Christmas is fast approaching, and with it, perhaps the worry of expenses, stress, and other potential issues. Yet, the holiday season is one in which we can make special memories with our families and have plenty of bonding experiences.
Christmas is a great time to begin some new traditions. Here are some you might like to consider.
Search for a Christmas Tree and Decorate It
One of the most popular family traditions at Christmas is choosing a tree for the home and then decorating it. If you like the smell of fresh pine, you could establish a habit of rugging up in warm clothes and heading with your family to a local Christmas tree farm or another nearby store or lot and searching for the best tree together.
Many operators help customers make an event out of their shopping by also selling hot cocoa or cider. Some even have family-friendly activities as well, such as hayrides or sleigh rides, mazes, and face painting. Once you’ve picked out your preferred tree and have it at home, it’s time for the decorating part of the process. It’s fun to put on some Christmas music and spend time together, connecting over the ornaments you’ve gathered over the years and the memories behind them.
Adorn your tree and then make a big deal out of the moment you turn on the lights you’ve covered it with. This is sure to become a favorite tradition in your family.
Make Cookies or a Gingerbread House Together
Another fun option you might like to make a habit in your household is hanging out in the kitchen together, making cookies, a gingerbread house, or other baked goods that work nicely for the holiday season. You can put together special packs of the goodies you make and give these to friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, school teachers, and others as gifts for Christmas.
Alternatively, you could donate them to local homeless or other shelters for the less fortunate to enjoy on or before Christmas day. Don’t forget to keep some of your creations for your own family to nibble on in the lead-up to and over Christmas, too. You’ll find that kids of all ages enjoy participating in these cooking activities, whether they assist with the baking or prefer to help assemble gingerbread houses, decorate cookies or cakes, or package gifts up for loved ones.
As the years go by, why not try out different types of baked items and recipes or get creative with your decorating choices? You can also use the time spent in the kitchen to educate your children on where produce comes from, how ingredients mix and transform, and other valuable lessons.
Get a Family Picture Taken
If you like the idea of having keepsakes from your annual Christmas traditions, why not get a family picture taken every year? We all know how quickly time goes and that kids grow up in a blink, so having beautiful photographs to look back on over the years is sure always to warm your heart. Your youngsters may not be so excited about getting pictures taken right now, but they will appreciate these mementos more when they’re older.
You and your family may like to dress up in over-the-top Christmas jumpers or shirts, wear fun pajamas, or even choose a theme each year and get dressed up in appropriate gear to celebrate that topic. If you have dogs, cats, or other pets, you might even want to get them wearing some Christmas-themed apparel and get them into the pictures, too.
This kind of fun event gives you and your family a chance to let loose, be silly and funny, and create something memorable simultaneously. Plus, you could use the images taken for your yearly Christmas cards or newsletters, or have the pictures put into tree ornaments, adhered onto t-shirts, or the like.
Let Off Some Fireworks
If you often host Christmas at your place and have a decent number of people visit, you may like the idea of coming up with a more elaborate tradition. If so, consider investing in a quality fireworks display each year around Christmas. Having something for everyone to “ooh and ahh” at provides a great way to start the festivities or to cap off a wonderful Christmas Day.
Look online or at local retailers for safe options to use in residential areas, as needed, and be sure to follow directions for use so that no one gets hurt during the setup or release of the fireworks.
Other Christmas traditions you could consider are:
• Reading a special Christmas story together as a family
• Watching a movie marathon of Christmas-related films
• Spending time helping the needy, such as serving at a soup kitchen
• Going ice skating or caroling
It doesn’t matter which tradition you begin, provided it’s something you can keep going over the years and that you and your loved ones enjoy doing together.
