10 Holiday Traditions to Start This Year

Christmas is about much more than just opening gifts under the tree. It’s about the birth of Jesus, family time, memories, and so much more. One of my favorite things about the holiday season is traditions. If you haven’t started traditions with your family yet or if you’re looking for some new ones to implement, here are 10 traditions you can implement this year:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

1) Decorate Christmas cookies. If your family does the Elf on the Shelf, it could leave instructions and supplies to bake them on Christmas Eve.

2) Get matching family pajamas to wear on Christmas morning or all season long. This year, I got ours from Hannah Andersson and they are so cute!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

3) Have a Christmas movie night or set a day and do it each week throughout the holiday season. Put on your family favorites or a Christmas classic, pop some popcorn, and snuggle up with the family for a movie night. ⠀

4) Load up in the car and drive around and look at Christmas lights. I love to do this as many times as possible throughout the season. Another idea: go through a drive-thru and get dinner to eat in the car while you drive around ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the pretty decorations.

5) Have a family camp out by the Christmas tree. Get some pillows and blankets, and make a comfy spot and sleep by the Christmas lights for a night. Your kids will love this!

6) Read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” This is a must for the Christmas season, so maybe you’re already doing this tradition. If not, start it this year. Gather the family around and read this Christmas classic.⠀⠀⠀

7) Make a gingerbread house. The kids love this! It makes a big mess, but make the memories and worry about the mess later. I have seen kits where the house is pre-built and you get to do all the decor - if you have small kids, that may be much easier.

8) Let the kids help bake goodies for your neighbors and friends. I still remember baking every Christmas season with my mom, and I’m so excited to carry this tradition on with my kids.

9) Start “The Elf on the Shelf” tradition. This tradition is my favorite! Your kids will love it too, and it’ll help keep them on their best behavior. If you are new to the Elf tradition or you always feel stuck and aren’t sure where to move him each day, I have created The Elf Collective just for you! It’s a printable elf kit that will give you a calendar, tasks, and printables for each day so you can take the guesswork out and just enjoy this tradition! Click here to get The Elf Collective.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

10) Help your kids write a letter to Santa. Let your kids tell Santa what your family has been up to and what they hope to see under the tree this Christmas.

The holiday season is my favorite time of the whole year. I love the family time, the yummy food, the traditions with my kids, and so many other things. If you haven’t started many traditions with your family yet, I hope this will be the year you start, and I hope this blog post helped you get started!