Hellobee Boards

We drive to see Christmas lights and go to the botanical garden's Christmas light display the weekend before Christmas. Our other traditions are all pretty standard with presents Christmas morning and seeing family over the holidays.

New PJ’s on Xmas eve (this was my family’s tradition growing up too)

This year we are starting a new tradition “the 1 2books of Christmas”: 12 days leading up to Xmas LO gets to upwrap a new book every day.

Make cookies on xmas eve (or day before, depending on schedules) and set out cookies, carrots and whiskey (thanks, DH) for Santa. LO determined last year we should set out the cookies/carrots next to the Kuerig so Santa can make himself a cup of coffee while he’s there too, so that’s a new tradition lol

My family has a lot of christmas traditions but my favorites include:
My grandfather carves wooden ornaments for us grandkids (and now great grandkids) to paint and every year they are different. I have ornaments dating back to when I was 2
He also decorates cookie sheet size cookies with us, and the rule always was no one can tell you to put less sugar on your cookies (my grandma was actually kicked out of the kitchen when we were little to make sure this was enforced)
a new ornament (other then the hand painted one) each year I now do this for my husband and will be doing it for my daughter
new christmas pjs

@bubblegum: It is awesome and for babies first christmas he holds them in his lap to paint the ornament, I am so excited for my daughter to do that

I love Christmas! This year is going to be especially fun because it’s our LO’s first. Our traditions include:
- ‘Santa day’ in a neighbouring town, the whole town becomes festive and there’s an evening parade with fireworks!
- writing Santa a letter and giving it to him at our local parade/kid party.
- we cut down our own Christmas tree from our property.
- Christmas movies, the musts are Charlie Brown, A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street... plus any other ones we can.
- We get overpriced hot chocolate and look at the Christmas lights.
- Day (or more because of baby) of Christmas baking.
- Hiding the Christmas pickle in the tree.
- Christmas Eve box + reading the night before Christmas.
- Christmas Eve mass.
- Polish Christmas Eve with inlaws.
- Christmas evening with my extended family (obscene amount of traditional food and presents).
- Boxing Day with my parents.
- We’ll be doing cookies and hot chocolate for Santa this year.

DH and I are starting our Christmas traditions from scratch and this is the first year we are staying home and not traveling for Christmas, so we don't have a whole lot yet, but we implemented an Advent calendar this year. We got Ann Voskamp's The Greatest Gift and while our 18 month old is a little too young for it, our 3 year is into it. We will likely keep that as a tradition going forward. Right now we're giving them a small gummy candy afterwards, but eventually I imagine we'll also include their own chocolate calendars.

Someone posted about making a birthday cake for Jesus with their kids and I loved that idea, so I think we'll do that as an activity on Christmas Day to have as dessert after dinner. We are planning on dinner being something the kids can help me make, like a salad and pizza or a ravioli lasagna they can help me layer ingredients on. The hope is that the tradition turns into us all cooking dinner together.

I don't know that we'll do this on Christmas Day, but I think we'll take the boys with us to drop off Christmas goodies to our neighbors so they can start learning the joy of giving.