We are bringing you Christmas traditions your kids will be sure to remember this holiday season! Tradition means: the passing down of customs from generation to generation. Making memories that last is the BEST way to impact your children and your children’s children! It’s those memories they will hold on to no matter what life brings! And it’s those moments we all cherish to this day from our very own childhood! It’s incredible to think that a tradition you may start today with your own, will someday be celebrated for generations to come.
You may be starting from scratch or needing a new fun idea for your family fun! So we are bringing you our three favorite ways to help you create CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS your kids will remember!
Each of us have our own unique traditions we celebrate with every year. Some old and some that we were the first to start with our own little family units! Whether you have your own traditions or are just getting started, just remember to build homes that your kids will someday want to come back to.
As moms of majority boys (minus our sweet Evie girl) it’s always in the back of our minds to make sure our boys have a place they want to bring their families to! We all know boys have a tendency to leave the nest, where girls tend to flock back to it, so we are DETERMINED these boys will want to do some FLOCKING!
OUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
CAIT
- CHRISTMAS TRADITION: Celebrating St. Nicholas Day
- WHEN DID YOU START YOUR TRADITION?: We have celebrated ever since I can remember as a child. It has always been one of my very favorite childhood memories.
- HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE YOUR CHRISTMAS TRADITION?: St. Nicholaus Day is celebrated on December 6th every year by putting one shoe. My siblings and I were always trying to put out our most gigantic snowboarding boot out to be filled. 😳😬😂 Our parents reminded us to quit being so greedy and that we’d get the same amount of surprises regardless of the size of the shoe outside of our door before bedtime the night of the 5th. When you wake up “St. Nicholas” has filled your shoe with treats and maybe a few little toys. Which is in done in remembrance of the actual St. Nicholas and his giving heart. It was the BEST as a child to get a little something sweet and special at the beginning of December when Christmas still seems soooo far away 😉 I always looked forward to it growing up and love getting to share this tradition with Evie now! She was THRILLED to find her tiny boot filled with a light up reindeer head thing, jingle bell stick (Thank you Target dollar bins 🙌🏼) and some Christmas candies.
- WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR KIDS WILL REMEMBER FROM THIS TRADITION? She clearly is too young to understand why her boot was filled with goodies but getting to watch her wonder and joy in emptying it and having a Hershey’s kiss before breakfast was the sweetest thing! I hope she remembers the excitement and joy, and also the purpose of giving in this season. I hope she remembers the heart of this season. My mom still delivers a little treat to the youngest sibling’s apartment doorstep. I look forward to doing this tradition for decades to come and surprising Evie with St. Nicholas Day treats into adulthood 😬🎄
LINDSEY
- CHRISTMAS TRADITION: 10 day Activity bag countdown
- WHEN DID YOU START YOUR TRADITION?: I started this tradition a few years ago when my oldest son was 3! It was the perfect time to start doing this tradition!
- HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE YOUR CHRISTMAS TRADITION?:I start by making my list of “activities” I know that we enjoy doing as a family during the holiday season. This year our list consisted of these 10 things:
- Book (faith and holiday based) and Notebooks to make prayer lists
- Hot cocoa and a holiday craft
- Angel Tree (shopping trip with their nanny to buy gifts for others)
- Family game night with pizza and ice cream
- Go drive around and look at lights in our PJ’s
- Movie Night
- Visit Santa and dinner out
- Decorate gingerbread houses
- Make and decorate Christmas cookies
- Christmas eve service and open one present (their Xmas jammie After I make the list I get out our calendars and coordinate our schedule with the activities. I get simple white lunch bags and put pull and stick numbers on them. I then coordinate a card explaining what our activity will be for the day is and put it inside! I buy some new things for them like new hot cocoa mugs, books and pj’s but depending on your budget you can just use things you already have! The point is not to get gifts but to encourage us to spend time as a family doing all the things we love about the holiday season!
- WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR KIDS WILL REMEMBER FROM THIS TRADITION? I hope my boys remember all the excitement and joy of this time of the year! I want them to remember it was the times that we spent together that truly made the holiday season special vs the presents they received Christmas morning. I enjoy this tradition as much as they do and I hope we do it for many more years to come!
CAMILLE
- CHRISTMAS TRADITION: Gingerbread house decorating
- WHEN DID YOU START THIS TRADITION: I did this tradition as a kid with my parents and have loved being able to do it with my kiddos!
- HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE YOUR CHRISTMAS TRADITION? My family loves to kick of the Christmas season with an evening of Christmas tree decorating and Ginger Bread House decorating! This is a SUPER easy activity for everyone! Ginger-bread House Kits have become quite popular and although it would smell super yummy to bake my OWN gingerbread, let’s BE REAL! I am no Martha Stewart, and as I like to say “ain’t nobody got time for dat”! The reason I love this activity so much is because its quick, easy, and everyone can help! My husband or oldest son assemble the house, my 5 year old and 20 month old decorate with all of the candy, while I get to use the icing to create the designs for him! You can’t mess it up, and you can eat some of the treats as you go;) Any messy icing mistakes look like snow and icicles and just plop a gum drop in the middle of that puddle and you’re done! It’s become one of my holiday decorations and lasts the entire season as our table centerpiece for kids to admire their work! Kits cost about $10 and now you can find a variety of kits for more than one style of house. This tradition is so fun and I hope you’ll give it a try with your own family!
- WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR KIDS WILL REMEMBER FROM THIS TRADITION? I hope they will remember the fun times! The random and silly things that often happen during the activity and that they will feel the security and consistency of a family that genuinely loves each other!
Ultimately anything that brings you closer as family during this holiday season is a win! Even it’s as simple as building gingerbread houses or watching a movie together, start creating those Christmas traditions now, that your kids will remember for a lifetime! Memories like that make an imprint on the hearts of anyone experiencing it, young or old! We hope that you were inspired to start making some Christmas traditions of your own.
We would love to hear what you and your families do to make the holidays a special time?! COMMENT BELOW AND Let US be inspired by YOU!!