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.

Was always watch Arthur Christmas on Xmas eve and have a buffet.
He has a Xmas eve box with new pjs, hot choc sachet and same The night before Xmas book and stocking in the box. He’s 17 and will still want it this year.

We read my childhood copy of The Night before Christmas before bed. Elf leaves a Christmas Eve box with the Christmas pjs and a couple of little treats for the day (selection box, hot choc) and we have a long walk in the park to tire everyone out and hopefully ensure an early night.

We put wrapping paper over the door to the living room so he has to burst through the paper and also fill the living room floor with balloons. It makes it more exciting as he's an only.

Us to

we also do a conga line through the whole house singing jingle bells. Every room has to be jingle belled. God knows how this started, it’s from when I was a kid, or maybe when my mum was.

The best thing with kids and Fr Christmas I think, is to find the closest thing you have to sleigh bells, and have one of you shake them outside the kids’ window while the other is putting them to bed. Hearing the sleight coming is VERY exciting, and has the side benefit of getting them into bed quickly.

TOO

@Sleeepdeprived thank you so much for stating this thread! It was our first Christmas in our house last year and my grandma bought us The Night Before Christmas book. We also didn't know it until 29th but I was also pregnant with our first (who is currently having a nap on me right now).

Plan for tonight is to read the book to her and she has a Christmas Eve baby grow and a Christmas Day baby grow. She has also done the star on the main tree and will do that each year too like PP, and we bought her a separate tree that DH and I will get her a decoration for each year so she'll have memories of each year. We took her to make a hand print/foot print bauble so will make one each year with her too. What will be her bedroom has a landing going towards it so when she's bigger we're Father Christmas and the elves are going to make that all Christmassy after she's gone to bed on Christmas Eve.

I'm torn with being so impatient to start baking/painting etc traditions but also not wanting her to grow up because her first few months have flown by! I hope you have a fantastic Christmas 🎄 X

My parents always kept a present for the table for after dinner, and I’ve carried on this tradition with my own kids, they’re now adults and also do this with their children. It keeps a bit of the excitement as they all know they have another gift still to come after they’ve opened everything else that morning.
Many of my friends now also do this since they’ve witnessed it at my house, and if we have friends here for Christmas dinner we also have a wee present for them too so everyone round the table gets an extra gift.

We buy a new bauble/let them choose one each year and put them in a box each. Then when they move out they can take their box. It's lovely as the eldest has picked ones that reflect what he's interested in so a bit of a time capsule.

Starting this year we are baking biscuits to leave for santa.

Happy Christmas eve! We have our own DC now so have started a few traditions but ones from my childhood were having lots of pictures for Christmas I had made at nursery or school up on the walls. We also used to go every Xmas eve to an outside carol service at a local village by us, whatever the weather rain, snow etc and take lanterns, it was beautiful. We also used to leave out a mice pie and brandy for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. We used to always read the night before Xmas on Xmas eve when I was in bed. I always opened my Santa sack which was left in my bedroom first usually in mum and dad's room or mine with my parents. I used to love a pair of new pyjamas every Xmas morning. Dad used to always go downstairs first too to put on the Xmas tree lights and start the music and usually get the video camera ready to capture some of the special moments. Most of the day was opening presents as a child so I feel very lucky! We used to always have my nan and grandad over either Xmas eve or Xmas day and enjoy dinner with them. I would usually be with them whilst mum and dad sorted dinner. We always had table presents too which were a fun little thing to do. After dinner we would all go into the living room and watch Xmas TV, usually ruled by my nan and grandad but they would fall asleep regardless so I would try and sneak the remote to watch something I wanted haha. Then mum and dad would come in to after clearing away dinner and we would all watch something else together and I would play with toys etc too. Then after a lovely but busy day we all couldn't wait for boxing day in our PJ's playing with toys and watching films and of course the buffet!
Now we have our own DC we still do some of these things ourselves but we started elf on the shelf this year and they're old enough to understand. We also do a Xmas eve box with PJ's, hot choc, a game etc. We have just moved house and now live by my parents so we are starting a tradition of going to see the local pantomime on Xmas eve. We also will prep the veg for the big day when the little one is in bed. We have made the mistake previously of leaving wrapping too late and building kids toys til all hours, but this year that hopefully won't happen as we are pretty much wrapped wahoo!
We are also hoping after the panto to do a drive round of the local lights people have up. We started this a couple of years ago but last year threw a lot at us and so this year we want to make sure we can do all these lovely things together as a family. We are putting a sack of smaller toys from Santa in LOs room but then he will have toys from us and rest of the family to come down to downstairs. We will spend the morning juggling dinner and present opening then all sit down together for lunch. Again we are spending Xmas day with my parents as we live close now, so my mum is planning to prep a few bits and bring them over as well as table presents. Then I think we will all relax watching Xmas TV or playing with LOs toys. Then again boxing day buffet and pj day 💖 x

Christmas pjs, hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows all huddled together on the sofa watching polar express. My kids are 4,7 & 10 and they have all been looking forward to this tradition for weeks. We have a Christmas plate that I made and personalised and they leave it with treats by the tree. Now I've just got to get through food shopping and I can relax with a bailey's.

Slightly different kind of Christmas tradition but we visit the graveyard and light candles at the marker for those buried elsewhere to remember loved ones who are no longer with us. A moment of quiet reflection and solemnity as a pause from the excitement of presents and food.

Not a Christmas eve tradition as such, but every year my kids chose a bauble of their own. They all go on the tree but are put away separately so when they leave home they will have baubles with memories to take with them.

Watching the Snowman,and father Christmas. Currently watching father Christmas with my grandson. We're planning on making mince pies with my 5year old DGS. Even a 2 year old can help roll out the pastry .

Traditions tend to happen, if you try too hard the they don't always gel .

These personalised PNP videos are fab, really high quality, and kept my child believing a little longer. He's 12 now and still snuggles up to watch his message from santa on Christmas Eve, he'd be gutted if I didn't do one.

He's also quite an anxious child so going to bed knowing he was on the nice list (I've never used being on the naughty list as a threat) made it easier for him to sleep on Christmas Eve.

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ugroupmedia.pnp14

We play a different board game under the tree every night the tree is up - it always includes the original animal bingo game we started the tradition with when DC1 was a toddler.

We used to do this ..although their stocking in bedroom was an actually sock
Father Christmas leaves presents in a pillow case with their name on by the tree.
Gifts from us are wrapped in different paper under the tree and don't get put under there until children are in bed.
Magical
They are both married now ....sigh although Father Christmas stills comes !!

New bed made then,

Christmas Eve presents pyjamas or onesie, slipper coke, bath bomb and little something in the afternoon ready for Christmas. This year they've got activity books and a hottie toy to replace their hot water bottles after all the warnings that came out. Though normally it would be one thing.

Then watch Muppets Christmas Carol with picky party tea.

Always read TNBC on Christmas Eve every year from child to parent and Spot's First Christmas, another childhood fave I've loved passing on.

At some point we do a game too and lots of Christmas music too.

Peel the carrots, leave out a mince pie & hang the stockings!

This! I love it too 🥰

Since me and my brother were little ,we slept in the same bed Xmas eve and our parents would come in and we would all sing jingle bells at the top of our lungs so that santa could hear us and know where to come and i still do this with our two girls now too every year

We make a gingerbread house every year.