15 Favorite Christmas Traditions with Our Kids

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Thanksgiving used to be my favorite time of year as a kid. I loved getting together with family and bonding over yummy food. I didn’t care that there weren’t presents. But since having kids, I have changed. I love the magic of the Christmas season, the feeling of giving, and of sharing that feeling with my kids. I also love all of the Christmas traditions leading up to Christmas day and the extra family time we spend together because of those traditions. Below I will share some of our traditions with you, but I would love to hear in the comments other traditions you have!

1. Decorating: To kick off the holiday season, obviously we decorate. We used to do this the day after Thanksgiving but it has gotten a bit earlier since having kids. I do have a dream of having a very elaborately decorated home for Christmas with wreaths and garland and Christmas lights everywhere you look. But it gets expensive! So I try to just build up each year by buying one or two things. I also try not to get things that the kids CAN’T play with. I want them to enjoy the decorations just as much as I do. Some of our favorites are:
   • The Dollar Tree Christmas village pieces. At only $1.50, I don’t really care if they break. The kids have loved setting them up and turning the lights on. They will stand and play with them for quite a while, pretending that the Santa person is delivering presents to the village.
   • The animals that dance and sing. Home depot, Lowes, and Target have a good selection of these. They usually last us 3-4 years before the robotics of them just go out from too much use.
   • Fake Snowballs. Not really more to say about these. Just like giant cotton balls that the kids can throw around.
   • Fisher Price kid’s nativity set. I LOVE that the kids have something that they can PLAY with that reminds them of Jesus.
   • Window clings! My kids love the gel kind. I bought 2 kits from Walmart and they have been played with every day for the last week. But don’t have high expectations of keeping them looking nice or like what they are supposed to look like.

2. Paper chain. We always go with the classic red and green pattern. The kids often fight over who gets to take the chain down each day so sometimes I just have them each make one for themselves.

3. Elf on the shelf: Also around December 1st our Elf on the Shelf comes! I did NOT think I would be the kind of person who had an elf. It always sounded like so much work but it has been so fun for my husband and I to see the kids enjoy this!

Here are some links to fun ideas for Elf on the Shelf!

4. Treat plates for friends and neighbors. We love things like tiger butter, sugar cookies (which are a tradition themselves), scotcheroos, peppermint bark, Ande’s mint cookies, and muddy buddies. We usually do the sugar cookies and decorating on their own day. Then another day we do all of the other baking. And on another day we do the treat plate assembly and delivery. But we try to plan it for a weekend where we can do it three days in a row, because no one wants to eat old sugar cookies. Although they do freeze well if you need to make them further in advance!

5. Christmas lights are a must. We always get everyone a travel cup of hot chocolate made at home. This is my favorite recipe of all that I have tried. And it is super yummy to add the hazelnut syrups, mint baking chips, whipped cream, and marshmallows. A little unconventional, but if you make your hot chocolate really hot, adding a small scoop of vanilla ice cream is basically like adding creamer and makes it so yummy. Anyways, back to the lights. Some years we do some research online to find the best houses and check those out. In North Carolina, a lot of the houses were interactive where you would get out of the car and walk around. Some even had activities, games, and photo spots. Since moving to Indiana though, the best lights we have found near us are at Franke Park near the zoo. You do have to pay, but it is worth it. And they do discount days as well. And you can stop and see Santa for free. Last year they had free hot chocolate as well!

This isn’t necessarily Christmas lights but I feel it fits in this category well. Look on Facebook events for local holiday events for kids. We had one we went to in North Carolina every year and it was amazing. It was put on by Grey Stone Church in Durham. They has a wagon ride where they took you around scenes from the Christmas story. They had dance performances and karaoke as well as carnival games for the kids. In terms of food they had food trucks you could buy from but also free popcorn, hot chocolate, cookies, and s’mores depending on the night you go. If you are local to the Durham/Raleigh area, it is a must. I think they already have details up on their Instagram page.

6. Christmas decorations: Each year we do some kind of Christmas ornament. This year is snow globes, but in the past we have done beads and pipe cleaners, popsicle stick Christmas trees, salt dough, painting wooden ones from dollar tree, and the plastic clear ones you can fill with decorations. It is fun for the kids to look back each year at the tree at the ones they made.

7. Christmas movies and hot chocolate: We have tons of holiday movies that we like to squeeze into the Christmas season. We tend to start watching in mid November so we can get through all of them. Here is the list as well as which streaming service has them in 2025.

8. Snow Activities: Pending snow, sledding and snowmen are on the list. I personally don’t love this activity, but fortunately for my kids’ sake, my husband does. So he is usually the one to make it happen. But start keeping the carrots in stock, just in case. Also, blueberries are surprisingly good for eyes. Also, as your trees start dropping branches in the fall, set aside some good sticks for arms!

9. Nativity: On the Monday before Christmas, for our family night, we like to read through the Christmas story in the Bible and have the kids act it out with the nativity set. Some families like to act it out with their kids. I think we will do that eventually, I just think it would crash and burn with my kids at this age. If you would rather watch the nativity and haven’t seen The Christ Child, I highly recommend it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released it for free on Youtube and it is a beautiful portrayal of the Christmas story.

10. Paper snowflakes: We decorate the house by hanging them by the entry way with thread from my sewing kit. And every year we have to google how to make paper snowflakes because we never remember. And every year we get a little too invested trying to make these elaborate snowflakes that really are mediocre at best.

11. Gingerbread Houses: We all look forward to this one. We don’t actually do Gingerbread. We have found graham crackers to be much more fun to work with. We stick them together with frosting. Some years we color it with food coloring and some years we just count on the candy decorations being enough. Some of our favorite candies to have on hand for this are M&M’s, twizzlers (peel apart kind), Nerds Gummy Clusters, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pretzels. For our younger kids, we usually assemble a simple house for them and then allow them to decorate it. We have found that it works well to put some frosting in a small ziplock bag for them with a small hole cut in the corner so they can squeeze it where they want it. The knife skills just aren’t there yet.

12. Visit to Santa: I’m not sure how much my kids actually like this tradition. They are always excited before hand and then really apprehensive during the actual moment. But each year we take them to visit Santa. If you live near a Bass Pro Shop or a Cabela’s, that has been our favorite experience. It is free to visit Santa and they will usually give you one free 4×6 print of your family with him with the opportunity to purchase more. But they aren’t pushy about it! And the kids love walking around Bass Pro Shop and seeing all of the fish and animals they have.

13. Sibling Christmas shopping: My youngest isn’t quite ready for this, but my 3 and 5 year old really enjoy getting to pick out presents for each other at Christmas time. We used to go to the Dollar Tree and let them pick a couple things but recently we have had better luck going to the local thrift store! You can get some really neat things for 3-4 dollars that aren’t just junk! And the kids haven’t cared that it isn’t new or in a box. It is a cool experience to get to watch the joy on your kids face and the excitement they feel as their siblings opens a gift that they picked out for them.

14. Wrapping presents: I do let the kids help wrap the presents they get for each other, but I LOVE wrapping presents. I always used to go into my mom’s room after she had wrapped my presents and I would help her wrap the rest of the family’s. Maybe it is just because I am nosey and wanted to know what everyone else got, but it is so fun to put on Christmas music and lock yourself in your room to wrap presents. You should try it.

15. Sleeping by the tree: This is a tradition that my husband’s family always did and it was new to me. It sounded so fun before we had kids and then once my oldest was 4 I was really on the fence about it ruining you know what. But it has gone relatively smoothly! We always watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas together with the Christmas lights on. The kids usually last through that, so then my husband and I put on Elf or White Christmas to watch together as the kids can’t hang anymore. I think it will be a memory the kids will really enjoy looking back on.

I thought of one bonus one but I’m not going to change the name of the post because 15 sounds way better! Also, that is a lot of work. But we have our kids open one present on Christmas eve. It usually contains their new Christmas pajamas, their Christmas hot chocolate cup (reused from previous years), a bag of popcorn, a box of candy, and a family game that we all play together. One year we put slippers in there too. But for all things pajamas and slippers, Target is the place to go. They always have cute, soft pajamas. For the whole family too if the parents want to match! They put them on sale multiple times before Christmas so I would wait and not pay full price. It is almost a guarantee that you will find them 30-40 percent off before Christmas.

Comment below with some fun traditions you have or hope to have with your family!