7 Magical Holiday Traditions to Start With Your Family

Make memories

You don’t need me to tell you that the holidays are an incredibly busy time of year, especially in families with children of preschool age or older. 

Not only do you have your own festive obligations and Christmas shopping to attend to, but you also have your kids’ school holiday shows, teacher gifts and Santa visits. 

But the magical parts, the parts that they’ll remember and perhaps even insist on doing when they become parents years from now, shouldn’t involve so much rushing or busyness. They should instead bundle up as much of the Christmas wonder as you can muster, and allow for a special break from the consumerism and chaos. 

We’ve come up with 7 magical new traditions to start with your family to make this festive season special. Scroll through the arrows above for some inspiration. 

Make your own family chocolate bark

What kid wouldn’t love creating their own candy? 

Melt the chocolate, and set up bowls with some festive sprinkles, pretzels, crushed candy canes, etc. Get more ideas from Dorothy at Crazy for Crust who offers six awesome chocolate bark ideas. Let the kids enjoy some of their homemade bark, and wrap the rest in cellophane bags tied with ribbons to hand out at gifts. You could even create your own family label! 

Sleepover by the Christmas tree

If your family celebrates with a Christmas tree, this can be a super-fun one. Your kids do need to be a certain age, but a sleepover by the Christmas tree can be magical. Once kids reach age 7 or 8, they should be able to handle it this successfully. You can use blow-up mattresses or their own kid-size mattress pulled from their room. Parents can snuggle in with the kids, or claim seniority and stake out the couch. This is one sleepover the kids will likely remember for years. 

Create a holiday playlist

Family traditions that cost very little are so welcome at this time of year. A playlist of holiday favorites is something that you can listen to a thousand times, and will definitely add to the festive cheer. Do you love Pink Martini’s swinging “Ocho Kandelikas” or Aretha’s beautiful “O Christmas Tree? Or how about Vince Guaraldi’s fantastic score to the Charlie Brown Christmas special?

The key to making your playlist special is to include your immediate family’s favorites, and even those of extended family members if you’d like. You can ask family members near and far for their picks and include your own personal favorites as well. 

Get a real Christmas tree from the farm

Sure, you could buy a tree from a local grocery store, or use that fake plastic one stored in the attic, but there really is nothing like picking up your own Christmas tree at the farm. Bundle up warm (wear your flannels), grab a thermos of hot cocoa, and head to the farm to pick out the perfect tree for your family. The time spent together in the great outdoors and the fresh evergreen scent will create lasting memories. 

Give as a family

For kids, the focus at the winter holidays can easily turn to presents and what’s on their own wish list. However, it’s also a great opportunity to remind them about the other wonderful part of the holiday season — giving to others. This includes both giving to family members and to people they don’t know who could use a boost. A lovely family tradition is to have your children help select a few toys and some of their favorite non-perishable foods to donate to a family experiencing food poverty or homelessness. 

For ideas on where to donate locally and what’s needed by charities this year, check out our recent article about giving back.

Make presents for siblings or friends

This tradition takes a little more creative capacity on the part of the parents, but it can really encourage gift-giving. The idea is that your child makes a present for their sibling or friend — something they can play with or use in their daily life. 

First, you have a little brainstorming chat with your child about what their sibling or friend likes or might need. Then, you work out something you can reasonably make together without having to buy up the whole DIY store. Framing it as a secret elf-like mission can encourage initial enthusiasm for the project! 

A project like this hand-painted fabric bag from Buggy and Buddy is a fun and easy idea for young kids. The key is to help build a tradition where each child is actively thinking about others and appreciating the art of giving.

 Editor’s note: This article was originally published in December 2019, and updated in December 2021.