I had a conversation with a friend back in October over what holiday traditions our families celebrate each year. For some reason, in that moment, I couldn’t think of anything. But of course, we have traditions, don’t we? The question of tradition encouraged me to reflect on years past. The Christmases I’ve spent as an adult, trying to forge my practices and Christmases I cherish from childhood. I wanted to answer my own questions on traditions: the ones I’ve borrowed from my family and the ones I’ve adapted on my own.
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From that conversation, I compiled a list of 11-holiday activities I’ve either done over the years or ones I plan to incorporate into this season. I hope this post encourages you to explore your own traditions or forge new ones.
11 Holiday Activities Worth Making Traditions
1. 30 Days of Gratitude Jar (Rather than Advent Calendar)
2. DIY Ornaments
3. Scrapbook: Scrapbook previous years seasonal adventures.
4. Music to Set the Mood: Curate a playlist of your favorite holiday songs.
5. Crafting Christmas Cards
6. Baking Day: Designate a day for holiday baking where you and your loved ones create and decorate cookies, gingerbread houses, or other seasonal treats. We did this last year; my absolute favorite cookie recipes are from Half-Baked Harvest. Greg and I made her Fluffy Christmas Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing on Christmas morning, which cinnamon rolls Christmas is a tradition passed on from my dad. You will never go back to store-bought after these!
7. Collect or purchase fresh greens and DIY a holiday planter or wreath
8. Festive Lights: Take an annual family drive or walk through your neighborhood or a nearby area to admire holiday light displays and decorations.
9. Giving Books on Christmas Eve: Greg and I plan to incorporate this into our Christmas Eve tradition with a little twist this year. We’re going to “gift” each other a book already on our shelf that the other hasn’t read and we think they’d love. If you want to know more | The Icelandic Tradition of Giving Books on Christmas Eve
10. Sending Thanks: Write thank you cards on Christmas day to those you love (whether you exchanged gifts or not).
11. Creating vision boards for the new year on New Year’s Eve. I do this every year. I love it.
Inspiration Board
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