27 Family Christmas Traditions To Try This Year

Kate Wille Murray said:  This year we decided to sing carols to a few neighbors and ended up walking around our whole, small neighborhood and sang songs! Kids enjoyed it and it was nice to see people in the winter! Just bundle up (if needed) and enjoy!!

LovliQueen said:  I am starting a new family tradition this year. I am hiding a pickle ornament in the home. Whoever finds it will get $20. I can't wait to see my 2 sons ages 9 & 20 scrabble for the ornament!

Courtney O'Gara said:  We use leftover wrapping paper from previous years to decorate each bedroom door. The kids love it and we even add a bow to make it look like a present! It makes the view from our foyer look so festive when you can see all the “wrapped” doors from the front door!

Kelly R said:  We add one new Christmas ornament to our collection every year, inspired by something that took place for our family...a vacation, a milestone, COVID! I have loved gradually filling our tree with ornaments that are meaningful to us, instead of random generic ones. Talking about all of our ornaments as we bring them out to decorate our tree is one of my favorite family Christmas traditions each year.

Shila said:  When my kids were early readers, I started a family Christmas tradition that still remains today...to borrow at least 12 Christmas books from the library and read one aloud every night leading up to the 25th. Every year I'll try to include a couple new releases, but most long-standing Christmas book classics remain strong in the mix.

Shila said:  A symbol of love, hang mistletoe anywhere in your home during the holiday season. When two people find themselves underneath it, they are encouraged to embrace in a warm hug or peck a kiss! Families who celebrate often hang the mistletoe in the main foyer, but my family traditionally hangs mistletoe above the kids' beds. This makes for extra-special seasonal goodnights at bedtime.

Thanks to technology, there are so many different ways to talk to Santa via call, text, video message and more. Have fun trying these out with your kids and making some unique Christmas memories!

Vanessa M. said:  We do a Christmas cookie exchange with my extended family. It's fun to get together to swap (and eat!) cookies, and watch our favorite Christmas movies.

Lisa R said:  We already have a lot of toys, many of which don't get used simply because they're jumbled up with other toys. This year we invented a story where Santa's elves will pick up broken toys and toys that we don't want anymore in the month before Christmas and either fix them and bring them back, or use the parts to make toys for other children. My daughter was super excited to leave her toys by the front door and see them "disappear". It was a great way to get her to really go through her toys and even find some missing pieces on her own. Best of all, some the old toys that reappeared with new batteries on Christmas were just as exciting as the new stuff.

Sarah Calamita said:  While many do an Advent Calendar, we do a paper advent chain. We use red and green paper and hang it in the kitchen. There's a fun Christmas activity on each link. (ie. Drive around and look at lights, make Christmas cookies, go to a Living Nativity, Zoo Lights, drink hot cocoa by the fire, watch Polar Express, make homemade Christmas cards, etc). The kids will have so much fun every morning checking what is on the chain (and also forces parents to plan and space their fun holiday activities out!)

Sharon Hagenmueller D... said:  We bake a cake on Christmas Eve to celebrate Baby Jesus birth. We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. You can celebrate as your family typically celebrates a family birthday.

Kelly R said:  Our Christmas Eve tradition is takeout Chinese for dinner every year, and we order ridiculously early to (sort of) beat the crowds! I know many families have traditions that involve cooking elaborate meals at home, but we love to keep it simple on Christmas Eve.