Our New Christmas Traditions

Christmas is by far my favorite season of all. It has everything I love all filled into one moment and it always makes me happy.

I love that I am able to share the joy and love of Christmas with my family and start new traditions of our own. This year I am especially excited to teach my girls the true meaning of Christmas and share with them ways we can live like Jesus.

Last year around this time I was pregnant with Hanna and didn’t really seem to have much energy to do anything, this year I’m trying to get all the things done and bring all the feelings into our home. Some days are more hectic than others, but I think we’ve found a great balance with these new traditions, and have really come to have them be a part of our days.

If you are interested in finding new ways to have your home be Christ-centered this time of year you’ll want to see what we have been up to.

A Christ-centered Christmas Calendar: The first new Christ-centered Christmas traditions that I’ve started is the Advent calendar, or what I have been calling it, the Christmas calendar. In the Christmas calendar, I have written and typed out different simple activities for us to do each day in the month of December. I cut them out, folded them up, and placed them in our Christmas calendar with a few chocolates for Hazel in each box.

Here is a list of the different ideas that I use for our Christmas calendar:

Family Christmas Party

Decorate Christmas pillowcases and listen to Christmas music.

Watch Christmas devotional

Homemade cards for grandparents

Secret Santa someone

Wish cousins a Merry Christmas

Candy Cane Hunt

Watch Home Alone

Game night while listening to Christmas music

Bake Christmas treats and give them to neighbors

Christmas books by the Christmas tree

Dance around the Christmas tree

Go see Glendale Glitters

Drive and see Christmas Lights with hot chocolate

Do a Christmas craft

Make gingerbread houses

Make paper snowflakes

Read Luke 2

Write letters to Santa

Eat Peppermint Ice Cream

Visit the Nativity at the Temple and see the Temple lights

Wear a Santa hat

Watch The Nativity

Go to The Polar Express

Play in the Snow

Make fancy hot chocolate and watch Polar Express

Look Through magazines for favorite toys

Have a snowball fight

Bake Christmas cookies and decorate them

Walk around a store wishing everyone a Merry Christmas

Paint Fingernails Christmas Colors

Walk around your neighborhood looking at Chrismas lights and vote for the best one

Send Christmas cards to family far away

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25 Days of Christ: The next tradition that I’ve started this year is the 25 Days of Christ. This tradition is specifically helping me teach the girls the true meaning of Christmas and focusing on Jesus -which is huge for me. If you are interested in checking out the 25 Days of Christ you can head to their website, or you can even create it all yourself, it doesn’t have to be extravagant. It’s a tradition that had become our Christmas devotional, each night we read the assigned scripture about Jesus, His life when He was born, as a child, and as a man. It’s been a great tool to teach our girls about His live.

The Giving Manger: The final tradition that I have started this year is called the Giving Manger. When I was younger my mom had something similar in our home and I am excited to start this one with my girls. The Giving Manger comes with a book that teaches that Christmas is the season of giving and of service, it comes with a wooden manger, hay, and a baby Jesus figure. Each time your child serves they get to put a piece of hay in the manger, the goal is to put as much hay in the manger by Christmas Eve as you can. This has become a fun one in our home. “Mom, I just did service, so now I get to put hay in the manger!!!”

I really love the idea of turning our hearts to Christ, especially during the Christmas season when that’s the real reason for the season. I love being able to share my testimony of the Savior, His life, the service He gave to all, and a wonderful example that He was. I hope you are able to enjoy this Christmas season and teach your children the real meaning as well.