10 Cute Traditions to Start with Your Family This Holiday Season

I’m by no means the person that came up with these ideas all on my own but I did round them up for you in a nice little blog post. But in all seriousness, these are some of the simplest ways I’ve found to make some magical memories with your family this holiday season. Try them out and let me know which one was your favorite!

Ten Cute Traditions to Start with Your Family This Holiday Season:

1. Camp out in front of your Christmas tree

Keep the tree lights on, read holiday stories, and snack on holiday treats. It may be too chilly to camp outside (or in our case, probably a little too warm #Texas), but that doesn’t mean you can’t set up camp right there in the living room. Grab some sleeping bags, extra pillows, and blankets and spend the night together under the twinkle of the Christmas tree. Bonus points if you have your fireplace going.

2. Give back to children and families in need

Set a budget and go on a “shopping spree” for gifts to donate to local organizations that support families and children who may be in need. We love doing the Salvation Army’s Angel tree where we can “pick” a specific kiddo to purchase gifts for. I like that the kids get to put their wishes on the request so we can make sure to purchase things that they want (and need!). During the holidays, it’s a great opportunity to introduce your kids to selecting toys that are not for them and also helps them understand the financial impact of gift giving during the holidays. We also donate to our local no-kill animal shelter at this time of year too–stocking them up on warm blankets, towels, dry food, and canned food.

3. Bake or decorate cookies

In my experience, people tend to fall into two categories when it comes to baking: love it or hate it. And either one is perfectly OK! If you love to bake, go all out Martha Stewart! Make as many types of holiday cookies as your little culinary talented heart wants to. If you’d rather eat raw cookie dough than make it, there’s no shame in grabbing store-made cookies or refrigerated cookie dough and just doing the decorating. I think the most important part is the actual cookie-eating—something we can all agree with!

4. Deliver homemade treats to your fire station, police department & your postal carrier

Since you just made (or bought!) cookies…..make special stops at the local fire station, police department, or leave some goodies out for your UPS delivery person. Plus, you can hand deliver some treats to your nearby neighbors to spread some holiday cheer.

5. Drive to see Christmas lights(with hot chocolate!)

I love a good drive to see holiday lights throughout the neighborhood. Make it a special annual event to drive through local parks and neighborhoods to take in the unique light displays. Kids will love looking at all the fun holiday decorations as well as using the opportunity to get some yummy hot chocolate for the car ride. Got littles? Add a special twist by making it a scavenger hunt. Create a list of items to find (I Spy a snowman, Rudolph decoration, pink lights, etc.) before you leave and see who can find them all first. Winner gets their pick of holiday cookies when you get home.

6. Create a hot chocolate bar

Speaking of hot chocolate……I love a theme. And kids love to choose and make their own concoctions, so a make-your-own hot chocolate bar is right up their alley. Set out holiday mugs(I have holiday mugs for days) and hot chocolate and let everyone customize their drink with marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, or candy canes of their choice.

Pro Tip: Add an adult spin by offering Bailey’s as a mix-in.

7. Check out holiday books from the library

Bring a small gift for the librarians who work year-round to provide resources for your community. Stock up on holiday books for winter break, here are some of my favorites:10 Books To Cozy Up With This Winter

8. Host a white elephant exchange at work

While there are many versions of a white elephant gift exchange, my favorite rule is to not spend a dime. Have everyone bring something that they no longer need or want (that’s work appropriate!!), whether it is serious or silly. Everyone introduces their gifts and takes turns choosing one—there’s sure to be a ton of laughs.

9. Have a holiday movie night

Nothing gets us in the holiday spirit quite like the movies. Around Christmastime, select one night where everyone cozies up on the couch together to watch a holiday movie. Either watch the same favorite or vow to watch something new together each year. We have an annual “Home Alone” Day where we order pizza, drink Diet Pepsi and watch Home Alone and Home Alone Lost in New York. Pick your family’s favorite holiday movie and snack on holiday treats, popcorn, and sip hot cocoa.

10. Shop for Christmas ornaments

Every year we get together with my mom and sister and do “Ornament Day.” We hit up Hobby Lobby and we each pick out an ornament that was representative of a memory that happened that year. On the year we took our first cruise, Callie picked out a cruise ship ornament and another year where we went camping, she picked out an ornament in the shape of a tent. This lets her cultivate her own collection of ornaments that she will have when she is older–full of memories!