I am all about family traditions.  I know the things I remember fondly from my childhood are the family traditions that we did over and over, usually tied to the holidays.

So, one of my main goals as a mama is to give my kids lots of family traditions from which to build those special memories.  A few weeks ago we shared some creative ideas for Thanksgiving traditions “from the mouths of moms.”

ow, let’s see what our best mama blogger friends have up there sleeve for creative family Christmas traditions…

Family Christmas Traditions

1. Open Stockings First
“Opening stockings. We always do that first.” Jennifer from The Good Long Road

2. Christmas Lights Drive
“We love driving around looking at Christmas lights. We get to stay nice and warm in the car and have some great family time together.” Amanda from Dirt & Boogers

3. Christmas Lights Trail
“We go to a trail of lights each year to view the Christmas lights display. This post is about a scavenger hunt which isn’t yet a tradition but it shows the lights.” Rebekah from The Golden Gleam

4. Elf on the Shelf
“We have lots of fun with our Elf [on the Shelf].” Laura from Play Dr. Mom

5. Christmas Eve Elf Visit
“Santa’s elves visit our house every year on Christmas eve (usually while we’ve been celebrating with the grandparents’ all afternoon) and leave Christmas pajamas under the tree, special Christmas ornaments to put on the tree, and Christmas books to read before bed. They also report back to Santa whether we are all cleaned up and ready for Christmas.” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama

6. Annual Christmas Ornament
“I always buy Goblin and Hublet a new Christmas tree decoration each year. When Goblin is old I want him to look at the tree and see the really old ones from when he was a baby.” The Monko from Taming the Goblin

7. Christmas Songs
“We sing lots of holiday songs. Starting around the end of November we listen and re-learn all the words to our favorite songs.” Ariadne from Positive Parenting Connection

8. A Tree Decorating Party
“We get in the spirit bu drinking hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music while we decorate the tree.  Then we finish off the night with some Christmas movies.” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama

9. Handmade Christmas Ornaments
“Each year I make my girls a new Christmas tree ornament. I love seeing their little faces when they see what I have created especially for them.” Jennifer from Kitchen Counter Chronicles

10. A Birthday Cake for Jesus
“We have a few traditions at our house we have done for several years. The shepherds move toward the creche a little each day, Jesus gets a birthday cake at Christmas dinner, and we make ornaments.” Deirdre from JDaniel4’s Mom

11. A Letter to Your Child
“For my daughter’s first Christmas, my husband and I decided we would start a new tradition. We decided that we would individually write a letter to her each year on Christmas, save them all, and then give them to her when she turned 18.” Brittany from Love, Play, Learn

12. Christmas Movies
“We didn’t watch regular television – just videos and figure skating events, so it was a special time at Christmas to watch many Christmas movie videos in the evenings from Thanksgiving through Christmas. We also went to see Christmas movies at the local theater.” Deb from Living Montessori Now

13. Gingerbread House Decorating
“[We make] Gingerbread Houses!” Kristen from Busy Kids = Happy Mom

14. Goodies for Service Workers
“[We bake] goodies for the firemen and delivering them on Christmas Eve.” Valerie from Glittering Muffins

15. 3 Symbolic Gifts
“Each of the kids only gets 3 gifts to symbolize the 3 gifts from the wise men to the Christ child.” Becky from The Reading Mama

16. Kids Exchange Gifts
“My boys give gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. We started the tradition when we had just two boys, and now that we have four, it’s even more fun!” Sarah from Frugal Fun 4 Boys

17. A Kid-Decorate Kids’ Tree
“We purchase a tree just for the kids and then the kids make all the decorations.” Kristin from Toddler Approved

18. Magic Reindeer Food
“We like to make ‘Magic Reindeer Food’ that we sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve.” Brittany from Love, Play, Learn

19. Cookies for Breakfast
“[We have] cookies for breakfast on Christmas day!!!” Melissa from Mama Miss

20. A Gold Coin Trail
“Santa leave gold coins in a trail on the stairs leading to the presents.” Rebecca from Here Come the Girls

21. Kid Made Ornaments for Grandma
“The kids make Christmas ornaments each year as gifts for their grandparents.” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama

22. An Activity Advent Calendar
“We use a drawer advent calendar 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.” Beth from Living Life Intentionally

23. A Family Puzzle
“Each year I make a collage of my favorite pictures from the previous year [and make a puzzle out of it.] The puzzle is a fun way to help the kids remember all the fun we have together! They get the puzzle as one of the activities in our advent drawers.” Beth from Living Life Intentionally

24. A Christmas Book A Day
“[We] wrap up 25 children’s Christmas books and unwrap one a night and read it together as a family.” Susan from Kindergarten and Preschool for Parents and Teachers

25. Piano Playing
“Christmas Eve we dust off the piano and I’m “made” to play christmas songs that I learned as a child for everyone to sing along to it really sets the mood each year that Christmas is finally here.” Cerys from Rainy Day Mum

26. Bake Advent Cookies
“In Austria, it is a tradition to bake 8 or different Christmas cookies in the run-up to and during Advent. I like to make up small bags full of different cookies and give them as gifts to neighbors, friends, and family!” Maggy from Life at the Zoo

27. Christmas Eve Smores
“Funny tradition this one – We always have company on Christmas Eve and one of our rituals is starting the fireplace for s’mores. As fun as it sounds, it always gets the kids worked up; why? Now how is Santa gonna come??” Deepa from Blog Me Mom

28. Celebrate Christmas Until Three Kings Day
“Continuing the Christmas celebration through out January 6. Though it’s not a holiday here, we keep up all of our Christmas decorations, tree, and of course, a small display of the stable with three king figurines until January 6. Christmas in our home goes on until Three Kings Day!” Frances from Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes

29. A Handprint Christmas Tablecloth
“Each year the children in our family add a hand print to our family Christmas table cloth. It is so neat to see how much they grow from year to year. The table cloth makes a great gift for a grandma who “has it all.” Check out the DIY tutorial and get a cute printable to give with your gift here.” Zina from Let’s Lasso the Moon

30. Christmas Pajamas
“Every member of the family gets new Christmas pajamas each Christmas.  This year we plan to start the tradition of wearing them to our family’s Christmas party on Christmas Eve.” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama

More Family Christmas Traditions and Fun:

• A Super Fun Family Game Night – Made Easy!
• 10 Meaningful Holiday Family Traditions to Give Back
• Homemade Christmas Ornaments using Salt Dough
• Winter Family Traditions – From the Mouths of Moms