Family traditions are one thing that makes Christmas so special. Along with presents, yummy food and being together, the special family Christmas traditions that happen every year are one of the most fun and exciting parts of Christmas.
If you are starting your own family, you may be looking for some new and exciting traditions to make your own. I’ve compiled 20 special family Christmas traditions to share with you.
Memorable Family Christmas Traditions
It is safe to say my whole family is Christmas-crazy. We absolutely love to spend time together celebrating the holidays. We spend most of November and December celebrating Christmas with a ton of family Christmas traditions (sometimes we start as early as the weekend after Halloween!).
Today I want to share many of our special family Christmas traditions. If you are looking for some new traditions to incorporate into your Christmas season, I’ve got you covered!
Heart-Warming Christmas Traditions for Families
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Pick Out and Chop Down a Christmas Tree
Chopping down your own Christmas Tree is a quintessential Christmas tradition! In my family, we always visit a tree farm in November to choose and tag the perfect tree, then return in December to chop it down.
My extended family all go hunting for a Christmas tree together. In our family, we have been going to the same tree farm for over thirty years. We now have three generations of family members going on these ‘tree hunts.’ It’s fun to coordinate this with family and friends every year to add to the holiday cheer.
There is a ton of family fun involved in choosing a tree, including competitions about who can find the best or biggest tree.
When we return it’s always a challenge to find our tree (someone always can’t find their tree and someone always changes their mind and chooses a new one at the last minute). The kids love to lay down under the tree while one of the fathers chops it down. We all yell “Timber” as the tree falls on the kids.
After chopping down our trees, we gather in the owner’s cabin for hot chocolate and cookies. If your tree farm doesn’t offer this, bring a blanket and a thermos of hot chocolate and enjoy the beautiful view!
It’s an inexpensive tradition we look forward to every year!
Christmas Angels
This is one of my favorite family Christmas traditions. Every year, my family goes to our local mall and each family member chooses a Christmas Angel from a tree (a local charity runs this program and each Christmas Angel has the name of an underprivileged child from the community and their Christmas wish written on it). We head to the local toy store and each buy the toy that has been requested.
Although my parents started this tradition when we were children to teach us about giving and charity, I have to say, it was a blast in our teen and early adult years especially. We loved choosing a child that shared our interests and then got to buy a cool present at the toy store.
In our teens and early twenties, it was probably the only time all year we’d had a reason to enter a toy store. It was so much fun and we always left feeling great about doing a good deed and also full of Christmas spirit!
Write and Deliver Christmas Cards
Sending out Christmas cards is a classic holiday tradition. There is something so special about getting a handwritten card in the age of e-mail. Involving your kids in writing cards is a great way to incorporate early literacy skills into the holidays!
Hopping in the car and hand delivering cards to friends and family who live in town is an extra fun way to involve your kids in this tradition!
Elf on the Shelf
A lot of parents are hesitant to try Elf on the Shelf, but honestly, if it gives your kids that much joy, I say why not? There are plenty of ideas floating around on the internet. Pro Tip: set a timer for after your kids are in bed as a reminder for you to move your Elf. You’ll never forget again!
Looking for some creative ideas for your Elf on the Shelf? I’ve compiled some awesome printable props, letters, notes and more to make Elf season a little bit easier for you! All you need is a printer!
Visit Santa
Visiting Santa at the mall is a Christmas staple in our house. Sure, the line is long and waiting is a challenge, but we love seeing the light in our little girl’s eyes when it’s her turn to meet the big guy.
We get a picture with Santa each year, and it’s fun to see how she has grown since she was a baby.
Watch a Special Christmas Movie in PJs
Gather the family around the living room and put on your favorite Christmas movie. Wearing special Christmas PJ’s and have a few yummy Christmas snacks. Lots of families do this on Christmas Eve, but we are usually out visiting, so we choose another night for this tradition.
Gingerbread House
Baking a gingerbread house, or simply buying a kit from the store (there are so many cute ones like lighthouses, barns, even Super Mario!), is such a sweet (pun intended!) idea. Whether you use teamwork to build a gingerbread house as a family, or you have a competition between family members to see who can make the greatest gingerbread house, this is a great tradition!
Make Ornament for the Christmas Tree
This is such a special way to fill up your Christmas tree. Take some time to make special ornaments each year. You could try gingerbread ornaments (this is my favorite recipe, but I will warn you, it uses A LOT of glue), go to a local pottery studio and paint your own, or purchase a kit like this.
If you have a new baby, see this great list of adorable DIY ornaments for baby’s first Christmas.
These ornaments will be the ones you cherish as your kids grown up and they will evoke great memories of their childhood!
Bake Cookies for Santa
We always bake our own cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. I’m lucky that we don’t host anything over Christmas, so I never worry that my kitchen needs to be spotless! If you’re looking for some kid-friendly Christmas cookie recipes, read this post on my 25 favorite recipes on the web!
Pass out Candy Canes
This is a tradition I heard about from some friends. They take their children around the city, passing out candy canes to strangers, young and old, just to spread some Christmas cheer.
Most people respond with a smile and a quick thanks, but they’ve had some really special experiences in which this small gesture has really made a difference in an older person’s day. You might just be fighting back tears if you choose this tradition!
Donate a Turkey to Food Bank
Another great way to teach your children about the spirit of giving is donating a turkey to the food bank. Be sure to bring your kids with you to buy the turkey AND deliver it to the Food Bank or other charitable organization. Have a great conversation on the way home about giving to others.
Read Frosty and Decorate a Snowman
Gather the kids around to read your favorite version of Frosty (here’s mine) and then head outside to build a snowman together. These snowman kits are super cute (maybe a Christmas gift?) and make a charming Frosty.
You could technically do this tradition anytime during the winter, not necessarily in the lead-up to Christmas. Actually it would be a great activity to do a few days after Christmas once the dust has settled and things are getting back to normal (and your kids want to be entertained during the rest of winter break).
If you’re looking for more ways to get your kids active outside, read this post for gift ideas for outdoor winter toys.
Santa Claus Parade
Watching the Santa Clause Parade in person, instead of on television is such a special tradition. There is nothing like seeing your children’s rosy cheeks and bright eyes as they watch Santa go by. I highly recommend these noise cancelling headphones if you have a baby or toddler who is sensitive to noise.
Buy Christmas Presents for Others
Involving your children in choosing presents for the special people in their life makes gift giving so much more meaningful. This could be for their siblings (here’s a list of great indoor toys that will get your kids energy out!), teachers or other caregivers and family members (If grandparents are on the list, I’ve got you covered here).
Decorate the Christmas Tree as a Family
Another of my favorite family Christmas traditions. Throw on some Christmas tunes and bust out the ornaments! With a baby and preschooler, I make sure I have lots of felt, plush, or wooden ornaments for the bottom half of our tree that Hannah is able to hang herself. I put the breakable glass ornaments on the top of the tree and Daddy does the star.
If you’re someone who likes to do it all herself to make sure the tree is ‘perfect’ I would encourage you to let it go and allow your kids in on this tradition. Making memories trumps having the perfect tree (and you can always rearrange later if you absolutely need to!).
Book Advent Calendar
A book advent calendar is so much fun! Read this post for more information. The last book can be T’was the Night Before Christmas).
Drive Around to See the Lights
This is another one of my favorite family Christmas traditions. We have a family “Light Night” party on December 23rd.
The dads take all the children out to drive around the city to see the lights while the moms (who are usually exhausted from Christmas prep by this time) stay at the party to put their feet up and enjoy!
Once the dads and kids return, we break out the hot chocolate and everyone shares in some holiday cheer!
Buy a Special Ornament Each Year
During my childhood, Santa bought each of us a special ornament each year in our stocking (see my list of perfect stocking stuffers for babies here).
We proudly hung our ornaments on our tree each year. When we moved out, my mom gave us a collection of 20 ornaments to hang on our own Christmas tree. It was like having a little piece of home on our own tree.
Christmas Eve Box
Many families have a special Christmas Eve box they fill with Christmas PJ’s (I love these matching family PJ’s!), a Christmas movie and a special treat.
You can also add a fun board game (check out this cute Christmas-themed game) for the whole family to play together . Other fun options would be a special Christmas craft, Christmas-themed puzzle or ornaments to decorate together. The point is to have an activity for the whole family to do together.
I love this family Christmas tradition, but we are way too busy on Christmas Eve to squeeze in a box. This year I’m going to try this on the Saturday before Christmas, when things are a little quieter and we can enjoy the time together without having to rush.
My Favorite Family Christmas Tradition…
My favorite Christmas tradition is so special, I wrote a whole post about it. I’ve never heard of any other family doing this tradition EVER, either families I know personally, or on the internet (we’ve actually searched to see if any other family in a different part of the world does it and we’ve found NOTHING).
It is the most magical tradition and really makes Christmas excitement peak for kids! It takes virtually NO prep, no supplies except a match and candle, AND is totally FREE. Basically the best Christmas tradition ever! Check out this post and read all about it!
There you have 20 wonderful and heart-warming family Christmas traditions. I hope you’ll feel inspired to try out some of these activities with your family and create your own wonderful family memories!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
What are your favorite family Christmas traditions? Share below! I would love to hear from you and add even more traditions to our repertoire!
These are great ideas! Thanks!!
Ginger Bread ahouse is something we started last year with my twins. And now we intend to carry it on