50 Fun Christmas Traditions for the Family

Ahhh, it’s the most wonderful time of the year again. This year might be the most exciting year for my family for Christmas because my first born child just turned 2! We learned at her 2nd birthday party she loves unwrapping presents.

Yay! And she’s about old enough to know what’s going on.

So, this year, for sure, we will be starting new Christmas traditions as a family of four; some traditions I’ll be carrying over from my childhood and some my fiance will carry over. So, it should be loads of fun that I just can’t wait for!

Today, I’m excited to share with you a ton – 50 to be exact– of Christmas traditions that are popular and common in families, and hopefully you’ll find some that you can use with your family!

1. Go Christmas shopping as a family.

2. Pick out a Christmas Tree at a tree farm (on a snowy day is a plus).

3. Ice skating.

4. Drive around at night in your Matching Pajamas and look at Christmas lights (make sure to stop at a local donut shop before hand to get hot cocoa and chocolate milk).

5. Bake Christmas cookies (if you’re like my mother, then you’ll want to do this in Santa hats).

6. Decorate the Christmas tree (night time makes it more magical).

7. Build a snowman.

8. Make a Gingerbread House

9. Decorate your own Stocking.

10. Decorate-Your-Own Christmas Ornaments(I love this one, and it’s something new my family + I are doing!)

11. Send out Christmas Cards

12. Pictures with Santa/Christmas Pictures

13. Watch Christmas movies together.

14. Write a letter to Santa

15. Listen and dance to Christmas music.

16. Wrap Christmas gifts together under the tree with the tree lights on.

17. Go to a local tree lighting! We did this last year and it was so fun.

18. Ride a holiday train.

19. Go sledding. 

20. Read Christmas books throughout the month of December.

21. Start Elf on the Shelf. I really wanted to do this this year, but my fiance thinks my 2-year-old is still too little (At what age did you start elf on the shelf with your little ones? Let me know what you think in the comments!)

22. Go through toys and clothes and donate what you don’t need/want anymore.

23. Everyone gets to open new PJs on Christmas Eve and wear them on Christmas morning (so cute).

24. Have a game night in your PJs, with Christmas cookies and hot cocoa. 

25. Create a Christmas scavenger hunt.

26. Decorate the outside of the house with Christmas lights/decor.

27. Make a wreath.

28. Make paper snowflakes and decorate them.

29. Go out to dinner a couple nights before Christmas to get a break from all the cooking and hosting you’ll have to do.

30. Visit a local Christmas Market.

31. Christmas Coloring Activity

32. Make popcorn garland.

33. Go see a movie in theaters.

34. Order take out and eat-in together.

35. Have a campfire and roast marshmallows.

36. Build a fort in the living room.

37. Sing Christmas carols.

38. Trim the tree.

39. Walk around your neighborhood and decide together who has the best Christmas lights. 

40. The first Tuesday in December order a pizza and eat it around the tree. Invite other family members, too.

41. Leave cookies out for Santa and the reindeer. 

42. Donate to a local food bank.

43. Adopt a family for Christmas. 

44. Drive through a local light display.

45. On Christmas Eve, point out to your children every “red light” in the sky (from a plane) and say “do you think that’s Santa?” (My parents did this to me and my sister when we were young and it was fun having that hope that it could actually be Santa in the sky).

46. Eat Candy Canes.

47. Go on a carriage ride.

48. Go on a winter hike.

49. Make a Christmas Photo Album (Photo below is the inside cover of one album I made last year) 

50. Cook a huge breakfast on breakfast morning AFTER your open your gifts (don’t make your kids wait any longer than they already have to)!

Not sure what to put in your family’s Christmas Stockings? Check out Stocking Stuffers Under $5!