Our Christmas Traditions

I love the Christmas season and if I had to identify one of the main reasons why, it would be the traditions we’ve created and upheld over the years. We have just enough going on to make December to feel festive and exciting, but not so much that we’re overwhelmed. Here’s how we make this season special.

We prepare our home

For years, my husband was adamant that we not decorate for (or really even acknowledge!) the impending holidays until December 1. I went along with it for awhile, but it became difficult to squeeze it all into a December weekend after our daughter was born. However, we’re both fortunate to always have the day after Thanksgiving off work. Three years ago, we agreed we would hold that day for decorating and it’s worked out perfectly.

We start in the morning—not too early! My husband drags all the Christmas boxes up from the basement while I get the kiddos dressed for the day. I put on some Christmas music, pour fresh drinks (coffee for two, milk for two) and we we get to work decorating the tree.

After that, we order pizza and when my husband goes to pick it up, I quickly decorate the rest of the inside. I’ve minimized our decorations over the years and pared down to the mantel and a few little figures scattered around the first floor. Someday I’d love to have small trees in the bedrooms, but that can wait 🙂

Once we’ve chowed down, my husband and daughter head outside to put up lights. My husband has this down to a science at this point, so they’re done in just an hour or two. Usually we add just one new aspect to the outdoor decorating each year. Last year Olaf joined us. This year we added small potted trees on either side of the front door and I love how they look.

We get out of the house

Quite honestly, I’m a total homebody. I sometimes think I could leave my house just once a week and be fine with it! However, we make an effort to get out for a few holiday-themed activities this time of year.

Our township has a Christmas Parade in early December each year and we always try to go. They shut down the main thoroughfare, we pick up some doughnuts and coffee, and grab a spot in front of Frisch’s to watch the parade. Some of the participants toss candy to the kids, which my daughter is really in to. Her dance studio usually performs too, and I’m looking forward to when she’s a little older and might have the opportunity to go with them.

Cincinnati has an awesome zoo (seriously, one of the best in the country according to many sources) and this time of year, they host the Festival of Lights. With more than three million LED lights, it’s an incredible show. This year we managed to get tickets to a sneak peak, so we avoided most of the crowds and got to go before the freezing temperatures arrived. I’m usually a Scrooge about going (“I’m going to be cold… the kids are going to be cold… some of the animals don’t smell very good…”) and then as soon as we arrive, I change my tune. It’s hard to be a grump in such a beautiful environment!

We break out the specials

Have you seen Freeform’s list of Christmas movies? I think they show 12 hours of Christmas movies a day from December 1-25. While it’s tempting to try and catch many of them, it’s not practical for us. Therefore, we’ve picked a handful of Christmas movies that we make a point of watching at some point in December. Our top three are The Grinch, White Christmas and Elf. I’m certainly not opposed to watching these at any time, but generally they only make an appearance once a year, which makes them feel special. If we get to see other movies, great, but I’m not going to beat myself up if we miss Charlie Brown’s Christmas or The Santa Clause.

We also keep a box of Christmas-related books for the kids. I pack it away in January, so when I pull them out in late November, it’s super exciting for them. We usually end up snuggled on the couch within minutes to read a few. The Grinch is a favorite of course, but we have a bunch of others. My daughter is into The Nutcracker this year, and my son likes Merry Christmas, Daniel Tiger. As they get older, we’ll continue adding to this mini library. 

For the kids

It happened. We resisted for a few years, but our family baby-sitter gave us an Elf on the Shelf in 2016. My daughter picked a particularly unusual name for her elf: Tongue Licker. It’s somehow silly, vaguely suggestive and kind of gross all at once… but a 3-year-old wants what a 3-year-old wants and she insisted this elf was named Tongue Licker. TL travels the first floor of our house, indulging in candy and causing trouble. 

More importantly (in my eyes at least) is our Christmas Countdown. My beautiful mother cross-stitched this when I was little, and my brother and I were excited about it each and every year. Even when I was in college and not living at home, I think I insisted that he leave every other candy for me to grab when I’d come home to do laundry on the weekends! Now my kids are carrying on this same tradition and it’s so bittersweet. I’m so grateful that we have this tradition. It gives me an opportunity to tell them stories about their Grandma Terri. While I’ll forever wish she was here with us, the countdown is a reminder of the love and care she put into our family.

For the adults

So this first “for the adults” thing is kind of for the kids, but we benefit too. One Saturday or Sunday in December, my in-laws take the kids for a few hours so we can wrap presents without fear of them discovering anything. We put on some Christmas music, sometimes we have a beer, and we knock out most of our wrapping quickly. Then we go out for dinner. (This year we went to Sebastian’s for gyros… mmmmmm.)

We also started a Christmas Eve Eve tradition a few years ago with my best friend and her husband. We take turns choosing the location, but we just go out for a nice dinner and then bar hop. It’s and fun and low-stress way to celebrate before we get into the craziness of the actual holiday.

We ENJOY Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

So honestly, we ALWAYS enjoy those two days, but we’re still figuring out what will work for our family in the long run and what just works for us right now. Before kids, it wasn’t a big deal to run from one family’s Christmas to another, but it’s harder now. The little ones do best when we keep their schedule as close to normal as usual. 

Each year we get a little closer to figuring out what’s right for us as we shift from traditions my husband and I each grew up with and build in some of our own. Right now we’ve landed on celebrating Christmas Eve with my dad and brother, Christmas morning just our little family at home, the afternoon with my husband’s family, and the evening with my mom’s family. Having those hours at home in the morning are enough to power us through the rest of the day.

What I’d like to add

There are two areas that I feel we’re lacking here. First is a stronger element of giving. I want my children to understand the importance of being charitable and to know that they’re incredibly blessed. As they get older, I think this will be easier, but I’d like us to do more than donating money online to a few worthy causes.

Growing up, my family also attended church on Christmas Eve (as well as nearly every Sunday). After my mom died, I struggled for a long time with my faith and stopped attending. We may add a church service back into the mix once I have a clearer idea of how I feel.

Things I don’t do… and don’t beat myself up over

There are plenty of things that other families do that I’ve learned aren’t priorities for us. I think it’s important to recognize what works for your family. Just because something sounds great online or looks pretty in a magazine doesn’t mean it has to be right for you.

Over the years, I’ve determined that while I enjoy some baking, it’s generally not my favorite. I make a chocolate cheesecake on Christmas Eve for dinner that night, but any other baking is ONLY if the mood strikes. I don’t enjoy decorating cookies and the kids aren’t interested in it at this point, so we don’t do it. 

We don’t make a special trip out to see Santa. If he turns up somewhere and the kids are interested, we’ll stop for a photo, but half of the times we’ve tried to go, at least one kid has been frightened of him. We managed to get some cute pictures with Santa while we were in DisneyWorld which was great for this year, but it’s not something we’ll seek out.

We don’t make gingerbread houses or go ice skating or wear matching jammies or write letters to Santa or do about a million other things that you’ll find on every Christmas tradition list out there. It’s all about recognizing what’s going to feel special and make the time memorable… without adding extra stress!

What about you?

Do you have any fun family traditions? And what are you doing to keep your holidays low stress?

No matter how you celebrate, I hope your last few weeks of this year are beautiful, wonderful, merry and bright.