10 Holiday Traditions to Start with Your Kids

posted on : November 22, 2017

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Have you been thinking about how to start holiday traditions with your kids? Me too! As a semi-new parent of twins, I’ve been really interested in creating special memories and fun traditions for my kids during the holidays. This year, my twins are going to be 1.5 years old and they’re starting to understand things more than they did last Christmas. I can’t wait to continue these traditions every year. I hope my kids will always look forward to doing these traditions and to spending this special time of the year together.

Here’s a list of my 10 holiday traditions to start with your kids:

Decorate the house for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I never decorated my Christmas tree before the beginning of December in the past. But, I’ve recently realized that decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving is the perfect time! Most people have time off work during the week of Thanksgiving and everyone is in a happy, holiday mood. Make a commitment to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. That way, when December starts, you’re all set to start celebrating.
Wear matching pajamas on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning.

I started this tradition last year. I bought the whole family matching Christmas pajamas. I’ve noticed that a lot of stores are making it super easy to buy matching family pajamas, which is awesome. I got mine from Target this year and they have cute reindeer on them. In my family, I give everyone the pajamas on Christmas Eve and we wear them that night. It’s also a fun photo opportunity for the family. Everything is cuter when it’s matching!
Watch a Christmas movie together on Christmas Eve.

After everyone gets into their Christmas pajamas, sit on the couch, pop some popcorn and watch your favorite holiday movie. I love cuddling with my kids and watching Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s my favorite Christmas movie and the cartoon version is perfect for the kids.
Bake gingerbread cookies/decorate a gingerbread house.

As someone who loves to bake and frost, this is one of my favorite traditions. Since my kids are still toddlers, I bake and decorate the gingerbread cookies by myself. But, once they’re a little older, I plan to bake and decorate them as a family. I’ll let them decorate their own cookies to put their creative spin on each one. And, if you decide to make a gingerbread house, you can also create a fun display piece to put in your house.
Host a cookie swap with family.

Like I said, I love to bake. So, it’s only natural that I would want a holiday tradition where I bake cookies with family. The awesome thing about a cookie swap party is that you get to experience a variety of cookie flavors after the party. To host a cookie swap, talk with your friends or family members ahead of time and agree on how many cookies each person will bring (for example, everyone could bring 2 dozen of their favorite homemade cookies). Be sure to also remind them to bring a container to bring their cookies home in.
Spend Christmas morning opening presents and drinking homemade cocoa.

Look, I know homemade cocoa might sound like it’s a little too extra. And I get that. But hear me out. Homemade cocoa is super easy, and it’s delicious! I like to get up, still wearing my Christmas pajamas of course, and go downstairs to start making the cocoa before the kids wake up. Once the cocoa is ready and in the mugs, I wake the kids up and we go downstairs as a family to open presents and sip cocoa. If you don’t feel like making homemade cocoa, the instant stuff is still great!
Make Christmas tree waffles with powdered sugar snow to enjoy Christmas morning.

After we open presents, I love to make homemade waffles for the family. I die the batter green and cut them into triangles so I can make them look like Christmas trees on the plate! And, to make the waffles even better, I sprinkle them with powdered sugar so it looks like the trees are snow-covered. It’s been my experience that food is always better when it comes in a fun shape! Here’s my favorite homemade waffle recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Take a family holiday portrait–maybe even with Santa.

As a new mom, I’ve heard from everyone to take as many photos and videos as I can of my kids when they’re little. Because of this, one of my favorite new traditions is making sure we get a family photo every year during the holidays. It’s great to have a coordinated family shot to celebrate the season. You don’t have to hire a professional photographer if that’s not in your budget. Have a family member or friend take the photo, or invest in a nice tripod and take the photo yourself using a timer. I like to take a family photo in our matching pajamas. I’ve also toyed with the idea of doing a family photo with Santa at our local mall.
Give each child a new ornament each year and let them put their ornaments on the tree.

When I was growing up, I loved being able to put my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree. That was one of my favorite holiday traditions. I want to give that same joy to my kids. So, I’ve used Shutterfly to create photo ornaments each year that have our photos and the year on them. As the kids get older and get more interested in choosing their own ornaments, I hope they’ll enjoy being able to decorate and feel some ownership over how the family Christmas tree looks.
Make a family scrapbook with pictures from the year and short notes about the great things that happened.

I think some people undervalue a good scrapbook. I don’t usually have a ton of time to make scrapbooks anymore, but I love the idea of creating a small scrapbook to holiday family memories from the year. And I think this could be something you add to all year round and then put the finishing touches on it during December. This holiday tradition will help you remember the fun times and get ready to make new memories in the new year.