How important are Christmas Traditions, or any holiday traditions for that matter?  If you have a family, you may find that traditions are huge for you.  Things that you do with your family, and kids, that they come to expect every single year.  I’m sure if you are reading this, holiday traditions are something you do, or maybe are a new family just starting out and you are thinking about for your family.  Here are a few ideas for holiday traditions that you may or may not already do.

1) Cookies, baking, candy making day.
Perhaps you have a day that all family comes together and you bake cookies or make different kinds of candy.  This is something fun for the kids, and teaches them an important skill or two as well.

2) Putting up the tree.
Do you have a day where you just spend the day putting the tree up together?  It’s fun for the whole family, to help decorate the tree and then have a lighting ceremony at the end of the day, when it’s dark and you turn the all the lights out and just enjoy the work you did on your tree.

3) Gift wrapping party
Do you get together with family and have a gift wrapping party?  The kids can have their own party with one family member, while all the other family comes together and wraps Christmas gifts.  Add some snacks to the activity and you have good fun and conversation!  It’s a perfect day for everyone!

4) Advent calendars
Do you purchase advent calendars for your kids?  Do they have the enjoyment of opening a chocolate a day?  Or maybe the calendar you purchase has an activity to do every day leading up to Christmas day.  What type of calendar do your children enjoy the most?

5) Family movie day/night
Does your family enjoy movies?  Perhaps you have a day where you all just put on Christmas movies to watch all day long.  What are some of your family’s favorite Christmas movies?

6) Make a gingerbread house
Do your kids like making a gingerbread house every year.  Do you use edible materials and eat it after, or do you display them for others to see?

7) Help the less fortunate
Does you family do something to help a family who doesn’t have as much as you do.  Do you make a shoebox for a child who might not otherwise get anything for Christmas?  Do you give to the salvation army or feed the homeless?  Do you pick a child from the angel tree?  What are some other things that your family might do to help others around Christmas time?

8) Ditch the gift and take a trip
Maybe your family prefers to take a trip over giving gifts each year.  If so, what are some of your favorite Christmas destinations?

9) Gifts throughout the month
Maybe instead of opening a lot of gifts in one day, you give your kids small gifts throughout the month, leading up to one big gift on Christmas morning.  We did this one year with our kids for something different and they loved waking up to a small gift at the foot of their bed every morning.

10) Christmas family photo
Does your family have a family picture taken every year around Christmas time?  With or without Santa in the picture, this is always a great tradition and you get to see how your kids and family grow over the years.

11) Christmas Eve service
Even if you don’t go to church any other time of the year, do you attend a Christmas Eve service somewhere?

There are many more traditions out there, these are just a few ideas that came to mind.  What are some of your favorite family traditions?  Let me know!