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.

This is the cutest thing I’ve seen on Mumsnet 😍

I’m loving all these little traditions! My DS is just a baby, but I’m filing these away for years to come! Glad I found this thread ☺️

Two little but effective things, and we managed to keep them up - I've bought DS (now 18) a new tree decoration very year, so that he now has his own set.
And 'Santa' puts the chocolate decorations (from M and S or Sainsburys) on the tree when he comes on Christmas eve, so they're there on Christmas morning...

Growing up, we had some little traditions that I'm carrying on!

On Christmas Eve, my parents would do all of the cooking ready for Christmas Day, so whilst the oven was on and they were already cooking, they'd do us a small buffet so that we could have a picky dinner through the excitement 🙈 once it gets dark outside, we would put Xmas films/Xmas specials on, with tubs of chocolate and cheese/crackers whilst we all snuggled up on the sofa,
Before bed we would put milk, a minced pie and a carrot out for Father Christmas and his reindeer - my dad would read 'Twas the night before Christmas' to us (he actually knew it all without having to read it lol), then we would try to sleep lol. Very simple but I adored it throughout my childhood (and now adulthood!)

On Christmas Day we would get up and have breakfast (usually bacon/sausage butties my dad had cooked!) then we would open presents together, then every Christmas my nana would come to our house for lunchtime, we would show her our presents and then we would have an early Christmas dinner. Again very simple but the same routine every year and I loved it xx

We always read A Christmas Carol - one chapter a night, starting on the 21st (two on Christmas Eve as the last one is so short and the one before is too bleak to leave it there). We have a lazy afternoon of games and movies with loads of snacks on Christmas Eve, once all the prep is done in the morning. We go to the same place to collect holly and ivy to decorate the house every year. Always a book in the top of the stocking which they’re allowed to open early and read if they wake up. No milk for Father Christmas though - why would he want to drink milk?! In our house he gets a glass of brandy and a mince pie (not homemade!) We always make a gingerbread house and stick sweets (DS) and chocolate (DD) all over it. They have reusable advent calendars that you can put sweets/chocolates but I always get them traditional picture ones too. That’s all they used to have until they realised their pals were getting sweets everyday and demanded more! I love Christmas!

We watch polar express on Christmas Eve before putting the treats out for Santa and the reindeer. We also sprinkle the pats outside and hang out santas key. My children are 21, 17 and 12 and absolutely will not give up these traditions

My daughters and I watch Box of Delights every year, starting on 19 Dec, one episode each evening finishing Christmas Eve as that's when the story ends.

Oh! That reminds me! We're going to stay with family this year and I need to pack it 😆

DD is only 1 so we're still getting started but this is what I was thinking (as it's what I remember and loved from my childhood) we read the night before xmas, and leave out a mince pie and beer for Santa on xmas eve. Then, xmas stockings from Santa are opened in our bed before going downstairs for presents and breakfast.

We start the day by toasting crumpets on the wood burner (so much tastier than in the toaster). During the day we make the Christmas gravy and mince pies while listening to Carols at Kings.

We always have fish and chips and bubbles for Christmas Eve dinner, change into new PJ's, watch the Snowman and drink hot chocolate. We then leave out one of the home made mince pies for Santa.

Stockings are all hung in our bedroom as DS couldn't bare the thought of Santa going into his bedroom when he was little, we open them on our bed in the morning,

I love Christmas Eve. Its one of my favourite days of the festive season.

For those doing stockings on beds…a tip.
Buy 2 identical and have one ready stuffed. On your way to bed swop them.

DD and I kick off the Christmas season - can be anytime after Halloween - by watching the Salt Lake City Tabernacle choir singing Carol of the Bells on youtube. We've done this for the last few years, so I guess it can count as a tradition. It signals the start of Christmas for us.

We also make a list of all the Christmas movies we want to watch and spend a while picking the first one and make a really lovely evening of it. This year the Lindsay Lohan one, Falling for Christmas, was the first one. DH and DS are only allowed to watch if they embrace the spirit of it. No sarky comments are allowed however corny it might be.

@Cinders15 we had the advent fairy! She left chocolate coins in the advent calendar. I've not done the calendar the last couple of years. My dad died before Christmas in 2020 and I just didn't have the heart for anything Christmassy and I just let that tradition drop. Next year...

We have more xmas eve traditions than xmas day ones! We prep food (dd1 does pigs in blankets, dd2 does stuffing, dd3 is only 2 so doesn’t have a job yet, maybe this year I’ll have to find her one!). Then we take a Xmas eve box round to my mum and dad who live down the road (they put it on the door step and knock and run!), when we get home their own Xmas eve box has arrived on the patio. Whilst they are opening it and putting their pjs on I make the puff pastry chocolate Xmas tree and some cheese fondue which they eat whilst watching the snowman.
then they go to bed and we spend hours trying to put up something that’s missing a bit or has no instructions!

on Boxing Day dd1 loves a leftovers buffet so we always do that padded out with some other buffet food and that’s also when we crack out the yule log!

Ikea gingerbread house
General baking mince pies with chri stmas music full blast
Fairy lights round their door
Watching the must have movies of course.
More pyjamas days.and new pyjamas. not the matchie matchie Instagram set up 😩but it's just a thing to get some nice new pjs every year.
Carols on the piano.
Tinsel round bed head
New jelly cat cuddly to snuggle with chri stmas eve which makes sleeping easier!
Red wellies stuck out the chimney
A photo in the same place.a normal and a fave pulling one.all in an album which is hilarious 18 years later.

My children pick out a new decoration for the tree every year

These are all amazing. I’m so excited to start our own family traditions - I never had any of this when I was a child and now I’m really feeling as though I missed out 😂😂 I’ve never even watched a Christmas movie! What’s the best one to start with?

Scrooge, with Albert Finney, some cracking tunes but check not too scary for the little ones. Closely followed by The Muppet's Christmas Carol, ditto.

The Flight Before Christmas is a great one if your DC is very little. As is Miracle on 34th Street & Nativity (all of them!)

If they're a little older, then Home Alone (& sequels are all great) as is Elf Christmas Chronicles & Arthur Christmas.

Older again and Die Hard is fab! We watch all of these every Christmas plus I watch Love Actually and It's A Wonderful Life myself (as the kids now refuse!).

The holiday.
Love actually
Shrek
A Disney one
Sound of music
Calendar girls
Ben hu r
Toy story
Die hard
The proposal
Muppet Christmas carol
Random but these are our must watch over the festive season

I read my Mums copy of A Childs Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. It’s fabulous and makes me laugh every time

We used to do a 'Christmas tree walk', a wanderaround the local estates to look at all the decorations and on the way home we d sometimes spot Santas sleigh weigh up in the sky (theres a satellite or station that conveniently tends to be in the sky as a v bright moving light at just about the right time in the evening) so then its a gallop home to get everything ready for santa and go to bed.

On Christmas Eve just before bed the elves leave some new pjs with a letter telling the kids if they are on the nice list. The letter lists all the reasons why they're on the nice list with all their achievements in the last 12 months.

I started it when they were really little with things like tidying up and having good manors and doing well in sports days etc.

I have a 13 & 16 year old now and still do it!

Not always on Christmas Eve, usually a day or two before, but our very environmentally-unfriendly tradition is getting into the car and driving all round town and neighbouring villages to spot all the Christmas lights. The bigger and tackier the better. It started as a way to kill time when my daughter was very small and arsey and she's now 8 and I suspect we'll still be doing it when she's 18, she absolutely loves it.

We had Christingle a couple of weeks ago in my church.
We always have had a crib service on Christmas Eve ( from me being little) at 4pm.
As a childrens lay minister the last five years I’ve taken this service, but when I was younger we would then come home to a casserole and angel delight ( properly cos it was easy prep for mum). I also started this but my 8 year old isn’t keen on casserole so it’s now changed to pizza and ice cream! I phone DH when we leave church (20 minutes walk, we always walk unless very bad weather) and he gets the oven warmed up, gets me a baileys and mince pie ready.
After food it’s a bath and pjs on for son. New tradition started in Covid that he would choose a Christmas bath bomb. DH then reads the night before Christmas ( every year from being born)

Other traditions in our family include youngest child puts the star on the top of the tree, watching a Christmas film with snacks the Saturday before Christmas Eve and a calm hour the day before Christmas Eve ( candles and fairy lights with a story, any story will do or a jigsaw puzzle or colouring)

A fairy doll on the tree and every night the fairy would fly off the tree and hide somewhere in the room and in the morning the children would have to find her and place her back on it.

We read twas the night before Christmas on Christmas Eve before bed.
We all have new pjs, this is carried on from my childhood.
We put out Santa cookies (cranberry & white chocolate) & a glass of whiskey for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. The kids also sprinkle reindeer dust on the front lawn.
My dcs are now 16 & 12 and we still do the above.