7 Christmas Traditions for Children

There’s nothing better than seeing the joy of Christmas through your child’s eyes. We’re coming up on the holidays, and you might be wondering what Christmas traditions you can start with your kids. Setting traditions with your kids gives them (and you!) something to look forward to every Christmas, and it can create some seriously cute moments. The best thing about Christmas traditions is that you can pick whatever traditions work best for you and your family based on your lifestyle and your children’s age. Here are some of my favorites!

Create a handprint ornament

Creating an ornament is such a fun thing to do starting at baby’s first Christmas! There are tons of ways to do this with the easiest being a painted handprint on a ball ornament. You can even order a kit from Amazon. It’s a fun activity to do with your child, and you get an adorable ornament in the process.

Bake Santa cookies together

This is kind of a gimme, but it’s definitely a fun one! Santa needs cookies after all, so why not bake them with your kids? There are tons of simple recipes out there, whether you want to do basic chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies that your kids can decorate. In this case, Pinterest is your best friend! If your kids lose interest fast, you can always do cookies from a can.

Read a specific book or watch a specific movie on Christmas Eve

The Night Before Christmas is a great option for this, but you can pick any book that you and your kids love. My husband’s family always read The Polar Express before going to bed on Christmas Eve. Both of our families also had a specific movie that we watched on Christmas Eve. I loved sitting down with a bowl of ice cream after a great dinner and watching A Christmas Story with my family, and I loved reading The Night Before Christmas right before bed. My husband’s family watched A Muppet Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve. You can use either tradition or both, like my family did.

Let your kids open a single present on Christmas Eve

This is a Christmas tradition that both my husband and I grew up with, but we had different rules. My mother picked the present that my brother and I opened, while my husband and his brother were allowed to pick any present they wanted from under the tree. Whichever rule works best for you, this can be a great way to get your kids excited for the next day.

Have an advent calendar

I love this idea! There are tons of amazing advent calendars out there, many of which you can buy ready to go. There are advent calendars with candy and some with toys, like little Lego characters. But you can also buy beautiful and empty advent calendars that you can fill yourself with some things that you know your kids will love. It gives them something small to look forward to every day.

Drive around and look at lights

Depending on where you live, there might be specific places you can go to where your kids can just enjoy looking at Christmas lights. There also might be published guides about where you can drive to see great Christmas lights. But if not, you can just go for a long night drive and have fun pointing out houses with great lights. There’s nothing better than an amazing Christmas light display.

Have an amazing Christmas breakfast

I know, I know. You’re exhausted on Christmas morning because you’ve been up half the night, creating a wonderful experience for your kids. But if you’ve got the steam, a hearty Christmas breakfast can be a great way to start the day. You can involve your kids in making breakfast and even pick something fun to do every Christmas morning. Maybe you always make homemade waffles or even crepes! Maybe you all make cinnamon rolls the night before. If you’ve never made monkey bread, it’s so good and can make for a fun breakfast! Whatever works best for you while also being delicious.

It’s so important to set those Christmas traditions that you can do with your children. You want them to have specific things to look forward to every Christmas, but it’s also great bonding time. They’re just a great opportunity to spend quality time with your kids.

Do you have any great Christmas traditions that you love? Comment below and let me know!