I think my favorite thing about Christmas is my husband and my traditions. We have many fun celebrations that we do every year, and we are always open for new ideas. I thought I would share with you our traditions and maybe you will share with me yours. We can swap ideas!

Activity Advent

Everyone is familiar with Advent Calendars. One year I bought a wooden Christmas Tree Advent Calendar with 25 tiny drawers. I painted it and decorated each of the drawers.

This is where we put our Advent Activities that I shared in the October Checklist Post. This is a cherished tradition of ours. I would be honored if it became one of yours too.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Every year we host Christmas Eve dinner for the family. And every year we have a theme; often it is a country. We research holiday traditions and dishes. Sometimes we do traditional foods for the holidays and sometimes we do traditional foods with a holiday spin. We also have a themed cocktail, table decorations, and dessert. Some of our themes have been:

• Chinese Take-Out Style (Christmas Story Theme)
• Mexico (traditional dishes served at Christmas)
• Victorian (Traditional English Christmas)
• Italian (Feast of the seven fishes)
• Epcot, Holiday’s around the world
• Japanese traditional Christmas meal (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
• Peruvian
• Cuban

Little Tree Presents

This tradition was started by my husband’s parents. Starting seven days before Christmas, they come together each evening and open a “Little Tree Present”. These gifts are small trinkets and are usually Christmas themed. This way the person can enjoy the item while celebrating Christmas. Examples are Christmas socks, mug, pin or earrings, spatula, etc. You get the idea. When my husband and his brother were young, they would get candy or little toys or games.

One moment of everyone tearing open gifts and then it is done always feels like a letdown. This tradition allows you to extend the gift giving and the holiday fun. If you have small children, they also get to open gifts earlier and they are from you and not Santa. It is also a time for the family to come together each night prior to Christmas, slow down, and enjoy the moment, which is what my goal is in all my traditions.

Other Traditions

We love to fully enjoy the holidays, and we want to do everything, so we have a bunch of Activities, besides the Advent Activities, that we do every year:

• Picture with Santa
• Decorate the Tree Together
• Fancy Dinner Date on 12/23
• Listen/Read Christmas Carol
• Bake Christmas Cookies
• Local Christmas Light Drive
• Handmade Cards
• Handmade Package Toppers
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

I want to add a new one this year: Make Eggnog from Scratch.

I would really love to hear your traditions. Please comment and share!