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Inside: Discover a list of 14 family Christmas traditions that will bring joy to your home this holiday season!
When I look back at all the Christmas celebrations in my childhood, I barely remember any of the gifts I received.
I do remember the joy of finding the gifts under the Christmas tree in the morning, but the memories that stayed with me over the years have nothing to do with the presents.
I remember decorating the tree with my mom in the first days of December.
I remember eating freshly baked Christmas cookies with my grandma (and “stealing” more cookies from the table when no one was watching).
I remember writing letters to Santa, watching “Home Alone” again and again every year, listening to Christmas music in the evenings, taking long walks in the snow with my mom.
The Christmas memories that make me smile today are all about the happy moments I spent with my family, the fun things we did together, the holiday traditions my mom kept alive through all those years.
And I want the same thing for my kids!
I want them to be able to look back at the Christmases in their childhood and remember that they were always surrounded by love and joy!
This is why I love Christmas traditions so much! They are one of the easiest ways to build more connection during the holiday season and make Christmas even more magical for the kids!
If you are looking for simple ways to get closer to your kids and enjoy them even more this holiday season, I gathered here a list of 14 awesome family Christmas traditions that can bring joy and connection to your home!
Lovely family Christmas traditions to start with your kids
There are many ways to build wonderful family traditions, but I always preferred to find easy ideas that don’t require spending too much time or money.
I want these traditions to bring us joy and connection and not make the holiday season more overwhelming, so I only picked traditions that we can easily put into practice for years to come.
I hope that you’ll like these easy and fun family traditions as much as we do!
1. Create an Advent calendar (or a countdown calendar)
Children are looking forward to celebrating Christmas and a countdown calendar can make the wait easier and more fun!
I love creating a countdown calendar for my kids because it reminds me every day to slow down and truly enjoy the holiday season.
⭐ Here are some of our favorite ideas: 7 simple and fun Christmas countdown ideas your kids will love.
2. Decore the house and the Christmas tree together
Reserve a special evening for the whole family to decorate the house and the tree. You can make this even more fun by listening to a playlist with Christmas music and enjoying hot chocolate together.
Bonus idea: After you finish decorating the tree, invite the kids to write (or draw) their Christmas wish list. Keep all the lists from over the years in a special keepsake box. It is so lovely to go through these lists and see how much kids change over time!
3. Have a Christmas-themed movie night
If your kids love movie nights, they will certainly enjoy watching Christmas movies with you!
Here is a list of Christmas movies for kids you can watch during your family movie night:
- Klaus (on Netflix)
- Dr. Seuss’ the Grinch (on Amazon Prime)
- Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (a new holiday movie on Netflix)
- Arthur Christmas (on Amazon Prime)
- The Christmas Chronicles (on Netflix)
- Elf (on Amazon Prime).
4. Plan a Christmas-themed family night
Here are some ideas to try during your family night:
- prepare a hot chocolate bar and enjoy it with the kids
- play holiday bingo (you can download this printable Christmas bingo game)
- read your favorite Christmas story
- take turns sharing your favorite Christmas memories (kids love finding out how their parents celebrated Christmas as a child)
- create homemade Christmas ornaments (they will be lovely keepsakes to put in the tree every year)
- solve a Christmas-themed puzzle together
- play a Christmas playlist and have a dance party in the living room.
5. Have an indoor Christmas campout under the Christmas tree
I love this idea because it’s all about having fun and connecting with the kids! You can put it into practice easily by inviting the whole family to a sleepover in the living room.
You can build a blanket fort or use sleeping bags. This idea can be easily combined with the previous two ideas.
You can start the evening with a fun family night (or movie night) and then spend the night sleeping next to the Christmas tree.
6. Make a gingerbread house
We like to buy a gingerbread house kit to make this activity easier to prepare, but if you prefer to make everything at home, here is a gingerbread house recipe that also includes a template.
7. Create a Christmas Eve box for the whole family
This is one of the family Christmas traditions that bring the most joy to the little ones! You’ll need a box (preferably a nice-looking gift box) and a few items that will help you have fun on Christmas Eve.
Here are some items that you can include in the box:
- matching holiday pajamas
- a Christmas story or movie
- popcorn
- cute holiday socks for the whole family
- a Christmas activity book (or a sticker book) for the kids.
- a set of holiday mugs for the whole family
- a card game to play together
- a special ornament.
8. Prepare homemade gifts for the grandparents (and other close relatives)
Encouraging kids to prepare homemade gifts for the grandparents is a wonderful way to bring them joy.
Also, it is a great way to teach kids that the holiday season is not only about receiving gifts, but also about offering gifts to their loved ones.
⭐ If you like the idea of kid-made gifts, here are 5 ideas to inspire you: 5 wonderful gifts kids can make.
9. Create a Christmas tree ornament
Creating the ornaments is a nice activity to enjoy with your kids every year. Their creations will become great memories that you’ll cherish for years to come every time you decorate the Christmas tree.
I like salt dough ornaments the most because children of all ages can easily make them. You can find some nice ideas on this list of salt dough ornament ideas for kids.
5 more family Christmas traditions to try this year
Here are some additional ideas you can easily try with your kids.
10. Have a Christmas photo session
You can easily prepare a nice decor at home and take pictures of the whole family in nice holiday outfits.
The photos will become precious memories you will cherish over the years!
11. Make a family video on Christmas morning
Record the moment when the kids open their gifts, then do short interviews with every family member and invite them to share their favorite things about the holiday season.
Once you start this tradition, you can watch videos from the previous years on Christmas morning and enjoy the nice memories together.
12. Go on a family drive to see the Christmas lights
⭐ To make this activity more fun for the kids, download this printable Christmas scavenger hunt. Kids will love to search for all the items on the list!
Also, you can invite the whole family to wear pajamas during the drive and listen to Christmas music as you enjoy the lights.
As an alternative, you can just walk through your neighborhood and admire the decorated houses.
13. Read one Christmas book every night until Christmas
You can either use holiday books that you purchased in the last years (and new ones as well), or you can borrow books from the library.
⭐ Here is a list of 10 lovely Christmas books to enjoy with your kids this holiday season.
14. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve
This can easily become your kids’ favorite thing to do on Christmas Eve because it’s fun and tasty!
Invite every family member to decorate a few cookies, then enjoy them cookies with milk together.
I hope that you enjoyed these ideas and that they inspired you to start some great Christmas traditions to enjoy for many years to come!
I wish you a wonderful holiday season with many happy moments with your family!
>> Want to remember this? Share these ideas to your favorite Pinterest board!
