Fun Christmas Traditions To Try
Many families celebrate Christmas with time-honored traditions that they look forward to year after year. We’ve rounded up a list of our favorite Christmas traditions for you to try this season with your loved ones. Perhaps you’ll find a new favorite to incorporate for years to come!
Enjoy Holiday Lights - Plan a drive around your neighborhood to admire the festive lights and decorations. Bring a couple thermoses full of hot cocoa to keep you warm if you decide to leave the car and take a stroll through the glistening displays.
Make Holiday Cookies - Nothing brings family together like baking from scratch. Your family will delight in good-natured arguments about who gets to lick the spoon and friendly competition about whose cookie recipe turns out best.
Host a Cookie Exchange - Following the aforementioned baking spree, you may want to host a cookie exchange with friends or neighbors! Sample others’ baking feats and share your own while making an effort to count your blessings, NOT calories.
Christmas Pickle - No one is sure exactly how this tradition came about, and that’s part of the charm and mystique. Various stories credit the idea to an old department store, a certain German glass ornament maker, and an American Civil War prisoner. The basic idea is to hang a pickle ornament (you can buy them anywhere these days) on your tree just before Christmas, but make it really difficult to find! On Christmas day, the first person to discover the pickle ornament gets an extra gift, usually something silly. It’s goofy fun every year!
Watch Classic Christmas Movies - With such an abundance of classic holiday movies, it would be a shame not to plan at least one Christmas movie marathon with friends and family. Cuddle up to your favorite people and share your favorite holiday snacks while you watch beloved holiday films.
Make and Send Holiday Cards - Everyone loves receiving mail. Spread some joy this season by making and sending holiday cards to loved ones near and far. All it takes is a little postage to bring a smile to someone’s face.
Give Back to Others - Embrace the reason for the season and volunteer your time and talents at a local charity to benefit the less fortunate. You can draw names of charities out of a hat or vote for your favorites, but nothing beats the feeling of spreading joy and doing good.
Pick a Christmas Tree - Plan a day to visit your local Christmas tree farm and spend the afternoon selecting the PERFECT tree for your home.
Decorate the Tree - After selecting the perfect Christmas tree, why not spend the evening enjoying each other’s company while you decorate it with lights, tinsel, and ornaments?
Countdown to Christmas - There are so many different ways to countdown to Christmas. Advent calendars, for instance, provide a fun, interactive way to do just that. Alternatively, you can read a different Christmas-themed book every evening as a family to count down the days.
