Little Christmas traditions

[Sleeepdeprived]

What Christmas traditions do you have with your DC? My DC is 2 so wanting to start some Christmas traditions that we’re going to keep for the rest of his childhood.

We’re thinking of making some homemade mince pies and leaving them out for Santa with a glass of milk and some carrots for his reindeer on Christmas Eve, and also sprinkling fake snow around the tree and walking footprints through it leading to the presents.

Just wondering if there are any other lovely little things we can do to help to create the Christmas magic for him.

We always read The Night Before Christmas at bedtime on Christmas Eve.

Although my DC are now hulking great teenagers, they always pile into our bedroom to sit on our bed and open their stockings. Then, their Dad sneaks downstairs "to check Santa's been" (ie switch on the tree and open the blinds) and they have to wait on the stairs until he says it's safe to come down. He always runs back up saying "he's still there!" 😁

I love it!

We also used to read TTNBC as a bedtime story on 24th.

Dd also used to make cookies for her class in Creche (spiced Christmas cookies that were roll and cut shapes type dough) from just before age 1 (when she mixed eggs with a fork and squished some dough in her hands) until about age 4 (when she was very good at measuring and mixing and rolling and cutting herself). We moved on to a "candy canes cookies" recipe in primary. Which was 2 different coloured doughs rolled into sausages and twisted together...much more complicated for little hands. And more time consuming...

We had the Christmas fairy - it was a cloth advent calendar in the shape of a tree and if she was good the Christmas fairy would leave her something nice each day
Sometimes we had to wait for her to come (when I forgot to fill it!)

We always read 'The night before the night before Christmas' on the 23rd Dec and 'The night before Christmas' on Christmas Eve.

DS and I were only talking and laughing about Mr Frumble and ski-pickle-do in the 'The night before the night before Christmas' just the other day and he is now 21 so obviously was memorable . Have fun making Christmas traditions OP 🎅🏻🎄

My granny ( born in 1912) was always allowed to open just one present when they got back from midnight mass on Christmas Eve so opening just one present on Christmas Eve became a family tradition ( midnight mass, not so much). We never did Christmas Eve boxes though.

Don't do the footprints - you will curse yourself every christmas morning when you have to get the hoover out

We've never done Christmas Eve boxes because the elves (not the shelf type, the real North Pole ones) have always left a present containing new pyjamas etc on beds at some point on Christmas Eve.

Santa leaves stockings in bedrooms here so the elves have to check to make sure that bedrooms are tidy enough for him to visit. No one knows exactly when they come to check on Christmas Eve, but we know they've been and are happy once they leave the pyjamas.

We always watch a Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve but I don't reccommend that for a 2 yr old! We'll wait until my youngest is in bed and watch with the older ones this year.

We have to leave a carrot for each reindeer and a jam tart (no one can remember why now) for Rudolph as well as a mince pie for Santa.

Muppets Xmas carol on Xmas eve,
Always a Christmas Eve present, I choose something that will keep them busy to diffuse some of the excited energy!
We open stocking on end of my bed in the morning. That's my son and husbands fave bit.

New pyjamas downstairs from the elves on Christmas Eve with something for hot chocolate. I've done this for years, way before Christmas Eve boxes were a thing. They also get a yard of Jaffa cakes with their Christmas presents.

Mine are all teenagers/almost 20 and I suggested no Jaffa cakes this year and they were furious, so still going ahead. I imagine I'll still be doing it when they're fully grown and married.

This is a new one, but it’s watching Last Christmas. We watched it the other day and I was almost sobbing at the end 😭 And then of course watching Love Actually. It also wouldn’t be Christmas without this god awful decoration on my tree that I made in primary school when I was 5 😆

Christingle service on Christmas eve

@Eminybob I'm in charge of distributing Christingles for my church's 3 services on Christmas Eve. It's the most popular service(s) of the year.
By the time we're finished getting almost 1000 people in and out of church over the afternoon I'm done in.
Our tradition is to phone a takeaway from church at the end of the last Christingle service and pick it up on the way home.

The other one is the Christmas jigsaw which is left with stockings and must be completed before going downstairs on Christmas morning. Keeps the DC from present time until it's a reasonable hour.

New pyjamas- originally they opened them after dinner on Christmas Eve, they once they started going to midnight mass we opened them after church.

A bath by candlelight (always used battery tealights when DD was wee) then into new pyjamas and cuddle up to watch Miracle on 34th Street, I often sit and peel potatoes/prep veg while it's on. We put out a carrot for the reindeer with Father Christmas's mince pie and milk on a little plate we painted when she was 3 and lie under the Christmas tree to look up at the lights twinkling then have a quiet minute thinking about the fun of the next day before bed. And always end by reading Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The new PJs and same old book and film arrive on the doorstep in her Christmas Eve box every year but it's a tradition I remember from being a child rather than a giant box of 'stuff' and she will wear the PJs until the summer. Now she's older we also pop out in our new PJs to deliver local cards and surprise gifts to doorsteps (spreading the magic) but we can get away with that because we're quite rural. Probably look a bit bonkers in a busier place!

I’m so glad I started this thread! So many lovely ideas. I’m going to order The Night Before Christmas right now!

My mum and dad do a Christmas Eve box which will always have PJs in so that’s sorted. Love the idea of a family hot chocolate before bed too. This is going to be so much fun, I can’t wait!

We do too - have done since my DCs were little and the eldest is 16 now!

When i was young we used to have a tree present that was hidden in the tree and we would open in the evening. Usually something fun like a little game.

One of the silly things we do is listen to a "Christmas song" when they open their advent calendars in the morning. Could be a pop song or a carol but I have always liked it as they now know all the songs!

My two get to pick a new decoration for the tree every year

We usually make jam tarts. No idea why but they all like them and we have them Christmas morning. My DC always read the night before Christmas. We open our Christmas pj under the tree and all get in them. We write our letters to Santa and have a family hug and sing jingle bells so Santa can hear us. This gets louder and louder. My DC then usually hear bells ( my DB responsible for this from outside. ) all my DC then go to bed knowing they have to be asleep before he arrives.

Christmas Tradition to dress small greedy rodents up in hats !

No snall rodents were harmed , they were snuggled on a festive fleece . the little hats were balaced , not secured ....and they got tonnes of Christmas vegetablles

The Snowman is watched on Christmas Eve, followed by a family reading of The Night Before Christmas at dcs bedtime. We've done this since our eldest was born and they are now mid-teens.

My DD is 16 month old and last Christmas she was 4 months old and I started a tradition in our home that she will put the Christmas star up on the tree. My husband helped her last year and I took a photo. Same this year. I took a photo.

When she's 18 I will give her an album of the 18 Christmas stars she will have put up on the Christmas tree 🎄

Watch Scrooge, the musical with Albert Finney, Christmas Eve. We have an Advent Calendar with pictures behind the doors and we try to guess what the new picture will be. Used to let them pick a new decoration for the tree, but it's full now.