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What Are Your Simple And Memorable Family Christmas Traditions (Especially For Tweens/Teens Especially After The “Santa” Years…)
I had a dumb panic last week. I feel like I haven’t been the best at keeping to “family Christmas traditions,” instead trying new things every year, which is all fine and good, but is it less memorable? And now that Santa is behind us, will the kids even look forward to Christmas morning? We don’t cut down the tree in the forest, we don’t go to midnight mass, I couldn’t PAY my family to go caroling (sadly), I don’t make beautiful cookies, and I often totally forget to do holiday cards (I don’t have an address system!!). So last week I was starting to feel a bit pannicky (which is dumb but very “me” and in line with my parenting anxieties). Will my kids even remember the time of year that I love so much when they are grownups?? Will they get nostalgic and want to come home to relive them when they are 24 and 26?? Then I had an epiphany. The day after Thanksgiving, we always go on a walk on the same river and always eat the exact same Nutburger lunch (shout out to Sunflower in Fair Oaks). That night we always go to Brian’s cousin’s house, and we always have delicious lemon drops (for grownups) and an epic hot chocolate bar for the kids. And then we always have a dance party (three generations shaking it in the living room). It’s so simple but so special, and our kids talk about it all year. They are absolutely our traditions. What I want to remind myself (and you) is that it’s more important to be simple and specific than big and adventuresome – like even eating or drinking the exact same specific thing every year around the same time makes it feel special. Wearing the Santa hats. Opening the poppers. So I made a list of the things we do (not just the one-off events) as well as ones that I know aren’t too late to start and I’d love your help with some ideas for older kids (now that santa is officially “dead” – which is so sad, it feels like a lot of the magic just disappeared overnight.)
Family Ornament Party
This is our favorite night of the year, when we hang ornaments and relive the stories behind them. Every family trip, every lost first tooth, every big accomplishment, hell, we even have a Ruth Bader Ginsburg ornament and our favorite cat, Bearcat, ornament for when they passed. Not to mention the annual special ones I give the kids at Christmas, and they give to us (just make sure you sign and date them on the bottom). We always have hot apple cider (both grown-up and kid versions), and it’s usually saved for the Saturday after Thanksgiving (this year, we had to decorate early, so we did it the Saturday before Thanksgiving). I love this night, and it really kicks off the season. We usually end it with the first holiday movie, too. Even when the kids are out of the house, I’ll save the special ornament hanging part of the decor for when they arrive (I truly can’t imagine how big it will be by then – it’s DRIPPING even now!).
Framed Santa Picture Display
The first few years, I just had these in a box, but once I framed them, I realized how much joy it brought to the kids and me to relive them and pull them out on display. This year, I culled them down (I had a bunch of repeats – the same horizontal and vertical, with us, without us, with grandparents, without grandparents, etc) with just one per kid per year. I also framed them in ready-made gold frames which fit this house better than the simple white ones.
Soup And Grilled Cheese On Christmas EVE Eve
The 22nd or 23rd is usually when people are coming into town, and everyone wants a cozy home-cooked meal, but in a casual way, after traveling. I didn’t realize this was a hard tradition, but I always do it, so I’m going to stick to it from now on and just call it our family tradition. One year, I did a grilled cheese bar (with tomato, bacon, basil, avocado, etc) and homemade tomato soup, which was such a gut-buster but so fun. This year, I have this panini maker, which makes the best sandwiches.
Big Neighborhood Ornament Exchange (And Craft Party)
We host a big party with all our school friends (and parents who are our friends), which is a total blast. Everyone wears festive attire, and the kids draw names and secretly buy each other ornaments. This keeps the budget really simple and narrows the focus for everyone involved. We make it a big old thing where they each open one at a time, and everyone “oohs and ahs” (they are usually based on the kids’ interests at the time). Again, sign and date! This year, I want to add a hot chocolate bar for the kids. We usually do a big, organized photo ornament craft (but the 6th-grade boys are resisting this year).
Zoo Lights And A Fun Restaurant Afterwards
Admittedly, this is more fun for the kids than the grownups (it’s usually raining), and we almost nixed it this year, but when Charlie was asked by a cousin last what our family traditions are, he said “zoo lights” so fast, so I realized that, of course, we are going to keep doing it. We usually do it with the same family and get a really fun dinner afterwards at a place that delights the kids (it’s even more fun on a weeknight since the weekends tend to be so packed).
Decorate The Family Shelter
This is the 3rd year that we get to decorate this family shelter in Portland. We let the kids invite their friends (so they’ll have more fun and spread the service vibes), and I have to be VERY organized or it’s chaotic which isn’t exactly appropriate for a family shelter (the families are only involved if they want to be, some pop in and help us because they get excited but most are in their rooms). It’s extremely fulfilling, and I hope it leaves an imprint on our kids (and the shelter is so grateful that someone is making it happen). We go out to eat afterwards, and I try to gently instill the impact they just made (and lots of treats are involved). We always adopt a family or pull from the gifting tree at the mall, but this tradition feels really solid and memorable because it’s so tangible and tactile (and fun). (The Family Promise of Tualatin Valley is always looking for gift cards for moms to be able to buy their kids more specific toys and gift cards for teens to be able to buy what they want – they have a massive toy inventory for littler kids, but if you are in Portland, feel free to drop off Target or Fred Meyer gift cards:)) Big shout-out to my parents for creating a lot of traditions around service (year-round). The Mormons (and many organized community religious establishments) have it really dialed in.
Play Absolutely Hilarious Family Games
I can’t take credit for this one. My siblings and all the cousins (and grandparents) come over on Christmas Eve, and let me tell you what, my Mormon family knows how to entertain themselves without alcohol. My little sister (who is the younger TikTok version of me) brings the games, and they are absolutely ridiculously fun. One is where she wraps up something in a box covered in packing tape (like layers and layers of it), and then you have to go around the table and, only wearing oven mitts, try to open it (30-second time limit). Another is being blindfolded and trying to scoop up cotton balls onto a paper plate (not sure what we win on that one, but everyone looks so dumb, which is the point).
Matching Family Christmas Pajamas
I did this for years and kinda fell off the wagon the last 2 years (we all wore matching “Feliz Navidog” sweatshirts that have Buttercup and Oscar on them). But this year I’m bringing it back. Hanna Andersson FTW! It’s not something we did growing up (with six kids), but it’s silly and strangely bonding.
Of course, there is all the little stuff – so many family Christmas movie nights, cookies dropped off at neighbors (the super easy ones I can actually bake), and the same breakfast casserole Christmas morning. But I guess I was just feeling like now that the kids don’t believe in Santa, they are not looking forward to Christmas like they used to (which is the truth), and I want to make it feel magical despite this huge setback. After seeing this list, I’m thinking we are ok 🙂 I also fully recognize that I do enough and that the kids are certainly not lacking in anything, so I’m creating my own stress and I’m my own problem, but I think most moms can relate to wanting to make their kids’ holidays feel magical and nostalgic outside of just the presents (and post Santa).
I’d love to hear any of your favorite simple traditions that might be especially great for older kids (all are welcome!). Or maybe it’s just the little thing you add to a normal tradition to make it feel like it’s your family’s thing? The “epic hot chocolate bar” was the best example. Is there a punch you always make? A silly prank you play? A special coffee drink you make sure to pick up? A silly song only your family sings?
Comment away, folk 🙂
Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kailtin Green | From: Christmas In Our Home 2025 – Whimsy, Color, And Non-Traditional In A Really Cozy Way
In the first week of December, the kids and I always make paper chains to hang up out of construction paper and pretty pages from Garnet Hill catalogs, and we decorate the house with paper snowflakes. We also get out candles and start using them nightly.
Christmas morning my parents always cozy up on the couch with the kids and watch one of the Little House on the Prairie Christmas episodes while I make breakfast.
For breakfast we always have snowman pancakes—super simple, three pancakes laid on the plate like a snowman, and then things to “make a snowman” with pomegranate seeds for buttons, mandarin sections for smiles, little sausages for arms, etc., whatever you like!
We always make big trays of nachos for lunch.
Oh my goodness, I love these. Where can we stream the Little House on the Prairie episodes??
same!! And i love the snowman pancakes. so easy. we usually do a breakfast casserole I make the night before but honestly the kids don’t love it as much as us so maybe we’ll do both (or steal that idea for christmas eve morning). TY!
What’s breakfast casserole??!
I’m not sure what kind Emily makes but we always make at least two versions on Christmas morning – a savory one (with a mix of eggs, cheese, sausage/bacon, veggies and hashbrowns) and a sweet one (the favorite being Cinnamon Roll French Toast casserole). So easy to mix up the day before and just throw in the oven! Definitely a favorite holiday tradition in our family!
We make a French Toast casserole, which is kind of like a bread pudding. We top it with whipped cream and blueberries. Very easy to make ahead and throw i the oven on Christmas morning. It’s so good!
I’m not sure where they’re available to stream—one year they were obsessed with all things Little House so we bought the DVD for like $6 on Amazon
Second the DIY snowflakes!
You can stream 9 seasons of Little House on the Prairie on Prime and Peacock Premium. Use Reelgood to find where to watch things, it’s too hard to keep track of everything.
Such great ideas, Emily, thank you!
Post request: could you write about your Aunt Flossy? I just reread your “stretch to two month post” (which I’ve long loved and think about often) and discovered your aunt in the comments.
We’ll be hosting my grandmother for the first time ever this year. Her dementia is so serious that we can’t even tell her that my Mom (her daughter) died suddenly last year. I feel emotional and overwhelmed.
You think deeply about things and truly care about what matters, and you pay attention and notice things. So I would be so grateful for any advice or insights you can share. I’m sure lots of readers will be seeing loved ones with dementia this season so it could help a lot of us!
As always thank you for brightening my days!
My heart went out to you when I read this. I don’t have advice (my own grandmother has dementia but it isn’t as serious as your grandma’s) but when I think about having to tell her one of her children passed away (or can’t tell her because of the dementia), my heart breaks. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season.
I’m so sorry that you are going through this. I’m sure it feels extremely overwhelming and just really, really sad without your mom. Its such a sacrifice and responsibility and i’m sure it feels both daunting and like a lot of pressure. I don’t remember ever writing about Aunt Flossie (except maybe around the time when I had the partnership with the senior center?). She moved in with us when I was a kid (maybe 8 or 10). She was my moms aunt and I don’t think they were particularly close (we never knew her before she moved in), but my parents were the only ones who would take care of her and they are extremely generous and caring people that always sacrifice their enjoyment to help others (they are also really happy and content people so clearly the two are correlated) so they said yes to what most distant relatives would say no to (even her own step children said no). As I’m writing this I actually want to ask more questions of my parents. She was with our family for over a decade (died at 102 i think) she was a part of our family, existed in our… Read more »
Familarity can be soothing for those with dementia. If you have ornaments, decorations, or Christmas-themed photos from earlier years or generations (like when you were a kid) that you don’t typically use, you could put those out where they’ll be noticed. Playing some soft Christmas music from your grandmother’s time – like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, etc. – might also spark some recognition or a smile. I hope your family time will be sweet, despite the challenges.
Hi Vera, I just realized I accidentally responded to Holly’s comment underneath yours so wanted to comment here to flag my below comment, meant for you. Thinking of you a lot. I kind off on a tangent. I’m not sure i’m helpful at all, but know that I’m thinking of you and sending so much love. xx
My Mom had a very fast moving type of dementia. It was so stressful and heartbreaking.
A beautiful morning, just a few days before her death, a volunteer musician was at a holiday brunch at her memory care center. He struck up tunes from John Denver, and James Taylor. A he sang, and played guitar, we saw actual joy on Mom’s face. Music brings back feelings more than memories.
I know your heart must be heavy. If your Grandmother asks for your Mom, maybe distract the both of you with a memory from childhood, or remembering out loud a wonderful meal, or tradition your Mom was known for.
When the holiday visit is done, find a way to treat yourself kindly, 💕
Vera – I feel for you so much right now! My mom’s mom had dementia as well and my mom passed away about a year before my grandma did. The only advice I can give is to follow your heart – you know your grandmother best and can probably judge what she can and can’t handle (which probably fluctuates throughout the day!). My grandma wouldn’t remember that my mom was gone and telling/reminding her each time I saw her just broke both our hearts all over again. The best thing I ended up doing (for me – which was frowned on by other family members) was just going with her on her delusions. If she thought I was her daughter in law (or a cousin or a complete stranger), then I became that person for that visit. If she thought she was only 20 and still living on the family farm, then I would talk to her about the chickens or whatever chores still needed to be done. The point for me was to spend time with her and to not stress her out or make her even more confused. When she had more lucid moments she loved looking at… Read more »
I think when kids “lose” Santa, it’s also the same time parents can dial back on orchestrating memories and special moments they will remember and let THEM decide what makes the season special for them (zoo lights). Also, I dont think parents need to be the hype people and “make” it special. It sets up unrealistic expectations for everyone that continues into adulthood and leads people to get the holiday blues because they think somehow what they just came through wasn’t special enough.
When my 3 became teens, on Christmas eve they started going on their own night hike in the woods then coming home and listening to music and talking until 2 am and bunking in the same room.that they decorated themselves. That is their favorite memory of the season.
What you are providing for your kids seems like its beyond enough.
I LOVE THIS. I think you are right. I think one of my biggest flaws is that i’m really desperate to maintain the connection i have with my kids now and very genuinely fearful of losing it in their teen years if I don’t do XYZ now (this is a product of my personal experience and my own cautionary tale). So I think this is a great reminder. thank you.
I think a problem with the post-Santa years is that once everybody isn’t hopping out of bed to see what Santa brought, Christmas morning can fill a bit blah and empty.
In my family, we filled the gap with a “special Christmas breakfast”. In our case this was freshly baked croissants (you can buy the dough ready to put in the oven) and Bucks Fizz in tall champagne glasses. If you’re not familiar, Bucks Fizz is champagne and orange juice, or sparkling water and orange juice for the non-drinkers.
It might not seem very Christmassy on the face of it, but it reinstated Christmas morning as a bit of an occasion, especially as we did it in the living room (not the kitchen or dining room), played Christmas music in the background and opened presents at the same time. It also felt kind of grown-up for the Santa-graduates (but do be careful about knocking over those tall champagne glasses).
I would add that if you do anything two years in a row, it’s A Tradition. And if you do it at Christmas, then it’s automatically A Christmas Tradition. Within those parameters, anything goes!
Love “naming” differences! We call Bucks Fizzes (oj/champagne) mimosas in the US.
Scratch that. Turns out a Buck’s Fizz is 2 parts champagne,1 part OJ. A Mimosa is half and half.
Oh i prefer a bucks fizz then!
love this! we shall also call it ‘buck fizz’. and I agree about the parameters. I’m all about a reframe. xx
We do not put ornaments on our tree until Christmas Eve and we do it as a family. When I was little, Santa actually decorated our tree which made coming into the room on Christmas morning magical (though hard for my parents who had to do all the last minute wrapping as well as decorate the tree after we went to bed). I’m a single mom (by choice, not by divorce) so I decided that instead of Santa decorating, my 2 kids and I would decorate it together on Christmas Eve. This has worked out so well as they have gone to college and now live in other states. We are all still all together on Christmas Eve and love decorating the tree together! A bonus is that we are not sick of the tree by Christmas- I don’t get the tree til a few days before Christmas Eve!
I love this so much. thank you for sharing and good job, mama. xx
Mom of now young adults chiming in…. Christmas Eve after the church service we gather at our home with dear friends. Soups, cookie trays and meat and cheese trays plus dips all night. Oh. And cider and wine options. It’s my favorite night of the year. Our two open a “cozy” gift (maybe pjs, a throw, cashmere beanie, etc) before bed that night. Christmas Day we each wake up to a book or two in a bag hanging on our bedroom door. Books are selected to match the interests of each and may be related to a trip or even a cookbook. This has been going on since they were young. Even the little burlap snowman “book bags” are the same each year. After Christmas Day church is brunch with favorite egg bake and homemade turnovers which we make together. Gift opening. Dinner that night is always simple: crab legs or lobster tail, baked potatoes and a salad. It’s all a lovely couple days with family and friends. For the 12th day of Christmas, when kids were young, the night prior they would decorate a box and fill with paper “hay” for the Epiphany camel. (All pretend and they were… Read more »
I love this. I might steal this book bag tradition. I think inviting more people over is a gret key/suggestion. Two years ago we had the afternoon christmas blues, but last year we invited anyone over between lunch and dinner and the energy shifted instantly. We used to always have our holidays at the mountain house near our friends who also lived up there and that mid-day hang (and snowy walk with a cocktail) was crucial. thank you for sharing. xx
On the solstice we do a simple family craft (make paper snowflakes or simple paper luminaries), and then drive around and look at Christmas lights. Doing it that one specific day every year makes it feel more special even if it’s just a few stops in the neighborhood.
On Christmas Eve, no matter the weather, we go for a walk in a nearby nature park. It started as a way to get our toddler’s excess energy out but now that she’s 11 we still look forward to it. I like to remind her of the spot where she threw a huge tantrum and threw herself in the snow because we laugh about it now.
So fun. ‘just add walk’ is a slogan around here. maybe i’ll get oscar and butter a fun holiday outfit that we can show off to our neighbors during our christmas walk, too. xx
When I read the title of this post, I thought to myself, “I’m not sure kids really need anything fancy. Simple things that get repeated seem to be what’s most special for my kids…” Turns out that’s what the post is about.
My husband and kids are Jewish, I’m not; so I help them with Hannukah, and they help me with Christmas. We watch a couple Hannukah music videos every night of the holiday. There are some really amazing ones (fun, silly, meaningful, pretty). My husband won’t let us watch them except during Hannukah, so we are all look forward to it and feel sad when the time has passed. The kids’ first night gift is always toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, etc; this is what my stocking was as a kid) and last night gift is a “coupon book” for family experiences (things like a no chores weekend, breakfast out alone with a parent, a family bowling night); these are the gifts they talk about all year.
We have Chinese takeout and do a puzzle every Christmas Eve; we don’t get take-out often, which helps make this ritual special for us.
I’ve never thought about doing a coupon book for our kids – thats a GREAT idea. even if it might be selfish like, 30 free 10 second hugs. I love the no chore weekend 🙂 thank you for sharing!
Christmas music challenge! We listen to the awful, low royalty holiday music on the radio in the car, and whoever has to turn it off first loses. There are some particularly challenging to sit through (YMCA Santa?!). The prize is just bragging rights (most stoic? most delusional?). I look forward to it every year.
We do Christmas Eve snack plate which started when they were toddlers and napped from 1-3, but has morphed into ‘snack smorgasbord for linner’. This is not your average charcoal we add baked goods, sweats, and more substantial’snacks’ which makes it more of a meal. The kids talk about it all year and we bring it back out on Xmas day to polish it off. It’s a winner!
When my sisters and I were adults my mom surprised us one year with a scrapbook of all of our old family holiday cards. My mom included a note every year and reading the family updates is a trip! She has continued to add a page every year and we’re now on volume 2. The scrapbooks come out with the holiday decor and now that our kids are older they enjoy comparing my childhood to theirs. Love that.
I LOVE THIS. Elliot and I started doing girl dinner and its her favorite meal. maybe we’ll do a grownup version around the holidays. love. This year the kids (uh, Brian) gave me a scrapbook for mothers day filled with every card they ever gave me, and I add every card to it. its in the same vein. Keep the cards, folks. they are wildly fun to read every single year.
Mom of older teens (and aunt to many) here. In my experience (acknowledging that every family is different) the tweens and teens often go for the kiddie activities like zoo lights longer than you’d expect because they want to cling to the last remnants childhood magic even as it fades. But eventually they may realize those activities are no longer fun in the way the used to be. Or they’d rather do something with their friends but don’t want to disappoint the parents by breaking tradition. It can be a little sad for them and for us but it’s part of life. Fighting the letting go can make it worse.
The good news is that the older teens and young adults still love the simpler things – friends, food, hanging out, twinkle lights, movies. It’s so much less effort and still special. And they start to add traditions of their own, either with family or friends, which is fun to watch. IMO staying flexible in these transition years is more important than sticking to the same thing, the same way, every year.
Thank you. I know you are right. I’m sitting inside the transition right now so it feels a bit painful, so i’m really resonating with your comment. thank you thank you.
It is painful going through it but there are new kinds of joy on the other side, truly. Hugs to you.
In my family, it’s not that we’re post-Santa, it’s that the kids are now in on the magical secret that WE’RE ALL SANTA! Grandma is the Santa who sends matching pajamas for Christmas Eve. Mom and Dad are the Santas who take your Christmas lists and spread the word to aunt and uncle Santas. We can Santa together for families in our community who need help purchasing gifts. We take each kid on a solo shopping trip so they can Santa for each other. We take turns eating Santa’s cookies and putting stuff under the tree on Christmas Eve (kids go first so they still wake up surprised to see what’s there in the morning). There’s still lots of fun and surprises, and I would argue much closer to the spirit of Christmas we want them to be absorbing!
I love this outlook!! Thank you for sharing, made me feel the joy of Santa and Christmas just reading it!
Oh I love this!
We also do We’re All Santa, even when the kids were little but in another way, that is, we fill all the stockings for one another, mostly from the dollar store, kids and grownups both. My mom knew she’d struck gold when the maybe seven-year old grandson announced on the phone, Nana! We have so many presents to give! Over the years, I’ve done this with the two grandsons and next weekend with the great-great nieces ages 9 and 6. Separately, we go for hot chocolate and a cookie where we write our gift list, then head for the dollar store. Much to my surprise, the Littles are totally discerning about picking something special for each person and totally remember what’s for whom a couple weeks later. At first, it’s hard
for them to not pick something for themselves but oh well, Santa’s prerogative, it often ends up wrapped for opening on Christmas Day. They pay themselves and feel so so proud of their choices. It’s amazing … much recommend.
love this. thank you! I hadn’t thought of having the kids do our stockings but thats a great idea!!
Yes! With divorced grandparents on both sides we have a series of celebrations and the one at my dad’s several days post Christmas is a favourite. Everyone brings small gifts for each other to stuff stockings / repurposed Santa hats etc depending how many people there are. Everyone (grandparents, visiting overseas relatives, boyfriends) gets one. We open them in the afternoon around the tree. The stockings are generally overflowing and it’s a lot of fun. My dad’s girlfriend and her daughter are Jewish and enjoy the novelty of stockings, and the kids enjoy getting to be Santa. We take ages taking turns pulling out what’s inside and guessing who put in what. It’s super fun and casual and I love it.
I love this! right now my kids are a little cringe when I talk about ‘santa’ (elliot is specifically still mourning santa since most of her friends don’t know and its such a hard secret to keep). But I’m going to try this and see if it maybe helps?
We’re in the same place with our 8 year old daughter this year too 💕 but I love all these suggestions!
LOVE THIS!!! Thanks for sharing!
My kids are grown but they come on Christmas Eve. We have a big dinner and then drive through the local Candy Cane Lane.
Then it’s always homemade cinnamon rolls after opening presents on Christmas morning. It’s a brioche dough so I only make it once a year.
These traditions just evolved which makes it more special to me.
we always had cinnamon rolls, too. 🙂 I’m a terrible baker but I told Brian I might try them this year. Family recipe, etc. Thanks for sharing. xx
We go to Costco, fill a giant orange flat cart with cases of food and drive it to our local food pantry to donate. I know food pantries would rather have cash donations, but the physical act of shopping, choosing what’s best for the pantry and loading/unloading it is so much more rewarding.
I can so relate with how you feel Emily ! The pressure….. especially since my daughter is my only child and my family lives in Europe, the holidays are mostly the three of us (some years we get the family to visit which makes it a whole different experience, so fun!!).
My daughter’s birthday is December 2nd and we always start decorating for Christmas after that. During the year we get ornaments from our travels, special events and interest from that year. We always go to a matinee show on Christmas Eve, preferable in the Pantages theatre in Los Angeles. It’s so festive and special. After we eat a lasagna or something easy I could have prepared in advance. Christmas morning is croissant bread pudding which is famous in my whole family. It is so decadent and delicious. We like to stay in PJ’s the whole day but also go for a long walk with the dogs. Dinner is an enormous charcuterie board and a movie. Perfect.
that sounds so lovely. so simple and cozy. thanks for sharing. xx
A 2000+ piece puzzle appears on the afternoon of the 25th and it “must”be completed by end of day January 1. I love a group effort that doesn’t demand we do it only as a group, such a welcome reprieve for a group of introverts!
We never let go of Santa. Our kids are 29, 26, and 23 and we always told them that if they stopped believing in Santa (their choice), they would run the risk of Santa not showing up. So Santa still shows up, and we’re all in on believing the magic. Our traditions are the we can’t listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving – then the morning after we put on Handel’s Messiah. My husband and I go to listen to the Messiah in Portland every year. Today we go to find and cut down a tree! The tree is filled with decorations that the kids made in school etc. Nothing matches. The biggest ‘tradition’ is Christmas Eve entertainment. This was a tradition that my husband’s family started. Each person has to do an entertainment for the family – it can be anything. I always read The Polar Express, someone reads The Grinch. My youngest daughters usually do a dance to music, but we’ve had bible readings, and guitar playing and lots of other things. It’s just a lovely evening, without TV, to be together. Then, of course, we put out cookies, milk, and carrots (I will say… Read more »
My favorite unique family tradition comes from my stepmother’s side. In addition to gifts arriving from Santa, each year under the tree will be gifts from celebrities, fictional characters, and historical figures. Whoever the gift is from often acts as a hint about what the gift may be. Over the years many hosting and cooking supplies have been given by Martha Stewart for example. It’s fun and silly, and we’ll often joke about the famous people who are all such close family friends.
Oh this is so fun. I want to steal this in some form. thank you!
This may not be the thing for your extroverted party family, but something we love and have done for a few years is throw a jolabokaflod – an Icelandic books-and-chocolate quiet, cozy party. We do it with one other family and it’s 5 adults, 3 teens, 3 preteens. Midmorning, afternoon, or evening all work great.
PS, you can still playfully reference Santa and the Tooth Fairy long after your kids fully know it’s mom and dad. Mine kind of like it when I pretend like it’s still real! We all grin and enjoy the pretend magic.
Don’t worry so much! All of my 3 adult kids(all in their 30’s)just want to come home for Christmas and be together! They ask for food they grew up with which I cook and bake for them, but because of their own extended family(all 3 married with children) we have had to change several of our traditions over the years to accommodate everyone. Just making Christmas fun and showing love for everyone without being too stressed out and taking time to enjoy it yourself is really what matters!
We do a photo advent calendar every year. I fill small numbered brown paper bags (stuck to the wall on the shape of a Xmas tree) with photos from the year. Each day, someone takes a turn to do the calendar and guess where the photo was from. It’s then attached to the outside of the bag so by Christmas Day you have tree shaped photo wall of photos taken throughout the year. It is getting harder now that we have an adult child who sleeps til lunch time given the chance but I’ll keep going with it!
LOVE. this is so something I would absolutely do in theory (big on memory hoarding over here). Just need to set aside time to prep but what a fantastic idea.
We do Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight only – no electric light at all. You have to light a fair number of candles to be able to see, but it’s so magical & special, my kids love it and don’t think it’s the kind of magic you grow out of.
We also do cinnamon star bread on the solstice and go to feed the birds at a local wildlife refuge.
this is exactly what i’m talking about. such a good idea and so easy to execute, but sets the night apart from every other night of the year (and lord knows the ambience of candles is so magical). thank you!
Because we go to Grandmas house on Christmas day about five years ago we started doing a winter solstice celebration that kicks off four days of themed gifts before the big day (something you want, need, read, and feed). We always eat charcuterie on the solstice and then we write down our wishes for the new year and then attach them to a Swedish style straw goat that we burn outside in the bonfire. Its very pagan but we love it. We open stockings on Christmas morning and then leave for my moms.
OMG, love this. Where do you purchase the Swedish goat?!
yes I also want a Swedish goat now. We don’t do anything for the solstice but this is so lovely…
We have a Swedish ware store in our town, but you can buy them online too, careful because the Chinese made ones tend not to be great and that is what’s available on Amazon. Buy a nice one for the mantel, and a cheap one to burn! Lol
My oldest knows that Santa is more complex than just a jolly elf who slides down the chimney but we still do Santa and stockings and will do it until the kids make us stop! Santa typically gives them stuff mom and dad would never entertain (like slime and video games). So the excitement and surprise element is still very much there.
In my 40s and still decorate the tree with my mom! The simple things really do stick.
Emily where do you order your ornaments from?! Especially the milestone ornaments.
Mostly etsy. All the hand painted ones are from there (and usually take weeks, i’m still waiting on two actually). When the kids were little and I would want ‘the lost first tooth’ ones or ‘first year of cheer’ i would just google. Old world christmas has the best glass ornaments that are the more special ones. And then we try to get one on every trip but a lot of the times they just don’t have great ornaments at like small towns in Montana for instance so I might turn a photo from the trip into an ornament (this is very extra but I enjoy it a lot).
We often turn weird things from places into tree ornaments because we too have many many (this year, it’s our entire tree theme) from travels. Keychain? Magnet? Plastic hotel key? Rock? Stick? All of these are on our tree, some with a hot glued paper clip on the back. We laugh every year when we put them on. It’s all mismatched and I love it.
Love these ideas so much! We call Christmas Eve Eve “Christmas Adam”, because Adam came before Eve;). Also, “Mormons” are actually called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is a mouthful, but it’s important to know they worship Christ, not Mormon. Have a Merry Christmas!
Oh i love Christmas Adam, what a great idea. And yah I was raised Mormon (a lot of my family is still very active) and they’ve rebranded a few times since I left the church but as you say its a mouthful and its not offensive to still say Mormon, although it might be outdated. I think now the preference is maybe just LDS? but not totally sure. Culturally ‘Mormon’ is still the more widely used monniker I think even though its used less internally.
Mormons believe in a book other than the bible. I’m not a christian in the least, but that fact alone means that mormons aren’t christian either. They sure have done a wonderful job rebranding themselves though, but it is wrong.
When my parents lived in TX, they got into the habit of having tamales on Christmas Eve, which we have continued–it’s great because we buy them premade so they are easy and delicious. They no longer live near Hot Damn Tamales in Fort Worth, but they order some mail order, and then sometimes get more from a Mexican restaurant or grocery store where they live now. We also often put out a puzzle that different people can work on during extended family gatherings, which is a good semi-social activity for my mostly introverted and nerdy family (including myself here). My 13 year old is no longer super into holiday decorating/crafts/baking, so last year we ended up not baking Christmas cookies until we visited my parents at Christmas, and it was a good intergenerational activity. This year, I invited a friend with a 6-year-old to come bake cookies with me next weekend. It is hard for our families to hang out all together since our kids are such different ages, and her son wants her UNDIVIDED attention, but I am cautiously optimistic this will be a good way for us all to see each other. I’m assuming my son will stay… Read more »
Hi there! Where is Emily buying all of that beautiful ribbon?
I’ve got a teenager now, and he’s still very into the traditions we do with friends. The other day, he shared that he really loves the Advent wreath and readings that we do around the dinner table, and I was so surprised! It’s not a “fun” thing, per se, but the older he gets, the more he understands.
Oh! One more thing. The teens will continue to be very into anything food related. If I stopped baking sugar cookie cutouts or making Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, there would be a riot!
In my family, we started doing Christmas Eve/Christmas Day differently when I was around 12 and my sister 11. I have older cousins, and we often went to my Aunt’s house, and with them we would eat a massive, fancy dinner Christmas Eve, relax after and stay up playing games until midnight. Once midnight hit, everyone sat down in the living room (grown ups with champagne), and started opening presents. We went one by one, and with our big family, it could go on for hours. We’d all crash in bed at 3am, and sleep in on Christmas Day. Breakfast could be casserole or leftovers, I think that varied. We exported this to my house for our family of four on the years we didn’t go to my Aunt’s and we would go to midnight mass, come home and eat a fancy snack, and then open presents one by one until we were done. Then bed and a fancy breakfast on Christmas Day (we have cooks who love to cook, so the fancy meals were part of their gifts to us). This was a great way to keep the magic going and make things different, especially as we got older.… Read more »
I agree with others that once you do something twice, it’s basically a tradition. And some of the things I thought my kids would grow out of as they got older, they still want to do! Like you, we do matching PJs (which we wear all day on Christmas) and an ornament party. We do a cheese advent calendar from Aldi, which everyone loves more than you’d think for a very small chunk of cheese every day. We still make gingerbread houses (just a kit from Target or Trader Joe’s), and have fun traditions with friends with cookie exchanges and making cookies “for Santa.” We end up driving around looking at the houses all lit up at some point. On Christmas Eve, we have charcuterie or TJ’s appetizers for dinner, and read How the Grinch Stole Christmas all together. On Christmas morning, I make triple cinnamon scones (I used to attempt cinnamon rolls but they were too stressful and the kids love these anyway–they got mad when I suggested trying something else!). I’ve found as they’ve gotten older, they find their own traditions too. Both my older kids are doing Secret Santa parties with their friends, which they’ve organized and… Read more »
I have an empty Advent Calendar. It’s shaped like a house, with empty windows and doors. Got it when my kids were little. I used to put little trinkets, legos, ornaments, candies in it every single day during December for my kids when they were little. When they became older and could write, I had everyone give each other coupons. I made a chart at the end of November, kid #1 give to this person on the 1st, Mom give to this person on the 2nd, Dad gives to this person on the 3rd, etc. Some examples for “coupons” are you get to pick dinner, pick movie night, veto power (go clean your room. No, I veto that! Always funny and never got old.) Once my kids were driving age, I always got a coupon to drive to the grocery store and get groceries for me. Loved that! Some were not coupons but notes, just something like good luck on your final exam, or I love you and I appreciate you. Some days were just a Hershey kiss. Anyway, that’s been our tradition. My youngest son is a senior in high school this year, and it’s very likely or a… Read more »
We have some similar traditions and a few different. Our little town shops have advertised days with special tables of treats provided for the public (Julebakking) and so we typically stand in line visiting with neighbors (and folks visiting family who live elsewhere) at the local pharmacy for pastrami sandwiches, head to Lee’s Clothing for Sig’s special smoked salmon, and Hammers Hardware for leaded “Moose’s Milk” and more. It evolved from Norwegian progressive dinners and morphed from friends visiting friends in the back of the shop to simply throwing out a “julboard” spread for everyone. They also do “ladies” and “mens” night out events and I like the idea of fitting in a moment on your own to meet with other friends (and it gives the rest of the family a good opportunity to play elf without the other parent home). We set up and “reserve” the “elf” room so we can get presents wrapped and prepped. Picking out a tree in the forest was also an excuse to get out for a crisp walk in the daylight. I do love that tradition of going on a gentle family hike in nature until almost dark. We bring a simple picnic… Read more »
Your kids are growing up so fast! We just had a Sip 🥂& Paint party with our neighbors and had fun! You also have some great ideas.