It is DECEMBER!!!!!
(Yes, I am on the hunt to find Brooke her favorite santa suit in a size that will fit her now).
How is it already December? That went really fast. Really fast.
This will be my first Christmas in my new ‘situation’ and I am wanting to make it a good one. The past 6 years I had a lot of traditions/holiday season fun and obviously now that things have changed a lot in my life 4 months ago it is time to start my own traditions.
So I have decided that each day this month Brooke and I will be doing something Christmas/holiday/service oriented each day until Christmas (today I bought her a Christmas book that is all about a dog and we are going to read it over and over again…. dog+ a book + Christmas themed = Brooke will be in heaven).
As I am coming up with a new set of traditions to start with Brooke I wanted to ask you about YOUR traditions for this time of year! What things do you look forward to each holiday season?!
208 comments
Missy
My Mom gave me an ornament for every year… when I was old enough I would unwrap them on Christmas Eve and hang it. It was always something symbolic of the year (like pom-poms for my first year cheerleading) or of stuff I loved. Like the year I left for college she found a salt and pepper shaker of a Gator (the Mascot) and a suitcase and truned them into ornaments. She always writes the year and maybe some other things on them.
Now I LOVE looking back and pulling them each out — one by one. I have COOL ones from the 80’s too. Srawberry Shortcake and Smurfs.
Just another simple way to add fun.
Kym
I love this idea! And how awesome to be able to put them on your own tree now, with all of the memories and stories attached to each one! Great tradition :)
Chels
Drive around and look at the Christmas lights in your neighborhood while listening to holiday music and sipping on some hot cocoa! That’s definitely one of my fave holiday traditions.
courtney
i love volunteering at the community dinners. it makes me feel SO good.
i also love cutting our tree and putting up decorations. finding stocking stuffers and the PERFECT gift for others is also a fun activity. :]
RainStorm
The one my family still stick to (even though neither my sister or me live at home any more) is a seafood dinner on Christmas Eve. My mum always did rice with prawns ad squid. I think last year I made a fish pie. I’m not sure why – we just do.
And my new tradition (stolen from a friend) is to go to Harrods and buy a new tree decoration each year. This was the first year I did it, but it is going to be a tradition!
I love making minced pies (making your own minced meat is shockingly easy and yummy) and a Christmas cake. All baking stuff really.
Christine
Are you Italian? Italians eat Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. My family typically does not make 7 seafood dishes but one year we did :-)
Julie
My favorite tradition is only opening one gift on Christmas Eve. It’s always “Christmas Eve Pajamas”. My husbands family had the same tradition so when I spent my first Christmas away from home not only did my mom ship pajamas for me to open but his parents had them for me too. Double pjs! Also love watching a Christmas Story with my brothers. :)
Sarah
We always opened one gift on Christmas eve, too. Always a new pair of PJ’s and a calendar for the New Year for our bulletin boards :)
Sarah
Tradition #1: When I was really young, my mother, brother and I would bake Christmas cookies together. She would do most of the baking, and we would decorate them with different colored frosting (I’m sure they were gorgeous haha!). We would then package them along with other baked goods in little tins and mail them to our out-of-town relatives.
Tradition #2: MUSIC. We always had various albums of Christmas music that we played every evening, and it was so exciting when my parents would buy a new one that year. You should start a collection.
Tradition #3: Christmas movies!
Jill B
It’s probably not an original comment, but one thing we’ve only recently started doing in the past few years is the Elf on the Shelf. My kids LOVE waking up each morning and seeing what shanagans the elf has gotten into or what goodies she has brought them. It’s a fun thing to do while they are young and still believe in all that magic.
Jessica M.
I think on Pinterest a cool tradition was new Christmas PJs and a Christmas movie on Christmas Eve. Maybe a little before Christmas Eve so she can wear her PJs longer. Matching PJs for you and Brooke? My sister used to love when we would wear matching PJs (we are 20 years apart)
Abby
Traditions:
1. Each year at Thanksgiving, my mom gives my brother and I a Christmas ornament for that year. She tries to relate it to something that we accomplished/a common theme in our lives for that past year. For instance, last year she got me a Personal Trainer ornament because I got certified that year!
2. Until our mid-teens, every night of December we read a different Christmas book. My mom would wrap them all up and my brother or I would pick one out each night.
3. Every Christmas Eve we watch Prancer
4. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies
5. Make homemade Christmas Cards and/or ornaments
6. Color in Christmas Coloring books
7. Write a letter to Santa.
Kym
This is making me feel so excited for Christmas! I hadn’t really been feeling very festive, but now I’ve to some ideas :)
Kristine
I don’t think I can possibly give you an idea that hasn’t been said yet, but I am loving all of these comments from your readers. I have been seriously dreading the holiday’s this year because I have to work the day before and the day after Christmas and can’t go home to my family. It has been so hard for me to cope with the fact that not only do I live so far from my family, but I also can’t go home to see them for Christmas! I love your positivity though, and it is motivating me to seriously change my attitude about Christmas this year (and stop being so selfish!). Love ya! Stay positive!
Ganeeban
One family tradition that I love is that on Christmas Eve we get to open one present. However, that one present is ALWAYS pj’s! Even though I’m 30, every year I beg my Mom to continue the tradition. I love it and wearing them on Christmas morning. It’s something that I’ve gotten older, I come to love this idea and hope to do it when I have my own family and children.
Emily @SinfulNutrition
Two traditions of mine are to watch the Polar Express and drink hot cocoa right after we decorate the tree, and then I leave the movie A Christmas Story playing all through Christmas Eve night even when I go to bed since it’s on for 24 hours. I started it when I was younger and just isn’t Christmas without it!
Christine
Adult traditions: We eat a seafood feast on Christmas Eve and drink lots of champagne!
Growing up we didn’t have yearly tradition. My parents were divorced so we would spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my Mom. Christmas Day my Dad would take us and we’d celebrate Christmas a second time! My parents were really great at making sure we spent time with both of them. Every year though I’d look forward to all the movies, food and treats we only had at Christmas time :0
Victoria Gralian
Christmas is my favorite holiday. My mom and I had so many awesome traditions. Like every year we would set up our tree and decorate it, then we would make hot chocolate and turn off all the lights, listen to Christmas music, and watch the lights on the tree sparkle. I will never forget those moments :)
Sonia the mexigarian
We make tamales as a family for a Christmas tradition . My uncle and cousin bake a dozen different cookies for each family (15+ families in the familia) and I have painted ornaments with my friends off and on for a few years now.
Allison
I love this post and all the fantastic comments! I’m in holiday tradition heaven!
Ok here are some traditions we’ve loved–some come from my family and some from Alex’s.
~Papa John’s pizza and root beer on Christmas Eve
~making caramel pretzel rods
~blasting Mannheim steamroller on Christmas morning as we wake everyone up for presents
~scavenger hunt around house when kids are little or around town when older leading to each child’s main Christmas gift
~once older we’d bundle up and walk on a majorly snowy day to a local restaurant/fast food place
~movie theatre on Christmas Day
~homemade candy advent calendar (I’d love to show you how!)
This year we’re introducing some new traditions such as opening a wrapped Christmas book each night. Eventually I’ll collect 23 books but so far I have 12. Ending with Luke 2 on Christmas Eve.
I love traditions. We’re still working on ours for our little family. I like to try several and see what sticks. Sure loving all the ideas here.
Miss you girlfriend!
april
my family goes out for tamales on christmas eve. i really love this tradition! :) we also gather at my grandparents’ house on christmas morning for brunch (my grandma makes her famous egg/cheese/chile quiche and cinnamon rolls) and then we open stockings and presents. it’s the best!