separate Christmas photos on my own because I just enjoy doing it so much! Christmas cards can become expensive pretty quickly, so in recent years I’ll choose only about 30-40 of our closest friends and family and send to them. The rest will just see our holiday photo through e-mail or social media, like I mentioned. Of course, if you want to save money and Christmas cards are not a big deal to you, you can just e-mail or post something to your friends online.
Make a Christmas Card Display
One of my favorite things to do with the Christmas cards we receive is to string them up above our window seat in our kitchen so we can view them all season long. You can hang them using tiny clothespins on jute twine.
4 // Christmas Book Basket
One of our favorite things to do is to keep a basket full of Christmas/Winter-themed books next to our couch during the holidays. Each day we choose a different book or two to read. Every year I will buy one or two new ones to add to our collection!
Books pictured above:
Last Stop on the Reindeer Express
5 // Make Homemade Ornaments
My kids LOVE making ornaments! It has definitely become an annual tradition in our house. There are so many different types of homemade ornaments you can make, although salt dough is super kid-friendly and one of the best ways for us so far!
How Do You Make Salt Dough Ornaments?
Salt dough is so easy to make, so if you’ve never done this before with your kids – it’s a must! They will love cutting out fun Christmas shapes and then painting them. These are great to decorate your own tree, or to gift them. One special thing to do with these is to press kids handprints in them to see how much they’ve grown year after year.
BASIC SALT DOUGH RECIPE:
Mix together:
2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Salt
3/4 Cup Water (if it’s too dry, add a little more water – if too wet, add more flour!)
DIRECTIONS:
Shape your dough using cookie cutters and a straw will work nicely for making a perfect little hole to tie string through your ornament.
Bake at 250F for 2-3 hours and let cool.
Time to paint! I find that acrylic works best on salt dough.
6 // Decorate Gingerbread Houses
This is one of the very first traditions that kicks off the Christmas season for our family. We usually do it directly after Thanksgiving dinner, and we make it a real competition! We break off our family into teams, and we’ll usually text a few close friends and their families to have them judge the winning gingerbread house. It’s so much fun! We also used to enjoy hosting gingerbread house-making parties for our kids and their friends when my girls were really little.
7 // Drive to See Christmas Lights
This is a really fun thing to do. Get your kiddos ready for bed, into their festive pajamas and then surprise them by loading them up into the car with some hot cocoa in travel mugs while you go drive around to take in all of the beautiful Christmas lights! We have done this a few times and our kids absolutely love it!
8 // Advent Calendar & Christmas Study
For years now, my girls and I do this advent calendar which highlights the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas: JESUS! There are so many beautiful advent calendars available, but this one is so special because of the way it opens up into a 13-inch pop-up 3D Christmas tree!
For homeschool we have used and really enjoyed “Mercies at the Manger” by Not Consumed. This is a 25-day Bible study with a countdown and fun Christmas stickers.
9 // Attend A Local Tree Lighting & Other Local Christmas Events in Your Area
Every year my girls love to go into our town, enjoy a hot cocoa and get a little ride in the horse-drawn carriage which is a free event on weekends offered throughout the holiday season. We walk through our town and all of its little gift stores with beautiful window displays, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of Christmas!
10 // Christmas Shopping Date
One thing I have done in the past is to take one of my kids out one-on-one for some Christmas shopping for the rest of the family. We’ll stop in a cafe for a little treat then walk through our town looking at all the pretty window displays and such. This is really special so that they can have that precious one-on-one time (which I feel bigger homeschool family children most definitely crave!)
11 // Adopt A Family To Buy Gifts For / Secret Santa
In our town, The Salvation Army hangs up a little tree with specific needs in the community – families that need gifts for their children with a little information about them. We love picking one or two families and going Christmas shopping and picking out what it is that all these kids are hoping for. This is one of the things I love most about Christmas – and it helps to teach my kids that it really is more blessed to give than receive!
12 // Operation Christmas Child
Every year since my kids were practically babies we’ve loved packing shoeboxes filled with goodies that will go around the world to kids in need. This program is the best! You can learn more about how you and your family can get involved here!
13 // Donate Toys
Now is a good time of year to purge! Take inventory with your family of the things your kiddos are not playing with anymore and donate them!!!
14 // New Christmas Pajamas
Not every year, but I would say about every other year I’ll gift my kids some new Christmas pajamas! (That’s about the amount of time until they have outgrown their last pair!) It’s nice to have them ready to give to them to wear to bed on Christmas Eve! This year I’ve got my eye on these!
15 // Participate In or Attend a Live Nativity
Some of my fondest memories of the holidays from back in my childhood were the weeks of rehearsing leading up to a live nativity that our good friends would host on their sweet little farm. I remember for many years I played “Mary” and sang the infamous Amy Grant Christmas song “Breath of Heaven”. The performance included live animals and homemade costumes, a script written and Christmas carols selected by these friends who ran the whole thing. At each live nativity performance, the audience (friends and neighbors who came through word-of-mouth) would be invited to sing along and would be led around the farm to different scenes from the Bible story – the pasture, the barn, etc. Looking back on it now, what a beautiful and special thing! And to end each showing they would present the Gospel message. I mean… how cool right?!! Afterwards all were invited into their cozy barn for hot cocoa, treats, and then a bonfire where everyone got to connect and just enjoy being together.
I remember the long rehearsals outside freezing by butt off and messing around with friends when we were supposed to be paying attention–This is what memories are made of! I’m forever grateful to the Cordes family for coming up with the idea and hosting this year after year. Get your kiddos involved in a Christmas play or Nativity if there is an opportunity presented. My kids have been in Christmas musicals but nothing like a live nativity yet — although now this has got my wheels turning while reminiscing this. Maybe a thought for next year….?!!!
16 // Go Ice Skating
We were fortunate to have good ice-skating conditions on our pond a few years back – unfortunately the last couple years it hasn’t really been cold enough. We are hopeful that this might be the year we can ice skate on our property again! If you live on a lake or have a pond it’s super fun to host a get-together for ice-skating! Get a bonfire going and serve some warm drinks. If not, you should easily be able to find an indoor/outdoor rink for skating fun during the holidays!
17 // Watch Christmas Movies
Have festive movie nights with popcorn and hot cocoa while watching your favorite classic Christmas movies! Invite some friends over to join.
18 // Christmas Day Talent Show
I love how this is something my family all originally complained about having to do, and now it is by far one of the most looked-forward-to event of the season! Special thanks to my sister for coming up with the idea! Every Christmas after dinner everyone is invited to sign up with their special skill, talent or performance on a sign-up sheet that we put out on a table. I don’t think any of us have ever laughed so hard with some of these performances. From magic tricks, to musical numbers, dances, skits… we’ve had it all. If you’re looking for a great way to bring everyone together, to be creative in the weeks leading up to Christmas (sometimes collecting props, costumes and creating scenery takes a lot of prep work!) My kids start rehearsing months in advance and we keep notes in my phone over the year of ideas that we come up with. You have to try this! I promise your kids will love it. Talk about a memory-making experience for all!
19 // Focus on JESUS – The reason for the season!
We remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Every year we attend our church’s Christmas Eve service. Most years it is a beautiful candlelit service. Even if you can’t make it in person for some reason, you can almost always watch one online as most churches now livestream their services.
20 // Top Secret Christmas Projects and Homemade Gifts
Every year my kids and husband will come up with some top-secret project that they work on in the barn leading up to Christmas. One year it was an entire Winter-themed working model train setup; last year it was a nativity scene with candleholders and a beautiful wooden recipe holder. I can’t wait to see what they come up with this year!
21 // Visit A Local Tree Farm
Go exploring local Christmas tree farms! Take your family to go pick out a tree together, or better yet- do the full experience with cutting it down! We usually just go and pick one out, although there have been years where we chopped down little ones on the property. If you have some space in your yard or on your property you could also plant some Christmas trees!
22 // Scavenger Hunt to the Big Family Gift
If your family is into giving a big gift for the whole family like we have done a few times in the past it’s fun to create suspense and build excitement even more! Last year we did a big gift and waited until all of the other gifts were opened and pretended like there was nothing else. Then we hinted about a clue for the beginning of the scavenger hunt above the mantle. It was pretty epic!
23 // Ornaments that Symbolize Something Special About Your Child From the Past Year!
This is something I started doing when my girls were little. Each Christmas, I buy a little ornament that has something to do with either an activity my kids participated in that they loved– a favorite animal, character, memorable birthday party theme, sport, musical instrument, etc that meant a lot to them that year. For example, last year I bought my oldest a soccer-themed ornament, and ballet slippers ornament for my middle since my kids were both really into those things last year.
24 // Let Kids Unwrap One(!) Gift on Christmas Eve
I know a lot of families do this one – including ours. My family grew up being allowed to open ONE gift on Christmas Eve. Most years it will be the Christmas pajamas I referred to earlier.
25 // See A Show!
Almost every year for the past few years we have gone to see a local Nutcracker ballet performance. My girls enjoy this story and I love going as a family as it helps to get us all into the Christmas spirit! Look around to see if you can buy some tickets to a local holiday choir performance or ballet, play, musical, or live nativity! I feel like a lot of times you can find ones with free admission that collect donations.
26 // Christmas Caroling
This is one of those real classic Christmas traditions! We did this one year with our homeschool co-op. My husband very reluctantly agreed to join us because he is just not the kind of personality to want to knock on neighbors doors and sing for them (that’s for sure!) Needless to say it provided a lot of laughs and entertainment! We had so much fun tromping though the snowy weather and enjoying a Christmas caroling adventure together!
Growing up, my family and I would visit nursing homes and go caroling for them. Just think of all the places you could go and spread some joy!
27 // Go Sledding or Tubing
Obviously this is very weather dependent — but if you do get a good snow find a good hill and go sledding!
28 // Set Up A Gift Wrapping Station
I don’t know about your kids, but mine love to wrap gifts – they pretend it’s like a gift-wrapping store and we make a whole set-up in our living room. It’s great learning for them, and helpful for me!
29 // Make Homemade Gifts, Crafts & Holiday Cards
Now is a great time to get crafty! It’s so good for our kids, and us — to make things with our hands! Get those kids off and away from screens!
I am hoping to compile a post soon of all the holiday crafts we have done throughout the years. Some of the most meaningful gifts are many times the ones that took lots of time and effort, and especially love! I remember one year my sister made (from scratch and creatively wrapped) some natural moisturizer for us made out of all organic ingredients as well as a jar of Homemade Golden Milk Latte mix. You can package pancake or cookie mixes – think of something you or your kids enjoy making and head in that direction!
Here is one fun homemade thing to make for gifts as well as decor on your holiday table: candles!
The girls and I just started doing this last year, and it was so simple and fun that we plan on doing it again this holiday season! We used this great candle-making kit to make pure beeswax taper candles that we put on our Christmas dinner table. We used twine and bits of pine to decorate them! They came out lovely!
30 // Decorate Your Home
I think one of my most favorite things about this season is decorating our house. I love making it feel all warm and cozy inside! If you are new to homemaking and it’s one of your very first holidays as a new couple/family, it might take time to figure out what you like best!
I like to keep things relatively simple and classic! Lots of garland and fresh greenery, a few favorite Christmas wreaths I’ve collected over the years hung on doors and above our mantle, homemade stockings, great-holiday-scented candles, comfy throw blankets, white lights strung around windows and along banisters, and of course – our tree!
I’ve always loved the idea of Christmas trees with themes and ones that are color coordinated but it’s just not practical for our family. Our tree is a mish-mash of all types of ornaments from over the years and that’s how we like it! homemade, store-bought–ones given to us as gifts. There are some ornaments on our tree that are comical – anything goes really!
I thought I’d share a few of my favorite holiday photographs below from over the years here at Fern Acres…
I would love to hear some of your favorite family Christmas traditions, and if there are any ones from this list that you might like to start this year! Please share below in the comments! Also, be sure to visit my Most Meaningful Holiday Gift Guide for some great ideas!
From all of us here on Fern – Merry, Merry Christmas!
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