YOUR Christmas Traditions- The Red Headed Hostess
Have I properly expressed how much I love Christmas?
It is just a wonderful, Christ-centered, beautiful time of year and I am constantly looking for new meaningful and fun traditions.
So will you PLEEEEEEASE share some of your great ideas? I would LOVE to hear… and I know many of you would too. 🙂
So…
What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Thank You for taking the time!
We have done the 12 days of Christmas for years for other families. When we have done it we have come up with a cute poem and gave items like sprigs of holly, muffins, bows, stocking stuffers, ornaments, candy canes, etc. We would carol on Christmas eve and sing a variation of the song the 12 days of Christmas and announce who we were. It has been lots of fun to have people try to figure out who was doing it and how good we were at being sinners and tell them it was not us. The kids said I was way too good at lying.
Every year we countdown to Christmas by learning different Names of Christ found in the scriptures. There are over 200! So you could literally only cover all of them once every 4-5 years. It is a wonderful tradition that our family loves.
We read a different christmas book each year one chapter a night. Then we give the book away the next Christmas with presents to a family who needs the help. It has been such a great family close of the evening. No matter where the kids were or what they were doing they always came home by 10:00 so they could be home in time to read. Our favorite one of all time and one we have kept for years is called ” A Stranger for Christmas” by Carol Lynn Pearson… We have to read this every year a long with the one we give away. When the kids left home along with the ornaments they took with them came this book. Now all 6 of our children read this each year to thier family…Love Christmas
We love advent calendars! Last year the two girls each had two calendars and then we had two calendars we did as a family. This year with three kids each child has two calendars. The chocolate-behind-the-doors one is a must. The other is a Christmas tree where we add an ornament each day ending with a nativity scene we add for the star on Christmas morning.
The other tradition is nativity sets. Each person in the family has their own nativity set and we read the verses about each character as we set them out. The baby even has the Fisher-Price nativity set to play with while we read. We also sing a song for each character. We do this at the beginning of the month and Christmas Eve.
Mary: Luke 1:26-38 “Silent Night”
Joseph: Matthew 1:18-25 “The Shepherd’s Carol” CS, 40
Jesus: Luke 2:1-7 “Away In a Manger”
Shepherds: Luke 2:8-20 “Angels We Have Heard on High”
Wise Men: Matthew 2:1-12 “With Wondering Awe”
We have several traditions. First, try to watch as many Christmas movies as humanly possible. They are my favorite!
Second, we have a binder with a story for each night of December until Christmas Eve. They are my favorite too!
Third, we have the cutest advent drawers that the kiddos open each day. The drawers will have candy to a paper to do a holiday activity. Last night, we had a Christmas maze race.
One tradition that I grew up with was making an ornament every year. By the time I left home, we had so many homemade ornaments that we had TWO trees. When I left home, my mom gave me a box of ornaments that I had made. Now, I’m passing on the tradition to my own children. I want them to remember the many Christmases spent as a family every time they put up ‘their’ ornaments.
Every year we read A Christmas Carol with our children. They love it so much. We also make silhouette ornaments of the kids each year so we can see how much they’ve grown:
http://abbysinsightsonlife.blogspot.com/2009/12/cute-ornaments.html
We each unwrap a new pair of PJs on Christmas eve, and then the kids get to unwrap a movie together (usually a fun movie for them). We change into our new PJs and watch the movie on Christmas Eve, then get milk and cookies ready for Santa and off to bed (at least the kids do, anyway).
We also do an ornament for each child every year-homemade or store bought, whatever floats my boat that year.
And in my family, growing up, Christmas Eve is always the big dinner night, so we usually make something fancy for dinner on Christmas Eve (last year it was Chicken Cordon Bleu) and Christmas Day we have something easy, like (our favorite Christmas Day dinner) a frozen lasagna. It really takes the stress out of Christmas Day.
One tradition I REALLY want to start doing is making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, but so far, I have always decided to sleep in. 😀
Each Christmas Eve we have a really nice dinner. Afterwards we gather around and have a family testimony meeting sharing our feelings of the Savior. Reflecting on his birth and life bring us closer as a family. Then we let each of the kids open one present and enjoy some yummy hot chocolate with marshmallows. The fire is glowing and maybe we will get out some board games. It the feeling of Christmas…
We act out the nativity every year as a family. With 6 girls and only 1 boy we had many ‘Mary’s’ for many years (as you might well imagine). Some years we had a ‘new baby’ to play the part of Jesus (girls or boy didn’t matter) which was particularly special and as the years have gone on we now have 2 little granddaughters that play ‘Mary’ amd 4 new son-in-laws. Grandpa is narrator and we now have shepherds, wisemen, and a donkey that our little ‘Mary’s ride in on. Last year our first grandson ‘baby Jesus’! It’s been a wonderful tradition and I must add our son-in-laws are Great Sports!
We gather for our big family dinner on Christmas Eve. We follow it with a live nativity. Now with grandchildren the parts are all very full and shared around each year. Papa wears the tacky brown sweater and plays the part of the donkey and the youngest gets to be the baby Jesus. ( we always have an infant around)
After we read the Christmas story from Luke, last year read by my oldest grandson, we have a white elephant gift exchange. The gifts range from cut crystal to frozen chicken feet. We start with the sacred then descend to the ridiculous and then finish with family prayer and quiet stories. Some of us even sleep that night
Thanks for this post! I’ve been looking for ideas too, and there are so many already in the comments!
Our family started one this year that we love. It is to get a new Christmas storybook each year and add them to a basket placed under the Christmas tree. Anytime someone in the family wants to read it, they can. We sometimes read them at family home evening too. We want to build a big collection and create some wonderful favorites.
My husbands family always sang a Christmas carol together around the dinner table every night in December.
Before Christmas we have our elves that visit (like Elf on the Shelf, but I think those are ugly, so we have three other elves that are cuter, but still make mischief) for the month of December. In the past I’ve tried reading Christmas stories each day of the month or doing a spiritual advent of some sort. This year I’m not bothering since it turns into the rest of the family vs. mom on the Christ-centered season. Still looking for something that works, especially with older kids and teens.
Since dh served a mission in Sweden, we celebrate Santa Lucia Day on Dec. 13 with one of our daughters wearing a white dress, red sash, and a crown of candles to deliver breakfast (traditionally saffron buns and pepparkakor, but we substitute cinnamon rolls and gingersnaps) to everyone.
Our traditional FHE the Monday before Christmas is to drive around and look at Christmas lights. We listen to Christmas music on the radio and then come home and have hot cocoa.
We always have the kids act out the Nativity at some point. Each of the kids opens new PJs on Christmas Eve. In the morning we have sticky buns for breakfast. They usually bake while we look at what Santa brought. Santa brings an ornament for each of the kids that somehow represents them or something that happened that year.
We try to attend at least one Christmas type program each year. This year it is “Voice Male”. Also, our family along with some close friends travel to Temple Square for a FHE in December. We have fun taking family photos (even some silly ones) and then we stop for hot chocolate on the way home.
Each year our family uses our Christmas money to purchase LDS art. Each girl receives their own piece that has a scripture written on the back, their name and the date that they received it. These pieces are treasures that will go to each girls home when they marry. It is a trousseau of sorts. Our walls are now full with the beautiful art we have always wanted and much of it will leave as my husband and I prepare to serve missions and move into a smaller home. ;o)
We learn and sing daily Christmas hymns and Christmas songs from the Children’s Songbook. We don’t teach any of the ‘worldly’ christmas songs.
We read about Christ’s life, not just his birth, all month.
We read at least one other Christmas book – this year and last it’s been Christmas with the Prophets. Each of the Latter-day Prophets has a chapter of stories about their past Christmases, a page about their life, and a section with a message about our Savior from that prophet. It’s wonderful!
We act out the nativity with the children, from Samuel the Lamanite telling Jesus will be born through the Nephite’s side of things and also the Bethlehem side of things.
This year the children are listening to The Light of the World, a few episodes each Sunday leading up to Christmas – it is a radio drama by the Church, available to download free from Mormon Channal. It is touching to listen to the Savior’s life like it is really happening in the next room, with people, animals, and all the ‘background’ noise of real life in the time. Awesome!
We bake homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.
We used to own llamas and would put Santa hats on them, then Christmas tree skirts on their backs, then their pack saddles on top, filling the packs full of baked goods and candy destined for our neighborhood. We would go out Christmas Eve afternoon and start making deliveries. Young children and grandchildren of friends and neighbors would be placed on the llamas backs and have their photos taken. We told the kids these were Santa’s South American reindeer. It was a lot of fun…and one time, our Bishop opened up the front door and said “Hi, come on in”…and we all did…including the llamas.
One enduring Christmas tradition is to go carolling, return home and have hot cider and read the Christmas story from the Bible. We would always work together to prepare the Christmas morning french toast casserole.
In our family stockings are the best part. My mom stopped using our stockings when I was a kid, because she would always find so many fun little things to put in them… and she didn’t want to wrap all of them and put them under the tree. So she started filling pillow cases. I am almost 30 and have children of my own and we still do it. Then we get one or two presents under the tree, but stockings are the most fun. We always get some kind of yummy lip balm. Also Christmas socks, candy, and lots of funny little things. I stocking shop all year round. Anytime I find something fun in the dollar area at target or something on sale.
We also have a danish tradition that has been passed down in our family for generations. We have rice pudding every Christmas eve. It is very yummy. The fun part is we hide a whole almond some where in the pudding. Who ever finds it while we eat the bowl… gets a prize. Our prize is usually a huge chocolate Santa. Traditionally it use to be a marzipan pig… but those are hard to find, and not everyone like almond paste.
We just started this 3 years ago and love it. On Christmas Eve we send our children on the journey of the Wise Men. My husband and I make a treasure hunt for the kids and they have to find the Star. The star is one cut out of yellow paper and pasted to a book. It’s a Christmas book that we read after they have found it. The kids really like it. I love to read the Christmas books every year. We now start on the 21st and read the book we got first and then so on until we get the new one on Christmas Eve.
We have alot of Christmas traditions…but the very best one for me is that on the Saturday before Christmas (this year the 17th) We attend a session at the temple with our endowed children and their spouses. Then after the session we take them all out for lunch/dinner.
We love nativity sets and each year we look for one to add to our collection. We also look and pray for someone in our circle of influence who is in serious need. We come up with some way to annonymously doorbell ditch them and leave them some type of gift with money. The money is a large enough amount that it will help this family out and be a sacrifice on our part. It warms our heart and blesses us all year. Someone did that for us many years ago and it changed our lives in so many ways. We have adopted it as a tradition and it is a very meaningful part of our Christmas season.
We are trying to do a more Christ centered Christmas this year. I have stopped the Santa threats.
The first FHE in December we talk about Christ and each of us write down something that we want to give Christ for Christmas. (doing service, talking nice to family, something like that) and we put them in a box under the tree so that we can remember every time we walk by.
The second thing is we do an advent calendar where we do an act of service everyday in December. Here is a link to my blog where I explain the whole process….I have loved it so far. This is our first year doing it and the family is all really enjoying it.
http://colorfulcravings.blogspot.com/2011/12/racked-for-chrismtas.html
We put out our nativity sets first on the First of December (we put our tree up on the first FHE in December, so it gives us something to do while waiting and puts in our mind the most important thing first!)
We made laminated ornaments of pictures of Christ from the ensign/deseret catalogues. We stick a scripture on the back and add a bow and you have spiritual gift tag for cookies for the neighbours, we put ours on the tree because one year I realised we didnt have any ‘spiritual’ tree decorations ( I have literally made hundreds of these things over the years and even made everyone one one in RS for a Christ Centred Christmas Ideas class I ran – I smile when I go to friends houses and see these on their trees all these years later!)
We try to hold Advent – Advent starts the last sunday in November and goes for four sundays. We light a candle and share a message and sing a carol. It is a catholic ?? thing I think, but we changed it up a bit for a LDS Slant, but I’ve found lots of Advent Devotionals on the net and I even bought a book that had 2 years worth of daily Advents for December. My kids LOVE burning candles and it really helps them to focus.
I’ve done advent calendars with family activities in them instead of lollies.
WE make christmas pillowcases each year. I take the girls shopping and they choose their own christmas fabric and sit on my lap and help me sew it. We talk about having good christmas dreams with our lovely pillowcases!
We borrowed a tradition this year from a friend, where each morning baby Jesus is missing from the nativity, and they have to find him somewhere in the house. The idea for me is that we are always seeking Him, and it makes them think of Him several times in the day.
I have realized, however, that I’ve been making it too difficult (had to give hints everyday…yesterday we had to play hot and cold). And, it might work better with younger kids, or those close in age. I have two teens and a 7 yr old, so hard enough for the olders is too hard for her. They keep wanting to do it, though…competitive kiddoes.
This year we began The Elf on the Shelf…don’t know where I’ve been, only just heard of it this year. Of a more spiritual nature, I have been posting on my blog and reading a Christmas scripture advent…two of them actually. And then on Dec 13, I have another one I found that is the 12 days of Christmas (LDS style).
Usually we go look at lights on Christmas Eve, but probably won’t do that this year…since my boys will be in Texas with their father for Christmas….first Christmas without my children, so no idea what I’ll be doing. 🙁
We always make apple dumplings for christmas. My husband doesn’t like them…so I’m making them for myself this year. 🙂
http://munchtalk.blogspot.com
I just did a post about our Christmas traditions the other day. One of my favorites is that my mom and dad give each of the grandkids a new ornament each year. We look forward to seeing what is chosen for each child.
My most favorite Christmas tradition was started about 13 years ago. Instead of giving presents to my siblings we decided to make an ornament and exchange them at our annual Christmas party. With my parents there are 6 families so after 13 years we have quite an assortment of ornaments. My children love to get them out an remember who gave us which one and the story behind it for that year. If some one has gone on a special vacation that year they will pick up an ornament, etc. We try to make them personal.
The other thing we started last year is to take a subject, last year it was “How I met your Mother” and my siblings and their spouses each wrote about how they met. Not only was it fun to hear their stories but it is great to put in our family history books.
We have our big dinner on Christmas eve and then on Christmas night when things are quieter we have a Bethlehem supper… candlelight.. and eat foods that Mary and Joseph might have had: flat bread, grapes, various cheeses and dried meats, smoked fish, dried fruit, etc. (I do get creative so the kids will eat) We use paper plates and no utensils so it is simple… all passed around on platters. Easy clean up. Then we either read the Christmas story or watch the video of the nativity. It is a wonderful way to end Christmas day..very relaxed and quiet after all the busyness. It is my most favorite tradition!
We have started doing an advent tree every day in December. Every night we read a story from the scriptures, starting with the creation and going through the stories of Moses and Ruth and Lehi and Nephi and Samuel the Lamanite. Each day we read a story, sing a song that goes with it (usually a hymn or Primary song), and hang an ornament on the tree. My kids have been helping me make ornaments that correspond with each story (creation – an earth, Abraham and Issac – a bundle of twigs, Lehi and Nephi – a Liahona), and we are having a wonderful time. They’ve commented on how much it’s helping to keep their minds on Christ this season, and they are very concerned abotu makign sure that we do it EVERY SINGLE DAY! This will definitely be a tradition at our house from now on.
I’m pretty bad at keeping traditions and so far we haven’t really had any decent spiritual ones (I’m hoping to change that). Our traditions include putting up a paper tree (because years ago we could never afford one so I made one out of scrapbook paper).
Then we “hang” up our Penguin ornament collection. We buy a penguin ornament every year (and no other ornaments) so we have a penguin tree.
I also make homemade gifts that include spiced peaches.
My husband and I go to the dollar store with ten dollars each and buy presents there for each other and then we try to see if we can make it to Christmas morning before opening them (so far the closest we’ve made it to is December 23rd LOL).
The only other tradition we have is that I make dinner which include traditional Irish recipes like Colcannon and Barmbrack. (Colcannon I make for almost all holidays but Barmbrack is only made for Christmas.)
We have several, but one of our very favorite traditions is writing “love notes” to each other. At the beginning of Dec. when we decorate we hang our Christmas stockings. Throughout December each member of the family wright a short note to each member of the family (we use 3×5 cards) and put them in the socks. Christmas morning they are the first thing that we all go for! They are so sweet and we usually video tape them being read. (If the kids are young we help them write them, make sure that if mom helps that someone else helps with mom’s.) After Christmas for FHE we write a “love note” with a gift to the Savior for the coming year and put it back in the sock.
Each year, usually really close to christmas, my two girls request to sleep under the christmas tree. They pull out their sleeping bags and lay right down under the branches and lights. I love to watch them… with sugarplums dancing in their heads.
We also decorate our tree with a candy theme… that way, we don’t have to leave candy in their stockings but feel like our whole holiday is filled with sweet treats.
We also get a new childrens christmas book each year… to add to the collection on the coffee table. Each night after the girls get ready for bed, they climb up on dad’s lap and he reads to them.
Our favorite one is the Can You See What I See book – It’s an I SPY book and the pictures are just INCREDIBLE!! They set the mood so well, we turn down the lights and light up the tree and put on christmas music as we look for each item. We only do a page or two per night so it lasts. 🙂
We also do the I SPY book on Halloween – by the same author. Those pictures are so fun!
Every year for christmas we decorate gingerbread men//houses/camping scenes/nativities with our halloween candy leftovers.
Every year we write our gift to the savior on a 4×6 card and place it in a small wooden chest that sits on the mantel. This is our birthday gift to him, as well as our new year resolution!! After a few years there is a little pile in there, and it is fun to read the past years and see how you’re doing on them.
We have soooo many I’ll link my list http://thisgirllovestotalk.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/christmas-countdown.html
favourites are
Grandparents christmas dinner (kids have both sets of grandparents to themselves and we do the big christmas dinner – husband cooks! about a week or two before christmas
we make christmas pillowcases every year for ‘good christmas dreams’ kids choose the fabric. Been doing it so many years my older girls now sew their own!
we make a different advent calendar every year
we cut pictures of Christ out of the ensign and turn them into gift tags/ornaments/ this year we had 24 so made an advent calendar out of them.
Pinata for our christmas party. I just finished up a fringed stocking shape last night!!
Hey!
Wise men didn’t bring baby Jesus any gifts– Jesus was between 2-3 years of age and living in a house when the Wise Men came. 🙂
Love your blog– just wanted to clarify the doctrine. 🙂
We have several that we do, that are from when I was little. I married my husband, who is Jewish, he was converted to the Church so he has no Christmas traditions, but several Hanukkah ones that we have incorporated.
We have a binder, that is covered and has stories, in it, that center around Christ, His apostles, life and some on Jewish history. Jesus was Jewish, after all. We read a story every night and then talk about what we can do to be better and like the people in the story.
Growing up, my dad was a minister for The Church of Christ, and he did not like the commercialism that brought out the greed in people and kids. So, instead of gifts under the tree, my mom painted a beautiful full nativity set. It was under our tree until Christmas Eve. After the Christmas story is read from Luke, on Christmas eve and the kids are in bed, the Nativity is moved to a table and then the gifts go out. One year our kids wanted to put presents under the tree instead of the nativity. So, I said we could, but not every year. They were ecstatic! Two days later, they came to us and asked to put the nativity back as it did not feel right. Oh, my sweet angels were getting the spirit of Christmas at such young ages!
My mom collects Nativity scenes and so every year we put up all of them (without the baby Jesus, who is added on Christmas Eve). It is such a great experience and there is plenty of time for telling Christmas stories and talking of Christ, because we have over sixty five nativities to set up!
Also, on Christmas Eve, we read lots of Christmas books about Santa and then write our letters to leave in our stockings. After that, we read Luke 2, and watch the Joy to the World video that the church produced. Then we have family prayer. That way we get to end our day with the reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
We have put together a book with a Scripture Story (short), Christmas song, and another Christmas story. We read one every night.
Growing up, we did “the straw piece in the manger” thing. Each week we draw a name of another family member, then do acts of service for them.
We now do that in our family. It helps us focus on doing for others.
We also choose from the ward Giving Tree and take the kids with us to purchase the items.
A few times, we have bought Christmas presents for a family in need.