Family Christmas Traditions to Start

Every holiday season, there comes a time when families want to enjoy their time together, but also make time to start up new traditions. With the holidays right around the corner, it can be a fun thing to get some ideas going about what you can do with your family to have a little bit of holiday cheer. If you are aren’t sure of what types of holiday traditions are out there or if you’re just curious to get a fresh start on new holiday traditions, here are some wonderful ideas to help you and the family celebrate.

1. Send Christmas Cards

Sending Christmas cards is a well-known tradition, but when you get the whole family involved, it makes it a wonderful way to keep the family busy and happy during the holidays. Each person can pick out the designs they want for their Christmas cards and make a list of the family and friends whom they want to send the cards to. They can go down the list, making sure they write cards for each person they have, and seal them up the envelopes after finishing each one.

This is such a great way for the whole family to have a tradition, but it’s also heartwarming to know that the recipients will really appreciate each card that they receive. It makes for a great holiday tradition that can spread joy to everyone.

2. Enjoy Christmas Light Displays Around the Neighborhood

There are always plenty of people who love to put a display of lights either in their neighborhood or just as individual houses and no matter which choice they make, it’s always a great idea to check out what they can do. There are plenty of cities that provide a map of Christmas light showings and it can even be a Christmas tradition that the family starts as part of the holiday season every year. Make a plan to visit a few light showings and you can even make a tradition to get in on being a part of the Christmas light show, which would definitely make the kids extremely happy around the holidays.

3. Visit Christmas Festivals

If there is ever a way to get the whole family in on the Christmas fun and keep the holiday magic flowing, then visiting Christmas festivals is definitely the best way to do it. Many cities hold Christmas festivals starting well before the holidays and it gives you a chance to view the unique things available at these festivals like handmade gifts, ornaments, glass sculptures, light shows, craft items, holiday-themed snacks, and treats, as well as deliciously warm holiday meals. All of these are great reasons to make this a new holiday tradition that can last.

4. Ugly Christmas Sweaters

The tradition of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters isn’t new to many people, but there may be a few out there who never really got this tradition started in their family. If not, it’s a great time to take this up, search for the most creatively ugly Christmas sweaters, and also get the entire family in on all the fun that comes with showing up on the holidays in these sweaters. They’re great for having photo ops with the family or just having fun with the family by seeing all the different Christmas sweaters that everybody is wearing.

5. Christmas Movie Marathon

There's nothing better than having a night during the holidays in which you can get together with the family, snuggle up in a blanket, and watch as many movies as you want. There are plenty of holiday movies that the entire family can enjoy and this is the best time to watch all of them, especially if it's a good excuse to also get together some great snacks for the movie marathon. Everyone can choose their favorite movies that they want to share with the family and take turns watching movies that each person chooses.

This can also be done with friends by simply having a backyard showing of Christmas movies, but make sure you have a nice roaring fire going to help battle the frigid air. Providing a few drinks, some popcorn or other snacks, and plenty of cozy blankets can make this a wonderful tradition among friends and family members alike.

6. Write Letters To Santa

Writing letters to Santa is a great tradition for the kids and you can help them get very creative with this by letting them pick out special holiday paper, pens, pencils, and markers to make to make unique letters to Santa. To make this extra special, you can also get a smaller version of a mailbox and decorate it in a way to make it look like a “North Pole” theme. Once the kids have written their letters, you can have them drop them in the mailbox and put the flag up as well.

Once the flag is down, they’ll know that Santa got their letters and you can enjoy the smile they will definitely have on their faces.

7. Create Christmas Stockings

Having Christmas stockings, regardless of hanging them by the fireplace, is a wonderful way to get very creative with an old tradition. You can choose different treats, snacks, and small gifts that can be filled in each bag, making it easy to find something that everyone will love, but you can also add one more creative step to the process. Each Christmas stocking can be decorated with the person's name and unique designs using things like fabric paint, glitter, markers, sequins, and more.

8. Matching Christmas Pajamas for the Family

One of the best ideas for Christmas traditions involves clothing and just like with the ugly Christmas sweater idea, you can also use pajamas to make the holidays extra special for everyone involved. Getting matching pajamas for the holidays is an easy task considering there are more than enough choices out there and the family is sure to find styles that they love, but it’s also a good idea to buy a few different choices. In the days that lead up to Christmas, the family can wear a different matching set each night and take family photos as well.

Again, this can be a tradition that’s shared with family alone or with friends. It makes for great photos, wonderful times together, and memories that will last well beyond the holidays.

9. Cooking As A Team

The holidays are a great time to eat, but all the food is made better by being able to cook your meals together. You can have the kids help out and everyone can even pick out their favorite foods and desserts that they want to cook. Everyone can work together to make these meals come to life and in doing so, will create a wonderful Christmas memory that can be shared and a tradition for each holiday.

If you want to downsize the menu on this one, you can always have everyone write down their favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert ideas. Everyone can pick out the number one choice among them for each meal and that will help everyone be able to cook everything in a reasonable time. This leaves more time to enjoy all the delicious meals together for the holidays.

10. Adding Unique Ornaments to The Tree Every Year

Adding ornaments is one thing, but getting or creating a special ornament each year is a wonderful idea and a great way to turn your Christmas tree into a bundle of good memories. You can create all types of ornaments or buy ornaments that have a special meaning or symbolize something special. Each year, you can add one to the tree and you can even have each family member pick out a special ornament to add every year, so everyone can enjoy this holiday tradition together.

Every one of these Christmas tradition ideas is a way that provides the family with hours, even days of fun and they can really bring out the creativity in everyone. There are so many ways in which each idea can be changed to suit everyone in the family and the best part is that these traditions are also good for friends as well. Sometimes friends feel more like family, so including them in these traditions can really bring out the holiday spirit in everyone.

With so many ideas to help the family celebrate the holidays, it's easy to see why these are considered traditions that can make everyone happy, but also traditions that can bring everyone together for the holidays.