At the center of the Christmas season is spending time with family. Making lasting memories with your family is at the top of every to-do list during the holiday season. There are many festive activities to bring into your family life so Christmas is more memorable and fun for everyone. Traditional activities and out of the box ideas make the holidays super-special.
Christmas Memories and Traditions
Take a few minutes to remember your own childhood and how you spent the Christmas season at home. Do certain memories stand out as special in your mind? These are probably the Christmas traditions your own parents created for the family. Now it's time to create memorable Christmas traditions in your own home. Make gingerbread houses together. Decorate holiday cookies. Are you short on time but still recall the delicious smell in your mom's kitchen at Christmas time? Simmer potpourri to create a warm aroma in your home even if you don't have time to bake very often.
Christmas Fun In The Kitchen
Maybe baking just isn't your thing. There are still plenty of fun Christmas activities to do in the kitchen. You can make all kinds of gift items in the kitchen without baking. Make chocolate covered pretzel sticks and chocolates. Pair the chocolate treats with homemade hot cocoa mix to give as Christmas gifts.
Christmas Music
Include music in your family holiday traditions. Have fun with your family singing Christmas carols and making your own CD for the holidays. Use the recording of your family singing carols as holiday music every year while you decorate and enjoy Christmas festivities. Get really crafty and dress up the CD cases to look attractive so you can give them as gifts.
Cutting Down The Christmas Tree
A timeless tradition for many families is cutting down the Christmas tree. This activity adds a lot to the Christmas season at home. You can find Christmas tree farms just about everywhere. Ask a local grower's group for tree farm locations near you. The family shows up at the farm where mom or dad grab a saw to cut down the family Christmas tree. Everyone hunts for the perfect tree so mom or dad can cut it down and bring it home. Some farms are large and some are small. You may only need to walk a short distance to find the perfect tree or you may wind up hiking up and down hills before the right tree turns up.
More Than A Christmas Tree
Add dimension and fun to the Christmas tree cutting activity. Include additional family traditions in the day, such as lunch at a special place every year. You can also get Christmas candy to eat in the car on the way home with your tree. Another tradition can be shopping together for new ornaments after you bring the tree home and put it in a bucket of water.
Community Christmas Fun
Traditions are also created when you participate in annual community events. Does your town decorate a Christmas tree every year? Does your neighborhood have a block where all the homes are decorated with hundreds of holiday lights? Drive or walk to local Christmas festivities and make them part of your family traditions every year. Try to walk if the weather permits so you have more time to observe the detailed holiday decorations together.
Christmas Cocoa
For kids and adults alike, hot cocoa is an essential part of the holiday season. Start a family tradition of making hot cocoa mix at the beginning of the season. The children can each have a small cup of cocoa every night before bed during the month of December. As Christmas Day gets closer, add special goodies to the hot cocoa such as whipped cream and mini-marshmallows. Leave a cup of homemade hot cocoa for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Christmas In Every Room
As your children get older, they enjoy decorating their rooms for Christmas. Add holiday cheer to every room when you encourage your children to decorate their own space. Let them do all the decorating themselves then take photos of them in their finished rooms. Look at the photos every year to see how the Christmas decorations in their rooms have progressed.
One last thing -- Imagine the look on your child's face if they received a personalized letter from Santa Claus in the North Pole. You can also include extra goodies with the Santa letter like Reindeer food. It's a gift that makes a strong and lasting impression.
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