Our Favorite Family Holiday Traditions

We got in the holiday spirit a little early this year, because I’m one of the bloggers participating in Balsam Hill’s annual 12 bloggers of Christmas campaign! We had so much fun setting up our new black spruce tree — (it was so easy and only took me a few minutes to get up by myself) and decorating the house. My Christmas decor is kind of all over the board in regards to color and style so it was nice to get a fresh start, taking inspiration from the colors of this beautiful ornament set and creating a cohesive look. Getting in the spirit by listening to Christmas music and pulling out our holiday PJs got me thinking about family traditions. Now that Piper’s a little older this year I can’t wait to celebrate this special time of year with her and create new traditions. I’ve been talking to friends and family and doing a little research and thought I’d share a few of the holiday traditions I liked and am thinking about starting for our family.

A Few Holiday Family Traditions 

On December 1st pull out a stack of 31 wrapped holiday books and give one to your child each night to open. They don’t have to be new books, and you can add different titles each year. I’ve started collecting books for Piper and am hoping to check out our Goodwill to pick up a few and also have Christmas books from my childhood wrapped up in the mix. I’ve also been ordering a bunch of used books on Amazon.

Do something special when you get your Christmas tree — maybe it’s eating dinner at a local diner after picking it up, or stopping for hot chocolate from your favorite coffee shop. We go to an Irish restaurant for lunch or dinner and get ruebans.

Adopt a family in need. We’ve been doing this the past few years through our county and find it to be one of the most meaningful parts of the holiday season, I can’t wait for Piper to understand and help us shop for gifts.

Family PJs, duh! I don’t get out our holiday PJs until after Thanksgiving!

Have family movie night once a week to watch your holiday favorites — with hot chocolate of course.

Go to the library to get books about how other cultures celebrate the holiday season.

Let your child pick out a new ornament every year to represent something meaningful from the past year and begin to build their own ornament collection. We take a trip to Homestead Gardens to do this ourselves and am so eager for Piper to join in!

Take a night drive to look at Christmas lights — wear your holiday PJs and pack bags of popcorn for the kids.

Make gingerbread houses (Trader Joe’s has great kits).

Camp out under the Christmas tree.

Make photo books to remember your favorite parts of the year past.

Host a cookie decorating afternoon with friends.

Make a keepsake ornament every year for grandparents or other family members.

Try the Kindness Elf Tradition!

Have your kids pick a few of their own toys and clothes to donate to charity.

 

Want more holiday content? Check out our 20+ gifts for toddlers and favorite holiday kids books!

Images by Anna Reynal