I love unforgettable Christmas traditions for kids. I don’t know if it’s because of the few I had when I was growing up, or the ones I wished I had. Either way I want to make sure they happen in our home.
Visit With Santa and Mrs. Claus In Person
This is a “no brainer” for anyone who celebrates Christmas. I remember one year Santa Claus coming our house on Christmas Eve when I was about 5 years old. He brought me one Christmas Eve present and I can remember the excitement I felt.
This only happened once for me so it was by no means a tradition. But it definitely was a tradition that I wish I had.
My husband and I were able to do this for our kids once. Now in the age of sexual equality the woman behind the man (Mrs. Claus) comes along with Santa.
Having Santa and Mrs. Claus come on Christmas Eve is a hard tradition to keep up year after year. Unless of course you have awesome “neighbors.” Or you can hire him directly from his website Santa for Hire.
Of course there are many, many, many different places you can go to see him and his Mrs. to continually keep this unforgettable Christmas tradition for kids
I believe he can still be found in every single mall in the United States in the month of December. But what I can’t still figure out is how he’s in so many different places at once.
Thank goodness he’s not just in malls anymore. We see him every year at our local chocolatier.
Santa’s Customized Videos
If you don’t want to see him in person, he now also sends video’s to children and adults via his Portable North Pole. These videos are my favorite Christmas traditions for kids.
This paid service allows you to send videos from Santa that let your children know where they stand on the nice/naughty list.
Are they on Santa’s Nice, Naughty or in the middle lists? If they’re not on the nice list yet Santa will let them know why, and how to get on it.
Not into videos? Then he can also call them on the phone.
If you have more than one child you probably want them to watch the videos separately because they might look a little too similar.
Santa will also check in with your child on his or her birthday.
We’ve been doing this for the past 5 years and will keep doing as long as “applicable.” It does take some work on your end, but so worth the memories it makes.
They’ve recently added a recorder that records your child’s reaction. I can’t wait to share them with my friends and family.
This is my favorite Christmas tradition for kids and they really look forward to it each year.
The ELF on a SHELF®
Did you ever wonder how Santa knew whether you were bad or good? How he knew whether to put you on the Naughty or Nice List? I don’t know how he knew back then, but I know now that he does it with the help of the ELF on a SHELF®.
You have to the elf and he comes with a book which also doubles as an instruction manual.
First thing you have to do is read the book, which tells you to name him. Then you put him somewhere in your house and after “everyone” goes to sleep he goes to the North Pole and checks in with Santa and tells him how the children have been behaving.
Then the next morning he comes back before “everyone” wakes up. But not in the same place he was when you went to sleep.
The fun part is finding the elf the following day. In our house he’s been found in all kinds of places from the bathtub to the refrigerator.
This is my second favorite Christmas tradition for kids.
Advent Calendar
Chocolate
You may not know what it’s called, but you’ve probably seen them in stores. It’s a 3-dimensional calendar that allows you to count down the days until Christmas. This in an unforgettable Christmas tradition for kids.
The traditional Advent calendar begins on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and continues through four Sundays, ending on December 24.
You open one “door” each day and behind each one is a small chocolate in a Christmas related wrapper or shape.
Christmas Books
Most adults will probably agree that Holidays bring with them too much candy. So why not replace the chocolate with Christmas books?
This will take a little more time than buying a Chocolate Calendar, but it’s a lot healthier. You can do it for the cost of wrapping paper if you get the books from the public library.
Wrap enough Christmas books for every day of the Advent. Tag each book with the days of the month. Be as creative as you want by printing out festive tags or not so creative and write the number directly on the wrapping paper.
Each day before Christmas open one book and read it with your kids at bedtime. This is one of the few Christmas traditions for kids that’s healthy.
Christmas Karaoke
When you watch old Christmas movies you’ll often see the family sitting around the piano singing Christmas songs. While this makes a great picture for your Christmas cards, you may not have someone who plays or you may want more variety.
Jump to modern day……………..open YouTube on your TV (or computer if you can’t do it on your TV). Search for Christmas Karaoke songs, plug in a microphone (or not) an sing your hearts out.
If you’re self conscious about your singing you can find videos that not only have the words but also have the vocals.
Just search for Christmas Karaoke in your favorite web browser. Add a preceding adjective such as classic, country or rock and roll to narrow your search. But watch out for lyrics that may not be traditional and my not be acceptable for young kids.
This is one of my new unforgettable Christmas traditions for our kids.
Donate To a Local Charity
It’s so easy getting caught up in the excitement of giving experiences and gifts to you family that we sometimes need to be reminded of those who are less fortunate and need our help.
Teaching our children to help others is one of the greatest Christmas traditions to give to your kids. It also helps you raise grateful, thankful and appreciative kids.
There are so many great organizations that you can donate toys, food, money and clothing to. Here are a few:
Christmas Movies
It’s not Christmas in our house until we’ve watched certain movies. I keep a list of the movies I want them to see so I don’t forget to watch them.
When I was a kid we had to look at the TV Guide or in the Newspaper to know when our favorite Christmas movies were coming on. If you missed it, you missed it so you had to plan it out. Nowadays most of us just have to ask our TV remotes.
Kids don’t know how good they have it. Don’t let ’em forget it Mom and Dad!
The challenge is that as every year goes by our kids don’t want to watch some of what I consider classic movies because that they consider them “baby movies.”
Here are a few of my favorites.
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town
Classic! This is my all time favorite, even though it may be a “baby movie” to my kids. I want them to remember the songs that were so much a part of my Christmas memories.
For those of you who know this movies, I’ve got to ask, is “one foot in front of the other” stuck in your head now?
For those of you who don’t know it, it stars Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney and some great songs.
Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer
Another classic very much along the same lines as Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town, even though this came out six years earlier.
The Island of Misfit Toys is my favorite part. And I’ve used this term in many scenarios throughout my adult life.
Unfortunately this is another one of those “baby movies” in our house.
Frosty The Snowman
This is the last “baby movie” I’ll mention, but I can’t leave this classic out. It stars Jimmy Durante as the Narrator.
It’s a regular carton aligned with the classic “Frosty the Snowman” song.
The Santa Clause (1,2 and 3)
The Santa Clause movies are considered appropriate for “big” kids in my house. In these movies it starts with Tim Allen’s character killing Santa Claus. He is then transported to the North Pole where it’s explained to him that he needs to take Santa’s place before Christmas arrives.
With Tim Allen as the star you know it’s a great funny film.
A Christmas Story
It’s hard to miss this movie on TV during the holidays. It’s on all the time. It’s literally on all day Christmas day on TBS.
My kids love this “big kid” movie about a boy named Ralphie who dreams of his ideal Christmas while living the realistic one with his crazy family in the 1940’s.
My kids also like Ralphie’s ideal Christmas present which is a BB gun that his dad wants to get him. Everyone tells him “you’re gonna shoot your eye out kid.” Which would totally be my concern.
The Polar Express
This wasn’t around when I was growing up, but I love reading the book and watching the movie during Christmas time with my kids and hot chocolate.
The movie is based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. This is great for kids that may be in the phase of starting to doubt Santa’s existence. Because It’s about a Santa doubting boy that takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole where he is shown the importance of “believing.”
Home Alone (1990)
This is about an 8-year-old kid who is left behind in his house by mistake when his whole family goes to Paris for Christmas. Not only is he left home alone, he has to protect his home from “bumbling” burglars (say that 5 times fast).
The movie stars the adorable Macaulay Culkin and the hilarious Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Christmas Breakfast
This one may be more for the parents, unless your kids are “foodies,” but will create long lasting memories. Nothing brings back childhood memories more than smells and tastes.
Make your kids favorite foods. If pancakes are one of those use cookie cutters to shape the pancakes. Use a squeeze bottle for the batter. Make it “christmassy” by adding some cinnamon or nutmeg.
How about french toast in Christmas shapes. Make the french toast and then use the cutters.
Use those same cookie cutters to cut out the shape inside a piece of bread. Whip up some eggs, butter each side of bread, put the bread in a skillet, toast one side, flip the bread and then pour the eggs inside. Once the egg is cooked remove and eat.
Learn How Others Do It
Since Christmas isn’t the only Holiday happening at this time of year why not teach your children about other religions and country’s traditions?
Search for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Las Posadas, Diwali and Chinese New year on the internet or grab some books from the library.
So Many Traditions So Little Time
I could go on an on about Christmas Traditions for Kids. But there’s only so much time in the season so choose wisely.
I like to write down my traditions so I don’t forget them from year to year. I also like to write ones down that I might want to implement in the future.
Of course some traditions change as kids get older, so some will need to be replaced with new ones.
If you want some more Christmas traditions for kids, try some of these:
- New ornament for each child
- Visit local light displays
- Make Cookies
- Have a cookie Exchange Party
- Go Christmas caroling
- Write letters to Santa
- Have a gingerbread house making contest
