30 Ideas For Family Christmas Traditions

We all have Family Christmas traditions even if we think we don’t! I love love love all of ours. We have big ones and little ones. Ones that take planning and ones that don’t.

We had lots of Family Christmas traditions when we were kids, then I got married and suddenly mine were different to his and we had to have ‘discussions’ to sort out the finer detail. Then we had children, which made me want to find new Family Christmas traditions. My husband despairs of me now. The only Family Christmas traditions he’s been firm about clinging on to, has been his need for stove top stuffing (an American box of deliciousness) with the Christmas (home smoked) turkey.

I know some of us love to hear what other people do. To me, Family Christmas Traditions are all about enhancing the magic and the warm cosy feeling that I remember so vividly.

So, in absolutely no particular order at all:

1. The kids have a candlelit bath on Christmas Eve.

2. The kids find a parcel containing new pjs and a (not necessarily seasonal) book/DVD to share.

3. We do at least 3-76 Christmas crafts daily from mid November until Christmas eve.

4. We go to the Christingle service at the local church.

5. Mr Elfie smokes the Christmas turkey in the garden while I fill the oven with too many other things.

6. The kids have chocolate for breakfast on Christmas morning.

7. I collect little things for their stockings throughout the year and put them into plastic bags for each child labelled ‘Wednesday’, ‘November’ and ‘Frog’, incase the kids should find them when I’m not looking. It helps me know what I’ve got for who.

8. Stockings are opened downstairs because our eldest would have us up from 3am, and I can’t cope with sellotape in all the beds.

9. We throw carrots and oats into the garden for the reindeer.

10. We try to remember to retrieve the carrots from the garden.

11. We do Elf on the Shelf (ours is called Elfie believe it or not) who just enjoys watching the kids enjoy the lead up to Christmas, tells Father Christmas what they like playing with and leaves the kids clues to find…

12. …Elfie’s Christmas Letters!

13. We have our Christmas dinner at 5pm ish to avoid having to get up early to start cooking.

14. We get our Christmas tree on the first weekend in December. We all have to go and choose it, and it must be tied slightly too loosely to the car roof so it slides when we turn left and right.

15. We go for a walk after dark so we can look at all the Christmas lights in people’s houses.

16. We bake, decorate and eat.

17. We make the table look Christmassy from Christmas Eve and eat every meal with candles burning.

18. We never have enough Christmas crackers.

19. The kids remember they don’t like Christmas pudding and I remember eating almost a whole one makes my belly hurt.

20. We spend all of December deciding if we want a wreath on the front door and then finally buy one on the 23rd December.

21. We put fairy lights up around the fireplace.

22. Luckily the kids always grow out of their clothes in November, so they get their new ones as Christmas presents. Just so there’s more for them to unwrap.

23. Everything must be wrapped by the 23rd so I can enjoy Christmas Eve.

24. The Husband starts building 3 hour-long self assembly kits at 9pm on Christmas Eve.

25. We are no longer allowed to buy anything that requires self-assembly for Christmas. Sorry Ikea!

26. We must all decorate the Christmas tree with Christmas music blaring and the fire roaring.

27. Each child gets a small silly present from the cats on Christmas morning.

28. The kids must spend 20 hours asking if they can get the crackers out and pull them.

29. The house is filled with tangerines, cinnamon sticks and Teapigs winterspice tea.

30. The magic of Christmas is over at midnight on the 25th.

…I could go on and on.

We really do absolutely LOVE Christmas and all of our Family Christmas Traditions in this house!

I’d really love to hear yours, so please leave a comment!