It’s that time of the year for heartwarming Christmas memories and traditions. After all, the holiday season is a time for family, friends, and framily (friends who are family)!
Children have created their Christmas lists and try their best to be nice and not naughty. Parents are checking off those lists to make sure their little ones get what they want. Many are getting their family Christmas menu ready and delegating who is responsible for cooking certain meals. Others are making plans to travel while some are deciding who will host this year’s Christmas festivities.
No matter what your plans are or what this Christmas may look like, holiday traditions are part of holiday preparation.
Growing up, my mom, step-dad, and I didn’t have specific Christmas traditions, not in the sense of something whimsical and full of fun holiday activities. I woke up before the sunrise, opened my gifts, we ate breakfast as a family, and then we went to my aunt’s house to spend Christmas with the rest of the family.
I played with my cousins while the adults talked or finished preparing the food. When it was time to open gifts, the girls received dolls or something girly; the boys received trucks or toys made for boys. As all the nieces and nephews grew of age, we started exchanging gifts. Now, we’re all adult with our own families and those visits from the early days no longer exist.
Once I became a mom, I wanted to make sure my children had Christmas memories beyond opening presents, eating food, and spending time with family. About a week before Christmas — no specific day — we have Christmas family fun. We drink hot cocoa, listen to Christmas music, and partake in our holiday arts and crafts activities.
Deciding a holiday activity doesn’t take much thought, it’s all in what you feel like doing. My daughter and I don’t have a plan when we go shopping, other than what stores we want to get the materials – Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Once we arrive, we see what’s available and then decide.
Let the Christmas Fun Begin
What is Christmas without stockings? Our first family Christmas tradition was in 2014 and we created stockings. The kids each had their own and they were free to design it in any way they wanted. They kept their stocking for four years and happily hung them on the fireplace. Unfortunately, we didn’t do another Christmas tradition activity again until 2018.
Starting Over
Disappointed is an understatement. Honestly, I’m not sure why so much time passed before we resumed our Christmas traditions. Thankfully, there’s nothing wrong with starting over. We moved in 2018 and to commemorate our first Christmas in our new home, we started again. It was only fitting to start with stockings. Out with the old and in with the new!
Christmas 2019
This year was our first time wearing matching Christmas pajamas. Instead of doing a Christmas activity, we spent time taking pictures in our holiday attire.
Christmas 2020
This time I was determined to keep the tradition going. Now that we have new Christmas stockings and we started wearing matching family pajamas, it was time to move on to something else.
Before we decided on the next activity, we wanted to keep the matching pajamas a thing, you know, for tradition and all.
And we created ornaments!
Ornament. Pinterest for the win. The ornament was too heavy to hang on the Christmas tree so we kept them in a decorative tray on the kitchen island. Watch the video to see what we did.Wooden Snowflake. We painted and covered it with glitter while the paint was still wet. The snowflakes were hung on the fireplace with the stockings. Video.
- clear ornament, white wooden snowflake
- water, water coloring
- cotton balls
- glitter, acrylic paint
Christmas 2021
We don’t ever try to outdo the previous year, we just make sure that we have fun together as a family and create lasting memories.
This year, the kids wanted gingerbread houses. I didn’t really find exactly what I was looking for and purchasing individual gingerbread houses for a family of five was a bit pricey. Luckily, I was able to locate a gingerbread house village kit.
After attempting to create the gingerbread houses, we designed an individual wooden stocking. Can’t seem to let go of the stockings! The paint and paintbrushes are from the previous year. I try to reuse what’s left over from previous years. Its economical considering the money that is spent on Christmas presents.
What’s next… 2022
We have not decided what to do this year but no matter what we decide, one thing is for sure…we will create heartwarming Christmas memories and traditions.
Your Turn
Let me know in the comments, what are your family traditions?
Hi Natasha,
I love the signature picture at the close of your posts, and I also look forward to your questions. Blessings to you and your beautiful family!
Thank you for the signature compliment. When I was born, my mom had a different name in mind – Anastasia. But, when the nurse came in she mispronounced it and hence, Natashia was created. The font in the signature can be attributed to my love of fonts. My co-workers tease me when I change documents to make the font cuter. What can I say, I like what I’m reading to be pleasing to the eye.