20 Christmas Traditions to Start with your Family

We often spend time with our families during the holidays, and during these times, without realising, we create traditions. Whether it be collecting a real tree with your Dad, playing chess with your Nan or going to church, these are all family traditions, but perhaps you don’t even have any or realise that it is, in fact, a tradition. Here are 20 Christmas traditions to start with family this year.

20 Christmas Traditions to Start with Family

1. Elf on the shelf – love or hate him, he’s a big success with the little ones. Each morning, kids will wake up to find what Santa’s naughty elf has been up to. It’s not a tradition to get into lightly.
2. Christmas Caroling – has become less popular in recent years, but schools often hold carol concerts. You could make it a whole family affair.
3. Christmas Eve Boxes – have always been controversial. They have only been used in recent years. There are various incarnations. Please keep it simple: PJs, a treat, a movie, and an activity. I have seen some seriously extravagant ones!
4. Light Walk – In recent years, a new trend has emerged where neighbours get together and use outside decorations to entertain the younger ones. Some areas ask for charity donations, but it’s not compulsory, and often, you can walk around the streets marvelling at all the lights.
5. Write a letter to Santa – you may or may not have already done this. We used to write a letter to Santa for the NSPCC, and they wrote a beautiful letter back. It was part of the donation package. Now, you can get video messages and even phone calls.
6. Attend a Christmas production or pantomime – it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without shouting ‘he’s behind you’ at a man dressed up as a panto dame. It really is a family occasion and well worth looking into school productions or local societies to see what they are offering.
7. Make a gingerbread house – kits are now available in supermarkets to make cute gingerbread houses. You could even hold a competition to see who can decorate the best.
8. Watch a Christmas movie – within most families, this is a family tradition.
9. A friendly Christmas lunch – One of our traditions that started a few years ago was a ‘friends’ Christmas lunch. It started with the kids, but after a couple of years, it’s just a group of us having a pre-Christmas lunch at a restaurant or hotel. You could even do it at home. If you have enough kids, you could do a mini-one for them.
10. Visit Santa in his Grotto – Most kids have sat on Santa’s knee at one time or another. Now, they often take photos as keepsakes, which is cute. My daughter has a snow globe of her time meeting Santa.
11. Advent calendars – Chocolate is breakfast food in December! We have a chocolate advent calendar, but various versions now, including books, teabags and makeup.
12. Hot Chocolate station – I think this began as a Pinterest pin and has grown to include a whole trolley in some households. It’s a super cute idea, and the kids will love adding bits and pieces to their hot chocolates.
13. Christmas Eve games night – who hasn’t spent a Christmas playing a new board game or a console version? If you have older children and teenagers, you could make it a contest.
14. Late-night Church service – I miss this family tradition; it was my Nan’s thing. Church service, sing some carols, greet the vicar and have a mince pie and a glass of sherry. (We all know she went for the sherry). There was something different about Church on Christmas Eve.
15. Place the star on top of the tree – Tradition says it should be the eldest child, but it could also be the youngest, or you could take it in turns.
16. Attend a Christmas fair – If your local primary school or community centre hosts a Christmas fair, it is often worth a visit. The fairs usually feature independent stalls with little bits and pieces, and if they are outdoors, they offer food and drink. My daughter’s school also had some old-school fair rides.
17. Christmas baking – I used to love putting the 5p’s into the Christmas puddings. It’s such a dying tradition as we buy them these days for convenience, but maybe it’s a tradition you can continue or start.
18. Read a Christmas story – I used to love reading ‘The Night Before Christmas’ to my kids; there was something magical about it.
19. Leaving a mince pie, drink, and carrot out for Santa and his reindeer – is such an innocent tradition. I used to love seeing my daughter’s face when he left her a note saying ‘thanks’ for the treats.
20. Stockings/sacks – I love waking up to find a sack at the end of the bed! I didn’t grow up with this tradition, but we’ve created the tradition of sack presents, and then tree presents: a sack from Santa, lots of stocking presents, and tree presents from us.

Did I miss any? Do you have a family tradition? Please share it with us.

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