Simple Family Christmas Traditions
Christmas is magical. But I started feeling like December was more draining than fulfilling and the pace of Christmas was a bit frenetic. One year I found myself starting to look forward to the quiet and slow pace of the week after Christmas, and I realized we needed to make a shift.
When my children look back at what Christmas felt like as a child, I want them to remember the feeling of being together and the magic of the season- not being overscheduled with just too much of everything.
So we made a conscious effort to start focusing on simple, old fashioned family Christmas traditions- ones we actually look forward to year after year and ones that my children will hopefully want to pass down to their own children one day. (And ones that don’t strain our budget!)
Here’s our favorite simple traditions we’ve started in our home in an effort to slow down and be able to really savor the Christmas season.
Bake Simple Recipes
The first year that my daughter was really excited about helping me bake for Christmas, I felt compelled to go over the top and make all the Christmas treats that I could. I don’t know where this compulsion came from, but I was exhausted from it. And then I realized that I was stressed, she got bored, and none of us even really like sugar cookies that much to begin with.
So now, we focus on one or two recipes each year that we LOVE and stick with those. Instead of having a full scale Christmas cookie operation going on, we just have a few calm baking days that we all enjoy.
And when I make the same recipes year after year, those become embedded in our family memories.
Keep it simple. Enjoy it. Don’t overcomplicate it. (And there truly will never be a better cookie recipe than the one on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse bag of chocolate chips anyways.)
Make Treats for Neighbors and Deliver Them
This is honestly one of my favorite things we do all Christmas season. After baking our handful of treats, we package them up, tie a ribbon around it, and hand deliver them to our neighbors.
It’s such a simple way to love your neighbors, and it’s a tradition I look forward to every year.
Simmer Homemade Potpourri on the Stove
Smell can be one of the strongest triggers for memories, so by simmering some homemade potpourri on the stove, I’m hoping that every time my children smell these scents when they’re grown that they will instantly feel like they were kids again playing on the living room floor.
My sister makes me some every year with just some cranberries, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and evergreen sprigs.
But if you’re looking for more of a recipe, there’s one available here.
Use Kraft Paper for Wrapping Paper and Have Your Kids Decorate It
There’s something so beautiful about simple wrapping paper made from real paper. Having children decorate it by hand makes it feel whimsical. Tying a ribbon around and attaching a little spring of greenery can make the gift feel so heartfelt. (And do I pretend I’m Joanna Gaines while tying greenery to my packages? Yes. Yes I do. But don’t we all?)
Send Christmas Cards
I know this is a tradition that seems to be fading out and I for one am determined to bring it back. I LOVE sitting down with Nat King Cole playing to address my envelopes and write simple messages.
The act of handwriting everything makes me really slow down and think about how grateful I am for these people in my life that I get to send cards to year after year.
I also love displaying the cards we receive on a door in our kitchen as a reminder of the dearest relationships in our lives.
Make Paper Chain Decorations
We do paper chains for a lot of different holidays, but the Christmas ones are my favorite. Pick out a couple of different patterns of paper and have your kids cut the strips and tape them together.
Then hang them up on bannisters or in bedrooms or in door frames.
It gives our home the coziest touch of feeling like we could be in Little Women.
Go “Jingle Belling” Looking for Lights
Every year when we drive around looking for lights I’m reminded of how it really is the simplest things that we all enjoy the most.
Turn on your favorite Christmas album, load everyone into the car, and enjoy looking for the best lights together.
Every year this is something my children say they enjoy the most- and it’s something totally free that I don’t have to plan and schedule on the calendar.
Create a Hot Cocoa Station
Make a challenge with children to create the best tasting mug of hot cocoa. Set out add-ons like peppermint extract, marshmallows, and whipped cream.
And if you’re really patient- make it on the stovetop. I still have memories of my grandma patiently making us hot cocoa on the stove and nothing can top the warmth and coziness that was in those mugs.
Sip it out of your favorite mugs and soak in the coziness.
Read by the Christmas Tree
My absolute favorite Christmas Eve tradition comes right before we go to bed. We turn off all the lights except for our Christmas decorations, sit on the floor by the tree, and read our favorite Christmas books together.
(And if you need ideas for Christmas books that can become family traditions, check out my post here.)
Visit a Historical Site that is Decorated for Christmas
To really feel the magic of an old-fashioned Christmas, visit a historic site that has Christmas decorations. Often times historic homes or sites will have candlelit nights, old fashioned Christmas caroling, and period decorations.
This can be a great way to teach children about ways that Christmas has been celebrated throughout different time periods, as well as to help them fall in love with old fashioned traditions.
Make an Old Fashioned Breakfast
I love a simple, old fashioned breakfast during the Christmas season that my children can come to really associate with the coziness of the season.
We make Cream of Wheat on snowy days and for Christmas, we always make a loaf of cranberry bread or some cranberry muffins.
Make Homemade Ornaments
Making homemade ornaments with my children is one of my favorite Christmas traditions with them. Whether it’s salt dough that we press into ornament shapes, bake, and paint, or very simple ornaments from Hobby Lobby that we put together, I LOVE having my girls around the kitchen table while Bing Crosby is playing in the background.
And, each year as we decorate, I love seeing how much they’ve grown from year to year.
Go on a Winter Hike
I LOVE winter hiking, and being in the forest in December just feels like Christmas to me. With the evergreen trees, the crisp air, and a dusting of snow if you’re lucky, I absolutely love our Christmastime hikes.
Visit a Christmas Market
I’ve always wanted to visit a European Christmas market. But until we’re able to do that, we’re capturing some of that Old World spirit by visiting a local Christmas Market each year. Walking around the stalls and sipping hot chocolate can be a great way to connect your children to Christmas traditions that are centuries old.
Visit a Christmas Tree Market
Christmas tree farms feel so nostalgic. We don’t even have a real Christmas tree, but it’s still so much fun to walk around a Christmas tree farm at the beginning of the season. With the lights twinkling and the kettle fires roaring, it’s such a simple way to get in the spirit.
Make some hot cocoa, pack it up in a thermos, and enjoy.
I hope there’s something on this list that give you an idea for simple family traditions if you’re also looking for ways to slow down and really enjoy the magic of the season.
Related Posts
https://www.gratefullygrounded.com/montessori-christmas-activites-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers
