Christmas Traditions

Well, it's that time of year! Thanksgiving has passed, and so we are all gearing up for Christmas. I know everyone has a different level of activity when it comes to Christmas- but my family is deep-rooted in Christmas traditions. Without them, it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Here are some of ours- some are unique, others are common. None-the-less we have A LOT. It's hard to keep up... and I might be forgetting some, so I'll continue to add to this post as the month goes on. What are your traditions?!


Decorating the Inside of our House: We've been slowly accumulating things over the years (after Christmas sales!) and thanks to my Mom's awesome craftiness and sewing skills- we have a beautiful table setting this year!

Maybe one day I'll have Christmas dishes and a dining table to display them! :)


I LOVE these- my Mom sprayed the little wooden rings with chalkboard paint and so we can write with chalk a different name on them. She also made the napkins!

We have personal stockings, too- they are personalized and each with a different scene. Growing up, my family hung stockings, but we never actually had 'stocking stuffers' nor did we do St. Nick's Day or anything. My husband's family did the stuffers- so we are starting to for our kids as well! What do you do?

Advent Calendar: Another super cute project my Mom made! She made these little envelopes and I printed off the bible story into 25 different days. We hung them from a garland strand across our kitchen window- easy access to do the envelopes each night after dinner! I also have a "Berry Merry Christmas" advent calendar where the little bear moves every night to search for Christmas. It was from my childhood, so kind of neat.




I love this, because it is so easy to get distracted from the real meaning of the season. We have to tailor the story to be adaptable for our young children's ages, but they also have a little Fisher Price Nativity Set in their room- set up on a special table that they can play with and we talk about the story of Baby Jesus' birth.


We have done the "Elf on a Shelf" although not the official one. I have an elf figurine that my brother gave me when I was little that we're using instead. I love the idea and it's helping SO much for behavior reminders... not to mention pretty fun to hide each day! My favorite decoration is our mistletoe...even my one year old stops under neath it and says "KISS"!!

Tree decorations: Two traditions from my childhood....

Ribbon Garland. Each year the kids get to pick out two ribbon colors and we cut sections and add to the garland. This is the first thing we put on the tree, and each year we'll add to it. (The first year it started so small, it looked funny!). I remember being so excited to get to pick out ribbon and add to our garland- and the one at my Mom's house is still one of my favorite parts of her decorations!

Hallmark Ornaments: Each year, my Mom and Dad picked out a Hallmark Ornament that best fit what I was up to that year (one was a telephone, one was a barbie, etc.) and then would write a little paragraph about why they picked that ornament. They did this until I got married- and then I was presented with the entire box and papers of the past 24 years. It was pretty neat to have ornaments for our first tree married, and to also look back on all those memories through my parents' eyes. We started this for our children, too!

Our kids each have a mini-tree in their room, too. It's so easy to put those out and they LOVE having their own personal tree.

Christmas Card Garland:

Another super cute idea my Mom did! She took our Christmas cards and modge podged them onto wooden slats, and tied with a ribbon. Right now since we only have 2, they are just hanging up on our candle deco, but eventually, they'll hang from garland (hopefully if we have a home with a staircase, going up the steps!).

We always take the kids to visit Santa, make Christmas cookies (chocolate chip, sugar and Ultimate Chocolate Dipped Cookies and Reese's Cookies) and do a tour of driving around to all the Christmas lights while singing Christmas carols and drinking hot coffee or hot chocolate. Not to mention decorating our own house with lights:


Christmas Eve, we go to Mass, and come home to get our first presents- Christmas Pajamas and Christmas Books (we read the books before bedtime!) and on Christmas morning, we discover that Santa has visited us throughout the night (that is, if our Elf on the Shelf has given Santa a good report!).

Merry Christmas- I hope you are embracing the season!