Favorite Christmas Tradition Ideas
Who doesn’t love Christmas time? I think we can all agree that Christmas has the most magic when you’re a child, but when you become a parent, that magic comes back through your children.
This year is Julia’s very first Christmas, and while she will only be a bit over four months old, I’m already thinking about some traditions I would love to start and maintain over the years.
When I was a child, one tradition that we had was that my mom would always let us open just ONE present on the night of Christmas Eve. I remember looking under the tree for such a long time trying to decide just which present I wanted to open. I remember being so upset one year because I had chosen a box that ended up being shoes and not a toy! Regardless, I think it is a fun tradition that I might consider passing on to Julia.
Here are a few other Christmas tradition ideas that I’ve found and would love to try out!
Wrapping the Doorway
A few years ago, I read an interview with Gwen Stefani where she mentioned a cool tradition she grew up with and passed on to her own children. The night before Christmas, the doorway to the room with the Christmas tree would be all covered with wrapping paper. In the morning, the kids would have to run through and rip open the paper to get to their presents! I think that sounds like so much fun and I know I would have loved to do something like that as a child!
Make A New Ornament or Decoration
This year, I’m hoping to make a salt dough ornament of Julia’s foot to add to our tree. I think it would be a fun tradition if we try to make one new ornament or decoration every year!
My husband and I are obsessed with Christmas decorations and go all out, but how extra special would it be to have some things to put up every year that the kiddos made? Plus, there are so many ideas for Christmas ornaments and crafts on Pinterest that it would probably be years before we ran out of ideas.
Baking Cookies to Hand Out
I think that it is important to teach our children that we are very fortunate to get to spend the holidays together as a family. There are so many people who have to work on Christmas, or have no one close by to spend it with. I think it would be a great idea to work together to make a big batch of cookies and deliver them to a nursing home, police station, homeless shelter, or even an elderly neighbor. With Christmas being the season of giving, I think it would be a great tradition to start and one that we could hopefully continue into our children’s adulthoods.
What are some of your Christmas traditions? Have you done any of the ones listed? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!