Traditions are common at Christmastime, like decorating the Christmas tree, baking cookies, and decorating the house. These are common ones that almost everyone does, but what about unique traditions in your family? Do you have any special ones? Here are some ideas on how to create meaningful family traditions with your family:
There are several kinds of meaningful Christmas traditions that you can start in your family, like advent traditions, family traditions, and fun traditions. Advent traditions celebrate the birth of Christ and remember his promises. Family traditions can be things like visiting grandma in the nursing home, going to Aunt Evelyn’s grave, or volunteering at the local nursing home in memory of someone. Fun traditions are things you want to do as a family that are extra exciting.
Advent Traditions
Advent helps us focus on the true reason for the season, Jesus. It helps us prepare our hearts for the gift of him and to remember the promises he’s made to us. Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Being that these dates fall on different days each year, each time of advent will be different. The themes of advent are hope, joy, faith, and peace.
1. You can get an advent calendar for your kids so that you can spend time each day with them talking about Jesus and why he is the reason for this season that we celebrate.
2. Get an advent wreath and candles and talk about what the color of each candle means and how hope, joy, faith, and peace are a part of our daily lives. This can also help children understand why advent is so important.
Meaningful Family Traditions
3. A nursing home can be extremely lonely for some residents, especially during the holidays. Some people don’t have living family near, others have no family at all, and some people have family, but they don’t come to visit. While you are visiting your relative, take some time to socialize with the other residents as well. If there are residents in the community area, sit down and strike up a conversation. They will love the company.
4. Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to go visit a loved one’s grave, and other times it’s too emotionally hard. Consider taking some time to visit the grave of a loved one and take some beautiful flowers.
5. Pets are family members too. If you have lost a pet recently, either go to visit where you buried them or get their ashes out if you cremated them. This can be especially good for children who miss their best friend and may just want to talk to them again.
6. Volunteer at a nursing home in memory of someone. Go as a family and visit the local nursing home to volunteer in memory of someone. Talk to the staff about helping decorate, singing some Christmas carols, or taking cookies for the residents.
Fun Traditions
7. Gather the family around and make a special music playlist. This can include everything from songs like "It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams, "Noel" by Lauren Daigle, and "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant to "Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" for the kids.
8. Try out an international tradition like Jolabokaflad (Yule Book Flood). This is a tradition in Iceland where they buy some of the most recently released books for each other and then gift them on Christmas. Then everyone stays up all night reading, drinking hot chocolate, and indulging in chocolate treats.
9. Make treats together. Take a weekend and bake together as a family. Plan what cookies, bars, and candy you want to make so you can order the ingredients and get organized. Don’t forget to add some no-bake options for little ones so they can get in on the fun too.
10. Shop for Operation Christmas Child together. Fill a shoebox for Samaritan's Purse to teach children to be thankful for what they have and to foster empathy for other children who are less fortunate. You can also support a local organization that helps the less fortunate in your area, like a soup kitchen, clothes closet, children's home, or the Salvation Army.
11. Celebrate Boxing Day. In the UK, people celebrate Boxing Day after Christmas Day and exchange gifts. They distributed the money from the church collection boxes to the poor on this day. Have everyone in the family save money throughout the year (spare change, allowance money, birthday money, etc) and then donate it to a charity that serves the poor the day after Christmas.
12. Donate to One Warm Coat. This organization holds coat drives all over the country to gather coats for those in need. Look in your closet and see what coats you aren’t wearing and donate them. If you need all the coats in your closet because they are the only ones your family members have, that’s okay. If you can, wait until after the season and buy coats on clearance to donate next year.
13. Make a Christmas bucket list and add things you would like to do before the season ends. Things like going to a drive-thru light show, seeing a new Christmas movie, going to a Christmas play, etc. However, don’t pressure yourself to do all of it, only do what you can.
14. Sit down and make a list of Christmas movies you want to watch this season, then look at your schedule and assign a movie for each night you are free and have some downtime. This way, you can get through most of the movies on your list.
15. Make a family ornament each year to decorate the tree. You could even buy an inexpensive tree to put up in addition to your regular tree for your “family Christmas tree,” so you will have a special tree to hang all your ornaments on each year.
16. Gather up the art supplies and make homemade Christmas cards for those you love. The kids will love putting an artistic spin on their cards.
17. Buy a gingerbread house kit and put it together as a family. Or rather, try to put it together. But if you have professional architects in the family, host a competition to see who can make the best gingerbread house! :)
18. Make a tradition that every Christmas Eve you play board games together as a family.
19. Buy each of your kids a matching set of Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book and have a friend or family member drop it off as a special gift from Santa on Christmas Eve.
20. Do a fun activity on Christmas Eve. Ice skating, sledding, making a snow family, going to the movies, going out for dinner, going roller skating, playing video games, going to the indoor trampoline park, etc. are all great ideas.
There are many ways to have meaningful Christmas traditions with your family. Pick a few from this list and start some new family traditions this year. And amid all the new, remember what a 2,000-year-old story, the Story, gave us to celebrate.
Photo Credit: ©Nicole Michalou
