The holidays are my favorite time of year. I love the holiday traditions that come with each holiday. I love traditional holiday food. But, has anyone else noticed that a lot of holiday traditions seem to involve food? I was making a list of holiday traditions we wanted to do this year and I noticed that a lot of them involved food. With the help of my kids, we added a lot of traditions that didn’t involve food and now I’m sharing them with you.
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1. Caroling
Bundle up and go spread some Christmas cheer by caroling to neighbors and friends! You can even carol to loved ones who don’t live nearby using facetime or zoom!
2. See the Christmas Lights
Driving around to see the Christmas lights is such a beautiful, classic tradition. Dress up in your coziest pajamas, hop in the car, blast that Christmas music, and take a drive. Christmas lights have also evolved and there are some amazing displays out there. Do a quick google search to see where you can find great Christmas light shows in your city.
3. Decorating the house
Christmas lights, trees, and inflatables all make for a beautifully decorated yard. We also love decorating our tree and the mantle and fireplace area. This year, try decorating something new! Decorate your bedroom doors, your refrigerator, the kitchen cabinets, and more! Or maybe you decorate each room in your house with a different theme! Disney Christmas anyone? Hogwarts Christmas? What other fun ideas do you have?
4. Secret Santa
A secret Santa gift exchange is always so much fun. Draw names go shopping and set aside a special night to exchange gifts. You can even spice it up by playing some sort of game so that each person earns the right to open their secret Santa gift.
5. Make a gingerbread house or village
Another classic holiday tradition is making a gingerbread house. More recently I’ve seen people do villages which includes Santa’s workshop, Jack frost’s home, the North Pole bakeshop, etc. Get creative with this!
6. Family game night
You can never go wrong with a family game night. Grab some of those holiday treats, put on some Christmas music, and play some of your family’s favorite games!
7. Puzzles
Puzzles are such a great way to relax any time of year. But they’re also great for relaxing during the holidays. See if you can grab a Christmas or other holiday-themed puzzle at your local store that your family can do together. While you’re doing puzzles it would be a great time to have some Christmas music playing in the background. Even more awesome would be a holiday audiobook.
8. Christmas Movies
Gather around the TV and put on your favorite Christmas movie! Maybe even do a movie marathon to watch all 3 of The Santa Clause movies? If you have youngerones make it extra fun by grabbing a box and decorating it like Santa’s sleigh so they can watch the movie in Santa’s sleigh.
9. Neighbor gifts
Make a night of delivering gifts to your neighbors. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Check out ideas for simple neighbor gifts here. This would be a great activity to combine with caroling.
10. Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree
Sleeping under the Christmas tree is something so simple and magical that our kids have loved to do for a long time. Grab those sleeping bags, set up a cozy fire if needed, and camp out under the Christmas tree for a night.
11. Elf on the Shelf
Elf on the shelf is a fun holiday tradition that doesn’t involve food. It’s also a great one to bring holiday magic daily to your kids. I wrote a post with 25 ideas that the elf can do to bring holiday magic.
12. Christmas Music
Listening to Christmas Music is a great way to get into the holiday spirit this season. If you play an instrument learn a new Christmas song to play on it. Another fun Christmas Music Activity is to play some sort of musical game. A few rounds of Christmas musical chairs might be super fun! Or you can try Name that Tune, Christmas edition! Another great one is freeze dance with Christmas music.
13. Christmas books
I have seen many people do a book advent. Wrapt 12 or 25 books and put them in a basket. Each night you guys unwrap a book to read together as a family. This is a great tradition to share a love of reading with your little ones while sneaking in some extra cuddles. Some of our favorite books include:
- You Are Special
- The Night Before Christmas
- The Nativity Story – we like to read the one as told in the bible. But there are many wonderful books based on the nativity.
- The Polar Express
- A Christmas Carol
14. Christmas Eve Traditions
Some people have really fun Christmas Eve traditions they like to do. Try a couple of these to see if you guys will enjoy them.
- Gift Christmas pajamas to be opened on Christmas Eve.
- Gift a new book on Christmas Eve.
- Re-enacting the Nativity
Thank you for reading and I hope you find a new tradition to add to your list of Holiday traditions. Let me know which one is your favorite!
-Rach
   
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