Holiday Traditions #1 – Advent Calendarslife magazine photographs

I think traditions are very important. Traditions give us a sense of belonging, anticipation, order, memories, and FUN! So this holiday season I wanted to take the opportunity to share 8 of my families favorite Holiday Traditions. We have lots more, but these are our cherished favorites! Of course ever season includes time with extended family, Christmas’ with both of our families, reading of the Christmas Story, Christmas Music, Candlelit Christmas Eve service, and delicious food that becomes some extra pounds . It is my hope that you will be inspired to create some new traditions with your family this Christmas Season.

The first tradition I wanted to share with you is our Advent Calendar. The reason I am starting here is so you can really benefit the most of your advent calendar, you will need a little bit of time to prepare before December 1st rolls around! My family looks forward to opening the drawer for each day of December with much anticipation ~ it is definitely a highlight at our home!

Why should you do an advent calendar?

Besides that it is fun and helps kids countdown, it helps us be intentional with the limited time in the month of December to make sure we are making the most of every day!! We use a drawer advent calendar (I will show you in tomorrow’s post) and include activities to do with our children. We open the drawers every morning so that we know what fun thing we get to do that day. I know there are some premade calendars with chocolate or Legos and although I think that is fun, I feel like you would be missing something if that is all you do. Using the drawers allows us to add candy on some days, Lego pieces, scripture, a key, or whatever to enhance our Advent Calendar.

So what kinds of activities do we do? Here is just a sampling of what you might find in our Advent Calendar.

Holiday Cookie cake (admit it, you’ve always wanted one like Mrs. Fields without paying the $35 price tag!) - MY COOKIE CAKE RECIPE
Shoebox for needy kid - Since Operation Christmas Child collects these boxes EARLY – we make ours for the following year. That way we still make them as part of our advent activities.
Pray together – Pray as a family for each and every person who sends you a Christmas card. We keep these throughout the year to pray over our friends & family regularly.
Caroling for a Senior Citizen Home – Spread the Christmas joy to folks who don’t tend to get a lot of visitors! Call ahead and find out if you can bring some cookies too!
Count-down Paper chain

Annual Family Puzzle (more on this tradition here)
Live Music (concert, ballet, etc. – after all it wouldn’t’ be Christmas without some great music!)
Everyone gets to pick their favorite meal to have later in the month
Grow Your Own Candy Cane – This has become a tradition in our house! Our Elf on the shelf brings us a package with a magic seed, snow from the North Pole, and planting instructions. My kids are amazed with the peppermint seed grows into a candy cane! Complete instructions & {free} printable seed packets here.

Open 1 present early - This is a much anticipated activity in our house!! Even grown-ups get a present. These are not big presents – maybe a holiday related item like Christmas socks that by the time you open it on Christmas you can’t use it until the next year, flavored coffee for Dad, snowman stuffed animals from Target dollar section, special ornament reflecting a milestone or new interest (ballerina for Minnie this year since she started taking ballet class), you get the idea. The fun is in the opening!
Go bowling or play mini-golf
Christmas Pictures – Whether you go to a studio (and out for a treat afterwards) or take pictures at home, make sure to capture your precious family at that moment in time!
Go to Chuck E Cheese

Game night complete with Appetizers for dinner. Sometimes we have had Cheese fondue or brought out our Chocolate fountain (got it for 75% off + 20% off coupon at Kohl's one year!)
Go to an Arcade
Watch a classic Christmas movie & string popcorn (family favorites would depend on the age of your kids: Grinch Movie, Home Alone, National Lampoons Christmas, Curious George Christmas, etc.)
Breakfast at McDonalds & play in Play Tunnels

Something silly & fun (One year we made Daddy into a Christmas tree, made ice cream cones into Christmas trees, you get the idea)
Watch a movie at the Theatre (if there is one that we feel is appropriate out) – We don’t go to the movie theatre often so this is a treat. Our theatre offers free refills on drinks & popcorn so we splurge & call it dinner!
Disney On Ice – Check out whatever live entertainments is available in your area. Create a fun family memory at Disney On Ice, Ringling Brothers Circus, Nutcracker, etc.
Homemade Gifts – Have the kids make homemade gifts for each other and Grandparents! This is such a fun way for kids to enjoy the pleasure of GIVING! They will take such pride in the gift. I also enjoy giving gifts that are from the heart. Every year I knit my kids a hat. For hostess gifts, I give our homemade pickles.

Visit Santa (Now I know lots of people will think we are crazy, but we are very upfront with our children & have told them that Santa is not real. We don’t ever want to knowingly lie to our children – not about Santa, the Easter bunny, or anything. We want them to know fact from fiction – when we tell them the Christmas story they know we are stating facts not playing with our imagination. We do see the fun in pretending about Santa and although it may not work for everyone, our kids seem to have just as much fun pretending as believing. We visit Santa, leave him out cookies, and read Santa books. I think Santa is a cultural thing my kids need to understand, but I am glad they are using their imagination to pretend about Santa instead of believing he is the star of Christmas!)

Annual Christmas event (city parade, Santa’s Village, Disney on Ice, Puppets, you get the idea

Make Gingerbread Nativity (This is actually an annual event at our church complete with the craft, singing, drama, and a time to socialize. We love it! But you could easily replicate this at home using graham crackers, plastic Nativity figures from Oriental trading company, icing, candy, and your imagination!)
Christmas shopping & out to lunch (I love this family Christmas shopping event. It is so cool to help our kids pick out gifts for each other and see the love, generosity, and how well they know each other! We swap around every 20 minutes so everyone can buy a small present for everyone and they we finish off the event with going out to lunch – a very special treat! If we are at the mall we love going to Red Robin with bottomless fries, delicious freckled lemonade, a balloon, and if we are lucky a visit from the Red Robin himself. If we are out and about my kids love Mexican food as much as we do – more chips please! )

SNOW FUN - Sleigh Ride, Sledding, or make a Snowman (here is our Pirate snowman)
Holiday crafts (I love these tot/preschool/early elementary years where the kids LOVE crafts! I love to see their little hands manipulate and create. We make gifts for their grandparents (like this painted salt dough ornament we cut out with cookie cutters), ornaments for the kids tree, and decoration for our home that I cherish putting up from year to year.

Play Personalized Memory Game (I wanted to have a fun way to remind the kids of all the fun things we’ve done over the years: vacations, memories, special events, and the love that we share. So I made a memory game that includes funny stories and lots of pictures. )
Kid Friendly Nativity – Buy (or make) a nativity the kids can play with and act out the Christmas story all season long. This is the one we have and LOVE!
Make Christmas Cookies (We make a LOT of Christmas cookies in our house! I love having a huge variety to sample & share) – more on our tradition & favorite recipes later.
Practice Hospitality (Have a friend/family over for dinner, appetizers, or dessert.)

Take Christmas Cookie plates to neighbors (This is a favorite of mine and I’ve been doing this back before I was even married. Back then I took my 6th grade Sunday School class around the church neighborhood.) Here are our favorite Christmas cookies & their recipes ~ YUM!

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Make personalized Ornaments – Make keepsake ornaments that you and your kids will treasure year after year Snowman Keepsake Ornament or Salt Dough Ornaments
Zoo lights (This is a local event – but there are lots of great local events this time of year. Check your newspaper, radio, as a friend or neighbor and find what makes your city unique this time of year)
Scripture to read daily (Christmas is about Jesus! We want to help our kids keep focused on the true meaning and not get lost in the celebration. One of the ways we do this is by being grounded in scripture daily with our children.)
Elf on the Shelf - Start a December long tradition with the Elf on the Shelf or The Christmas Angel . My kids LOVE seeing what silly places the elf has moved to or what interesting things he brings them! They are looking forward to seeing him already!
Hot cocoa & drive around and look at Christmas Lights (One year we got special holiday thermoses on clearance from Kohl's which just make this event even more memorable! We love driving around the neighborhood and seeing the beautiful twinkling lights around us. We of course have some good holiday tunes blaring on the radio. It is always fun to hear the kids oohs and ahhs and “Mom – LOOK AT THAT!!”

Did that inspire you to create an advent calendar for your family? I sure hope so! Remember it doesn’t have to be grand or over the top, just intentional time celebrating this joyous season with the ones you love! Check out tomorrow’s post with creative advent calendar ideas! If you have a fun family event I didn’t mention, please tell me in the comments section! I am ALWAYS looking to spice things up with new, fun ideas!!

More Christmas Ideas . . .