Are you longing to make memories with your family this holiday season? How can you keep it simple and also full of wonder and fun? Jump into any of of these ideas for traditions that will breathe life and joy into the holidays!

I love traditions and I love to come up with new ones for my family! There is just something wonderful about traditions that helps your family to connect on a deeper level. Creating special times with your children is intentional parenting at its best.

I have such wonderful memories of growing up and having traditions in my life, especially around the holiday time. My mom was great at making memories with us and making the holidays special and I want to continue this in my own family.

I know you can be bombarded with Christmas ideas and it easy for guilt to set in. You don't have to do everything, just pick one or two traditions this year you would like to do as a family.

Here are 10 Timeless Family Christmas Traditions to get you started:

1. Cut down your own Christmas tree – take your family to a Christmas Tree Farm that allows you to cut one down and take it home. If you think cutting it down is too much, go to a garden center or place that sells them already cut, it is still great fun to pick out your own tree!

2 Have a set of great Christmas books out for reading – we love to put ours under the tree at the beginning of December before we use the tree for presents. Let the kids pick a different book each night to read aloud as a family.

3. Celebrate Advent- Jesus is the reason for Christmas for us. There are so many ways to celebrate Advent. Use this time to create a tradition that goes along with your faith. Maybe it’s a advent tree, a Christmas Mass, or just serving your community!

4. Have a Christmas Movie Family Night- Make hot cocoa, popcorn, and get cozy under the blankets. Pick out your favorite Christmas movies and have a Christmas marathon. Polar Express and The Muppets Christmas Carol are two of our favorites!

5. Drive Around to Look at Christmas Lights- We love this tradition! Make a thermos of hot chocolate (don’t forget the cups) and print out a scavenger hunt (many on pinterest) that will give your children certain things to look for as you drive around. Don’t forget the Christmas music!

6. Have a Wrapping Party – Have some friends over and everyone wrap presents together, this helps you get a lot of wrapping done while having a great time together!

7. Cartoon Party – We have a big party every year where we invite friends/cousins over and have a cartoon party, we call it Cartoonfest. We watch our favorite classic Christmas cartoons, have tons of food, and everyone spends the night. It is so much fun and everyone looks forward to it every year!

8. Baking night -Have special nights where you bake your favorite Christmas cookies or decorate a gingerbread house. You can now get kits that come with everything you need, makes it easy to create the memory.

9. Community Events- Go to a community event that they have every year. We live near Cincinnati and they always have a big train display we go to at the Museum Center. Find something to do every year in your area!

10. Serve others- Start a tradition where you teach your family to serve others. Serve in a soup kitchen, donate toys to a family that needs it or a charity, have your children bless an older person that may be alone on the holidays. There are so many ways you can serve.

I hope this gives you some great ideas for starting new traditions with your family this Christmas.

Blessings,

Angela, Together with Family