What are some of your favorite family Christmas traditions?

Attending a tree lighting ceremony. Many years, we'll attend a local tree lighting ceremony put on by our park district. It's a fun way to get out among other families to welcome the season in a festive celebration.

Watch Christmas movies. There are so many good ones, we will usually try to watch a few throughout the season. Our family loves Curious George, so even as the kids have gotten older, A Very Monkey Christmas is always on our watch list. Then it just depends on what we're in the mood for. Once my teens were old enough to appreciate it, It's a Wonderful Life is usually on there as well.

Decorating a Christmas tree. We love to buy a real tree (it smells so nice!) the weekend after Thanksgiving and deck it out with lights and decorations to enjoy all season long.

Opening a present on Christmas Eve. We usually do our big family gathering on Christmas Eve, and then before we turn in for the night, all the kids get to pick one present each to open.

Matching family Christmas pajamas are a fun tradition! We don't do it every year (it gets pricey, and we don't usually wear them enough for me to want to spend too much money on them), but it's a fun tradition we enjoy doing every few years.

Baking and decorating cookies! I love to make Christmas cookies by myself or with my kids throughout the season, but when we gather with extended family members we also make it a point to set out a decorating station for anyone to frost and design pre-baked sugar cookies. Often, there is a bit of a competition involved in who can make the "best" decorated cookie.

The holidays are a wonderful time to volunteer as a family. Not only is it a perfect expression of the meaning behind the season, but there are also so many more opportunities to volunteer as a family than at other times during the year, such as buying, wrapping or delivering gifts to those in need, serving holiday meals, or helping out or performing at nursing home holiday parties.

My kids probably most look forward to our Advent Calendar. For a long time, I had a reusable one that I just filled with little chocolates, and that by itself was fun. Then a few years ago I experimented with creating a DIY "punch board" advent calendar, gluing 24 disposable cups onto a big piece of cardboard, filling each with a little candy, snack or other small gift, and then covering it with gift tissue paper secured by a rubber band. It has been THE biggest hit!! My kids wake up early just to go punch their advent calendar all season long :)