Magical Christmas Traditions for Kids

Last updated on January 19th, 2024

Christmas traditions are what make the holiday season memorable and special every year. Don’t know where to start? Check out these magical traditions you can start this year!

The Joyful Christmas Season

I’m one of those crazy Christmas people that likes to start listening to Christmas music in October. And I’m totally guilty of putting my tree up in early November. No shame! I can’t help it – I just LOVE this time of year so much.

There is something so special about Christmastime. It’s the season that reminds you to pause and reflect upon the past year and to show gratitude for everything that you have in your life.

It’s a time to put on some cozy pajamas and snuggle with your spouse in front of the fireplace. This season is a constant reminder to tell the people in your life that you love them and to spend extra time with them. And of course, a time to celebrate all of the Christmas traditions important to your family.

I remember years ago, being pregnant for the first time, and envisioning what our Christmas seasons were going to be like once our son was born. Children have a special way of adding to the magic and wonder of Christmastime. Watching their entire face light up while decorating the tree or hearing them singalong to Christmas carols for the first time or talk about Santa Claus is just precious. It’s a feeling that you can’t quite put into words.

They bring a certain element of pure, innocent excitement to the holiday season that you probably haven’t experienced yourself since you were little like them. Children have a way of taking us to our past and allowing us to relive these moments through their eyes. Their very presence adds warmth and love to your home that you didn’t even realize was missing.

These are the reasons why I like to uphold special traditions with my children and my family. Taking the time to do small gestures during the holiday season creates memories for them that will last a lifetime. And it feels so good to make them happy while creating these memories. I know that I still have fond memories surrounding Christmastime from my childhood and hope that my children will grow up to have the same.

A Word on Christmas Traditions

Before we get started with Christmas tradition ideas, I just want to say that when it comes to traditions, take value in quality over quantity. There is no gold medal at the end of December for racing through 25 different Christmas traditions, just to check them off your to do list.

Traditions are meant to be easy and fun, and the urge to participate should come natural. They shouldn’t feel forced. Just because ‘everyone else’ is doing it, does not mean that you absolutely need to do those same traditions.

Create traditions that are meaningful to you and your family without comparison to what everyone else is doing. Traditions should not add to your stress during the holiday season.

With that being said, don’t feel that just because you did it last year, means you have to do it forever. Maybe you tried something new and it was just okay – well then ditch it! Use trial and error until you develop traditions that speak to you and your family.

I speak from experience with two extremely popular traditions. Every year, my mom and I would spend 8+ hours in the kitchen baking and decorating cookies and cleaning up from the whole process. One year, we finally had both admitted that it wasn’t even enjoyable or fun anymore (or was it ever?) – it just felt like work! The outcome wasn’t worth the effort. So we decided to ditch this tradition and move on!

So instead, we now focus on making 1 or 2 special Christmas desserts (like these Cherry Kuchen Bars) that get shared during our Christmas dinner. We make sure to only have them during Christmas – never any other time of the year. And this has worked so much better for us. It’s something we actual enjoy and look forward to.

Another one that I stopped participating in was the ever-popular matching Christmas pajamas tradition. I know that SO many people do this. But again, after I reflected on it, I realized that it was always a pain to coordinate sizes and a style that the whole family could wear, get to the stores SUPER early in the season before things sold out, and spend $100 on pajamas. I didn’t feel that it was adding joy to my holiday season. So we ditched this too!

If these two traditions work for your family, great! Keep at it! My point is, every single family is going to have different traditions that bring them joy. That is what is so special about them being ‘family traditions’. They don’t have to make sense to anyone but your own family.

So don’t be afraid to say goodbye to traditions that just don’t feel right for your family anymore and to try some new ones as well. Just don’t go crazy taking on too much, trying to be ‘supermom’. Just a couple traditions is all you really need to create those lasting memories.

RELATED: Looking for more fun and easy holiday treat ideas? I’m all about easy, especially during the holiday season and this Grinch Day Jell-O Cup fits the bill! Perfect for celebrating ‘Grinch Day’ with your kids.

Christmas Tradition Ideas

So with that being said, let’s move on to Christmas tradition ideas. This list is pretty big, as it’s meant to help you brainstorm and choose what is right for you. Again, a couple traditions is all you really need! Feel free to do more if that suits you, but don’t be pressured by ‘what everyone else is doing’ when making these decisions.

Pro Tip: pin this now to refer back to throughout the years as you readjust your traditions with your growing family.

Personalized Gifts

Personalized gifts are perfect for kids of all ages and is a tradition that is easy to incorporate each year, including baby’s first Christmas. For whatever reason, children love to have things with their name embroidered or stamped on it.

For baby’s first Christmas, you can do:

• Wooden puzzle with the letters of their name personalized
• Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair with their name embroidered
• Baby’s first Christmas ornament with their name painted on it
• Christmas stocking with their name embroidered that they will have forever

For older kids, you could keep this tradition going by gifting embroidered or stamped:

• Backpacks
• Lunch bags
• Cups / water bottles
• Bath or beach towels
• Chef’s aprons
• Clothing
• Blankets
• Jewelry
• Bedding, like pillows
• Toy boxes
• Books
• Hats

There are countless possibilities out there for customized gifts for children! Etsy would be the first place I’d look if you’re interested in this.

Take Christmas Photos

Taking Christmas photos is a pretty popular Christmas season tradition, and for good reason. Having your holiday season documented in this way, allows you to look back on your family’s holiday as the years go by.

• Hire a professional photographer for a Christmas Mini Session

These days, photographers often will offer ‘Christmas Mini Sessions’ where you get a dozen or so photos within a holiday setting. They are typically done quickly – in just a 20-30 minute window. A lot of people do this and use the photos for Christmas cards each year.

• Buy a phone tripod and take your own photos

But if hiring a professional isn’t your thing, you don’t have to go that route. I understand that coordinating outfits and schedules and then getting everyone to smile and act happy for the picture can be a bit much – let alone costly. Especially depending on what ‘season of life’ you are currently in. If you’re drowning in newborn sleepless nights – you may want an alternative that is more casual.

An alternative to hiring a professional, is just to snap a few yourself. They certainly don’t have to be perfect. I like to do this when my babies are little, because it’s pretty easy to get them to cooperate when they are young. Pinterest has a plethora of photo ideas for this – I am such a sucker for photos of babies by the Christmas tree! I promise that they will still be really cute and fun without all the hassle and stress of hiring someone.

For the rest of the family, you could simply opt to purchase a tripod for your phone that comes with a ring light and a handheld remote for taking the picture. This way, you can pick the day that works for you and wait until everyone is in a good mood and go for it. Sure, they won’t be super fancy and staged – but you’ll still enjoy them all the same.

• Take candid photos throughout the entire season

Don’t discount the candid photos too. Honestly, the candid ones are the ones that I end up printing and hanging up around my house more than the professional quality ones. Because you’re able to capture your children’s personalities or your baby’s biggest grin in a real life moment – which is not something that often happens during a professional photoshoot when they aren’t feeling as comfortable.

Seriously, one of my all time favorite photos of my son is him totally donning all his winter gear and grinning at me in the cart at Target. The photo is just so him and totally brings me back to that ‘season’ of life that we were in at the time where our big huge outing of the day was strolling Target just to get out of the house.

So grab your phone as you go about your holiday season – snapping photos of your sleepy kids eating popcorn watching The Grinch or of them excited and decorating the tree or putting on all their snow gear to go play. Those ones are just as special as the professional ones.

Hype Up Santa Claus

Okay, I don’t even have to explain all the ways Santa Claus is so awesome to you, because I know you know. But seriously… what would be Christmas for a child without Santa Claus? Santa Claus plays a huge role in a child’s holiday season and I like to really egg on the excitement about the idea of Santa leading up to Christmas.

Here are a few ideas that incorporate Santa Claus:

• Leave Santa and his reindeer snacks on Christmas Eve

This is a total Christmas classic. I know we always did it growing up, and for me, it always made Santa feel so real to see his leftover cookie crumbs the next morning. I thought it was the coolest, like, ‘wow, Santa really WAS here! The proof is in the cookie crumb!’. Haha – it’s just always fun for kids to do this.

• Decorate a Christmas plate specifically for Santa Claus to use

You could add to the tradition of leaving out snacks by letting your children decorate a plate just for Santa to use. There are a lot of really cute design ideas on Pinterest for this and two methods you could use.

The first option is to use Sharpie markers to decorate the plate. The other option is to use paint and bake the plate in the oven to seal the paint. Either option will turn out so cute! Some cities even have places that you can go to do this where they provide all the materials and help you design (this can be a little more costly – but fun!).

• Write Santa Claus a Christmas wish list

Have your children write (or you can write for them while they are super young) out their Christmas wish list for Santa every year. Save each list every year and pull them out when your kids are grown up to remember the good ol’ days.

It’ll be fun to see how your children change and grow (as does their handwriting and spelling) each year. It would also be funny to see how ‘old school’ the toys were back then compared to the present.

We did this growing up and every single year, I’d write ‘a puppy’ on my list – and I find it funny now because I ended up dedicating my career to helping animals – so even way back when – I had found my passion, which is just kind of cool to notice.

Do Arts + Crafts Together

You know that I’m all about doing crafts with kids – I find it such an easy and fun way to bond with your children while creating physical memories that you can look back on through the years.

There are countless craft ideas out there for the holiday season. Some of the ideas that I like are:

• Make homemade ornaments each year

This is a crafty tradition that can grow with your children through the years. In the early baby and toddler years, you can simply use their handprint or footprint. But as they grow older, they can paint their own masterpiece. You could even switch it up and create salt dough ornaments. Another idea is to use wooden ornaments in place of the plastic baubles – lots of possibilities here!

• Create homemade Christmas cards and send them to loved ones each year

There is so much value in a handmade item – especially one made by children. This totally beats the standard store bought boxed cards!

• Paint Christmas keepsakes

For young babies and toddlers, painting handprint and footprint keepsakes can be a lot of of fun. There are thousands of ideas for these on Pinterest, so every year you can pin a few ideas you love and recreate them together.

As your children get older, you can add different elements such as gluing cotton balls on paper to make snowmen. This is an activity that kids will enjoy every year and one that you’ll be able to save in their memory boxes for years to come.

A bonus is that these keepsakes make the perfect gifts for grandparents at Christmastime!

Bake Together

Baking is probably one of the most popular holiday traditions out there. But baking doesn’t always have to mean baking a million Christmas cookies though (as I mentioned earlier – just not for me!).

• Bake, build, and decorate a gingerbread house (or use a boxed kit and skip the baking!)
• Bake and decorate gingerbread men
• Decorate Christmas cookies
• Bake and enjoy a special Christmas dessert

You don’t have to spend 8+ hours in the kitchen to enjoy holiday baking every year. An alternative to making dozens and dozens of different batches of Christmas cookies is to bake and decorate gingerbread houses or men. You could totally even skip the baking and buy a boxed kit and simply have fun decorating with your kids.

The same goes for Christmas cookies – so many places now offer cookie decorating kits that allow you to enjoy decorating without having to do all the baking. Or you could always buy premade dough that just needs plopped onto a baking sheet and popped into the oven – and decorate those!

If neither of those options suit you, an alternative is to just bake and serve a special Christmas dessert each year. Whether it’s served the week leading up to Christmas, on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day – that’s for you to decide. Just keep it special by only ever baking it at Christmastime so that way everyone looks forward to it each year.

One of my friends makes homemade fudge every Christmas with her mom and has done it as long as she can remember. They take such pride in it and always make enough to gift to friends and family. So every year, we always look forward to their delicious homemade fudge being passed out at Christmastime.

Enjoy the Wintery Weather

Some Christmas traditions can be done in the great outdoors – if you are brave enough to handle the cold, this could be a lot of fun for the family.

Some classic outdoor ideas include:

• Go ice skating
• Go sledding (could later evolve into snowboarding or skiing as kids grow bigger)
• Build a snowman
• Make snow angels
• Have a snowball fight

These are all pretty standard when you have kids and get outside with them, but so much fun nonetheless. But you don’t have to be productive outside to enjoy your time together. Your tradition could simply be:

• Goof around in the backyard for the first snowfall of the year

Traditions can be as simple as this right here – putting on all the snow gear and going out to play. Your kids will start to anticipate that each year, during the first snowfall, the whole family gets all geared up and plays together in the backyard. A special moment can be created like this in an instant.

• Take a Christmas Eve walk every year

Another easy idea is to go on a walk on Christmas Eve every year. You could get everyone bundled up tight and walk around the neighborhood to admire the Christmas lights in the evening or you could head over to your local park in the afternoon and just enjoy the beauty of winter while pointing out wildlife you spot. This could be a good time to relax and reflect before the excitement of Christmas morning arrives.

• Attend your city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony

Attending your local annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony is a fun way to connect with your community and enjoy the outdoors. You could make a day out of it and plan to go shopping together afterward or stop at a local cafe for a hot cocoa and a cookie.

• Drive around and look at lights

If you are too much of a freeze baby to enjoy some outdoor fun, you could simply drive around and look at Christmas lights. I love the idea of filling up a thermos of hot chocolate, turning on a Christmas music playlist, and enjoying this wintery drive as a family.

Don’t JUST Decorate the Tree

Putting up the Christmas tree is the first thing I like to do to kick of the holiday season and it’s what I look forward to the most! It wouldn’t be the holiday season without the beautifully decorated tree in our living room. But the fun doesn’t have to stop there.

Some Christmas tree traditions include:

• Pick out your tree at a Christmas tree farm

Talk about a classic tradition! This one is fun because it gets everyone out of the house and breathing in some fresh outdoor air while being totally disconnected from technology. You could make a whole day out of this tradition by stopping for breakfast beforehand. Pancakes + Christmas trees? Count me in!

• Decorate the Christmas tree as a family while listening to Christmas music

Decorating the tree is my favorite thing to do to get into the Christmas spirit. Is there anything more peaceful than sitting in a room where the Christmas tree is the only light on? This year, my toddler got to help us decorate and it was just so fun to see his little face light up discovering and naming each ornament (like our glittery train and rocking horse ornaments). What a special moment!

• Watch a Christmas movie after decorating the tree

After decorating the tree, make some snacks and hot chocolate and get cozy in the living room to snuggle in and watch a Christmas movie together every year. Let your kids take turns picking the movie.

• Read a Christmas book by the light of the tree before bed

After decorating the tree, grab a bunch of blankets and pillows and pile them up near the tree. Pick a couple of Christmas themed books and cuddle in together as a family to read by the light of the tree before bed.

• Have a sleepover by the Christmas tree after decorating

Grab the sleeping bags and pillows and let your kids camp out in the living room and sleep together near the tree after it’s decorated. I totally would have been all about this as a kid!

• Create a Christmas village under the tree

My grandma has the biggest collection of Christmas village pieces that I’ve ever seen. Our whole family gets so thrilled every year to go over to her house and admire the beautiful village that she creates. She takes such pride in it and is known for it every Christmas.

This could be a fun one to begin with children because they can help pick out village houses, buildings, and accessory pieces each year. When they are a little bigger, they can help set everything up too. And when they are grown, you can hand down the village to their family.

• Set up a train track underneath the Christmas tree

What kid (or, let’s face it – adult) isn’t totally into watching an electronic train go around a track? My parents have one underneath their tree and I won’t forget the first time my toddler got to see it and push the ‘choo choo’ noise button on the train’s remote. He gets so excited to see this phenomenon every year under their tree.

Give Your Kid’s Their Very Own Kid-Sized Tree

This tradition deserves it’s very own section because I love the idea so much!

• Let your kids decorate their own tiny tree

I started this tradition this year and I’m already so in love with it. I found a little 4.5ft tree at Hobby Lobby this year for about $30 and I set it up in my toddler’s playroom. I added some string lights to it and then took my toddler, who is currently 2 1/2, to the store to pick out his very own ornaments to decorate the tree with.

It was too cute to see the ornaments he chose. He picked a tractor, horses, a bulldozer, a fuzzy penguin, and a foam cupcake. It was so heartwarming to see his excitement in the store over the ornaments as he proudly picked them out and brought them to the cash register.

He completely surprised me (and totally made me tear up – thanks pregnancy hormones) when he chose two dinosaur figurines – one green and one pink – he handed me the pink dinosaur and said, ‘one for baby sister’ (who is due this December!). My heart totally melted at his thoughtfulness to include the baby sister he has yet to even meet. These moments are what make our holiday traditions so special.

Once we got home he got such a kick out of decorating his tree. Of course being 2 1/2, he likes to go into the playroom and remove the ornaments and play with them too. I just roll with it! Be sure to buy ones that won’t break and aren’t glass. Once he’s done playing with his tractor and horse ornaments he gets to ‘redecorate’ the tree all over again with them.

Definitely a tradition I’ll be keeping for years!

Explore Your City’s Festivities

Although getting out in public areas can be a little hectic and overwhelming during the holiday rush – it can also be fun and rewarding.

• See a Christmas play, musical, or concert

Check out what your city is offering as far as Christmas plays, musicals, or concerts goes. Chances are they have tickets for The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol each year. In our city, Trans Siberian Orchestra has dates for their Christmas concert every December as well.

For younger children, you could first start by going to things like Disney on Ice and lead up to plays, musicals, and concerts when they are a little older. It’s fun to get out of the house and do something you normally don’t regularly do.

• Take a train ride

Go on a wintery train ride complete with hot cocoa. I know that not all cities have something like this – but it’s worth looking into if there is something like this near you. The kids go crazy for it! Some of the train rides will even have Santa visit while on the train.

• Get a picture with Santa Claus

This is a super classic Christmas tradition (that Covid has kind of put a damper on the past few years). But don’t think that you are limited to only going to the mall for this. Plenty of smaller shops offer this opportunity as well. You could even try to coerce a relative into dressing as Santa for all the kids. How fun would that be!

• Go window shopping

Embrace the chaos and go shopping together as a family. Honestly, this would probably be more fun if your shopping is technically done and all you do is window shop though! Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the house and just embrace the holiday rush and see all the festive window displays.

• Buy a new ornament every year

As a family, pick out a yearly ornament together at a local Christmas store. Make a day out of it by going to lunch afterward.

• Go to the movie theater

Go out and enjoy the movie theater every holiday season. There are always big movies released around Christmastime and this easy tradition can be a great way to unwind, have fun, and relax during the chaotic holiday season.

• Volunteer your time, money, or goods to local charity

Choose a place to volunteer your time or your money to during the holiday season. With Covid being such a factor the last couple of years – it’s made it tough for some families to get out and volunteer for things in person, which is understandable.

So other ideas include having your children gather some of their toys (or brand new ones) to donate every year or ‘adopting’ a family during the Christmas season and providing gifts for them.

Don’t hesitate to get the children involved as much as possible so they can better understand a greater meaning to this time of year.

Just For Fun Traditions

Traditions don’t always have to have a whole lot of meaning behind them – sometimes they can be just for fun.

Some fun traditions for the kids include:

• Have a Grinch Week or Grinch Day

This is where you make Grinch-themed crafts, create and eat Grinch-themed foods and treats, and follow up with a Grinch movie night! I’m totally all about this tradition – it sounds like so much fun and we will be trying it this year!

• Get an advent calendar

Another fun one is to get and advent calendar at the start of the month – I always enjoyed the ones with little pieces of chocolate in them when I was a kid!

• Hang a felt tree for your kids to decorate

You could also purchase a felt Christmas tree and hang it up for your younger children to decorate and have fun with each year.

• Watch a Christmas parade or Christmas special on TV every year

Watch a Christmas parade on TV. There are a bunch throughout the month – starting on Thanksgiving with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. If the parade isn’t your thing, simply tune in when they play Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV each year.

• Read Christmas themed books every year

Buy a couple of new Christmas books every year and start reading them in the month of December. I like to get my kids into the holiday spirit early by enjoying Christmas books before bed throughout the month.

This year, our two favorites are The Sweet Smell of Christmas (a super classic Christmas scratch-and-sniff book) and The Gingerbread Man (sure to make your kids sing along and laugh out loud).

• Sing Christmas songs together

Singing Christmas songs together is one of my favorite holiday traditions. When my toddler was still a baby, I used to sing him Christmas songs lullbaby-style before bed. There’s just something so sweet about whispering the words to Silent Night or I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas while your baby sleeps on your chest.

Now that my toddler is older (although I still do sing these sweet songs before bed during the holiday season), we also sing the fun kid’s songs like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It’s so much fun watching him learn the words and get into the Christmas spirit and giggle like crazy over these songs.

• Buy cozy Christmas socks

I know everyone is all about matching family Christmas pajamas, but as I mentioned in the beginning of my post, I find it a little stressful and not worth it! If you feel similarly, you could instead buy super cozy holiday socks every year!

I love this idea of buying fun Christmas socks that everyone can admire and wear throughout the holiday season. You can find them just about everywhere and they are always super affordable.

Christmas Eve Traditions

Christmas Eve can come with it’s very own set of traditions too. It’s a day that can look very different from family to family – some enjoy a quiet evening spent with just their core family, while others will enjoy spending it in a group, party style.

• Serve a bunch of appetizers as dinner

One of the ideas that I like is to enjoy appetizers as your Christmas Eve meal. This is great – because chances are, you are cooking a big fancy meal for Christmas Day – so why not make Christmas Eve easy by serving some fun appetizers? You could even just make this a potluck if you’re having guests over!

If you’re a big foodie, you could come up with a theme each year such as, foods from a certain country or culture. Either way, taking the pressure off and allowing everyone to just eat finger food and mingle around for the night sounds so relaxing.

• Let your kids enjoy a sibling slumber party

Gather up the sleeping bags and let your kids sleep in the same room on Christmas Eve. They could even build a little fort to sleep under! Let them share in the excitement of Santa’s arrival with their siblings. This one is special because it encourages bonding and memory making for your children’s sibling relationship. Growing up, my mom always stressed to us that ‘friends come and go, but your sister is there forever’ and it is SO true.

• Have a Christmas Eve game night

Have a Christmas Eve game night as a family. There are endless possibilities for games – whether they be group video games, board games, or physically interactive games.

I love the idea of wrapping a new board game under the tree and letting the kids unwrap it together on Christmas Eve. Then you can enjoy playing it as a family that very night.

• Have a Christmas movie night

Snuggle up and make some hot cocoa and watch Christmas movies together. Don’t forget to wear your new, cozy Christmas socks! Bonus points for some Christmas-themed snacks.

• Invite Grandma and Grandpa to sleep over

One tradition that I always enjoyed growing up was having my grandparents spend the night Christmas Eve. It was always fun to wake up and have them already at our house Christmas morning for gift opening and breakfast.

Christmas Day Traditions

Although opening up presents takes center stage on Christmas Day – there are still plenty of opportunities for traditions throughout this day as well.

• Prepare a delicious Christmas Day breakfast

Have a really awesome Christmas Day breakfast after gift opening. I would recommend doing something delicious – but not time consuming, such as an overnight French Toast Casserole paired with an Egg Casserole Bake. A lot of families like to enjoy Cinnamon Rolls too – which you can even make in the crockpot!

• Go all out and fancy for Christmas Day dinner

I like the idea of making Christmas Day dinner extra fancy at home. Bust out the nice linens, plates, platters, and glasses. Dress up in your best. Pour some champagne or wine and some sparkling grape juice for the kids. And to top it off, enjoy the meal by candlelight. What better day to go all out than on Christmas anyways?

• Prepare a signature dish for Christmas Day dinner

Speaking of Christmas Day dinner, some families choose to make the same meal each Christmas. In our house, we always have homemade lasagna with my dad’s secret homemade sauce recipe and we bake the softest, fluffiest bread to go with it.

We know that every year, it’s a meal we look forward to having. You could also choose to have a special dessert that you only ever have on Christmas Day.

Write Your Children Heartfelt Letters and Seal Them in an Envelope

I saved this one for last because it is my absolute favorite Christmas tradition. I started this for my son’s very first Christmas and am planning to continue it for each of my children every year.

Every Christmas, I buy a Christmas card and I write out a letter to my children in it. Personally, I like to write about all of the memorable moments I have loved and shared with each child throughout the past year.

I write about how much I love them and how grateful I am each year to be their mom. I include all the things that they’ve done throughout the past year to make me proud and all of the times that my heart has just overflowed with joy to be around them. I sign and date each card and seal them up tight and place them in each child’s memory box.

One day, I don’t know when – maybe when they graduate high school or college, or get married, or are getting ready to have their first child – I will give them all of the sealed envelopes and let them decide when to read them. I hope that this time capsule will show them just how much their mom loves them and that they can hold onto that feeling forever, even as adults.

Happy Holidays

I know that this list is HUGE. But as I said, just pick a few of your favorites and ‘try them on’ this year. Don’t be afraid to let go of traditions that just aren’t working for you anymore. Choose traditions that add joy, love, and togetherness into your holiday season – not ones that stress you out.

If crafts and baking are just not your thing – don’t do them! Stick to traditions that are true to who you are as a family. Those are the ones that are worth repeating each year.

Be sure to check out my Toddler Gift Guide as you prepare for Christmas with your littles! It’s FULL of awesome ideas that my own littles have loved through the years.