In addition to a lot of the things above:
1) our kids each pick a charity every year (last year it was a sea turtle nonprofit for DC1 and a lion nonprofit for DC2), and then the kids get a small gift from Santa with a note thanking them for thinking of the xxx (lions/sea turtles/etc)
2) we send notes to Santa and get a return message with a North Pole post office stamp (usps does this— but you have to do it super early)
3) we tried to make The Nutcracker a tradition; but this is year 3 and I don’t think either kid is excited to go. They loved it year 1, but the magic wore off.
4) a billion different types of cookies that the kids can help bake (not just decorate). Spritz cookies (the kind you kind of squeeze out of a cookie press) are great for kids and are less work than decorating sugar cookies
5) our kids love the advent wreath, if it’s part of your religious tradition. They get to take turns blowing them out every week when it’s time to light the new candle.

Anonymous wrote:Advent houses (wooden ones with little doors)
Decorate a gingerbread house together
-Christmas cookies
-See National Christmas Tree
-Make ornaments/gifts for the grandparents & other family members
-Angel Tree
-Read The Night Before Christmas on 12/24
-Visit a living nativity scene
-Visit Santa
-Family ornament each year
-Each child gets an ornament related to an interest of theirs each year[b]
-we also collect Christmas ornaments when we travel
-see Nutcracker ballet
-read lots of Christmas books
-decorate together

We do the same for ornaments, and it seems like a small thing but it's become such a favorite of my kids! They can't wait to see what theirs is every year, and they love looking through the ones they received in the past as we decorate the tree. My kids open theirs the day after Thanksgiving, which is when we decorate the tree. I actually love getting creative and picking them out too...there is lots of great stuff on Etsy, for example.

not matching pajamas! (echoing another currently live thread about matching pajamas - what an astonishing waste of money - donate $200 and let your kids pick the charity)

Advent houses (wooden ones with little doors)
Decorate a gingerbread house together
-Christmas cookies
-See National Christmas Tree
-Make ornaments/gifts for the grandparents & other family members
-Angel Tree
-Read The Night Before Christmas on 12/24
-Visit a living nativity scene
-Visit Santa
-Family ornament each year
-Each child gets an ornament related to an interest of theirs each year
-we also collect Christmas ornaments when we travel
-see Nutcracker ballet
-read lots of Christmas books
-decorate together

Anonymous wrote:Since forever on Christmas Eve my husband has read our children and now grandchildren the Night Before Christmas while lying on our bed. Even when our kids were in college and after even if it was crowded. Now if we are apart on Christmas he does it via Face Time.

Heck yeah! We do this as well as an animated performance of the Grinch. I wait all year to do that grinch voice!

We have a Christmas countdown Disney book that I hate and am hoping to replace this year (kids are 4 and 7). It’s a different story every night starting December 1. The kids love it.

We also have an advent/Christmas countdown calendar, that I’d like to swap out for a nicer one. (Again, I think this is a good year to make the change before I’m blamed for getting rid of the beloved crappy Amazon last minute thing that grandma sent during Covid when she realized we didn’t have one.)

Baking ginger bread cookies

Making/painting salt dough ornaments (some years), but this is a good one with little ones. The handprints are cute. I actually have a set framed in my office.

We pick up our tree from the farmers market in our wagon, which is a long walk home but fun.

Driving around looking at Christmas lights with Christmas music playing. This year we’ll be able to do some of that walking, since they’re older. We did it in strollers when they were very little.

That’s about it.

On the ornaments - oof. I have a million from when I was a kid, so does my husband, and our moms each give each kid an ornament every year (so my 7 year old has received 14 ornaments from grandmas already), and there are a few I made with the kids that are sentimental… we have so. Many. Ornaments. Every year I purge a few, including the ones given to the kids. It’s too many ornaments!!! Something to keep in mind when you’re thinking of creating that tradition.

The other thing I keep in mind is what I can realistically replicate every year without it being too stressful. I’ve seen my mom get worked up in recent years about traditions that aren’t being continued and it is really sad for her. So my list is very small. I want to focus the tradition on spending time together as a family, even if the things we do vary from year to year.

Since forever on Christmas Eve my husband has read our children and now grandchildren the Night Before Christmas while lying on our bed. Even when our kids were in college and after even if it was crowded. Now if we are apart on Christmas he does it via Face Time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We give the kids PJs on St Nicholas Day, which has remained strong even in my older kid who aged out of most Xmas traditions.

Making/frosting cookies and tree decorating as a family are the other two.

This is a good idea. We do Christmas PJs on Christmas Eve, but that really limits the relevant wear time.

Our elf on the shelf brings the Jammies when he arrives on December 1

My kids are so obsessed with Christmas traditions. 7,5,2. I’m worried it will be the 7 year olds last year of Santa magic.
-we read Christmas books at night starting 12/1
-my house is very decorated
-elf on the shelf. You can do it simple if you want
-pictures with Santa
-seeing lights on Christmas Eve
-zoo lights and the trains at botanical gardens
-matching pajamas for anyone who comes on Christmas morning + matching socks + matching elf or Santa hats.
- we eat off our Spode Christmas plates in December
-we use vintage Santa mugs to drink hot chocolate out of often
-cookie decorating
-Gingerbread house decorating

We’re the merriest bunch of a$$holes this side of the nuthouse.

We do many of the things already listed here. The more unique thing for our family is that since we have a very long drive to the grandparents’ house for Christmas every year, we always spend some time recounting things that have happened in our lives that year. We go month by month and talk about milestones, trips, accomplishments, good times and bad. The kids are teenagers now and they remind us to do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love the idea of angel tree. If you don’t belong to a religious organization where do you find them?

You can do Toys for Tots or Project Elf. The latter assigns you a specific child/wishlist. https://midatlantic.uso.org/programs/project-uso-elf

I take it back on Project Elf. I’ve only done it through work. The website is to register to receive gifts.

Anonymous wrote:Love the idea of angel tree. If you don’t belong to a religious organization where do you find them?

You can do Toys for Tots or Project Elf. The latter assigns you a specific child/wishlist. https://midatlantic.uso.org/programs/project-uso-elf

Love the idea of angel tree. If you don’t belong to a religious organization where do you find them?

Anonymous wrote:The angel tree tradition is a good one.

When I was growing up, each year my parents would get each kid a special tree ornament. It might reflect something memorable that happened that year. For example, if we’d taken a trip as a family or some other experience or sport/activity we were into. Or just be cool or unique. Those ornaments then were ours to decorate our own trees when we moved out/started having Christmas in our own homes. So now I’m doing the same for our kids.

This is a good one. I started this when my kids were little. We would make a special trip to Target or wherever and pick out the items specifically for our Angel tree recipient (no shopping for them). My older kids now love picking out little kid toys and clothes.

We also still do advent calendars, cookies, decorating, lights displays, national Christmas tree, appetizers for dinner Christmas eve and filet for Christmas dinner. My DD and I always do a holiday tea. Also this is kind of random but we always have pie for breakfast the Friday after Thanksgiving. I think we were to full one year and didn't eat it on Thursday so we saved it for breakfast. Now its a thing!

Santa's elves deliver a sack each year on Christmas Eve with Christmas jammies and a family gift (we've done a Christmas book, gingerbread house kit, board game, etc...). I'll crack a window and DH (or my FIL) will go out and shake some jingle bells by the window and we'll make a fuss. Then the doorbell will ring and there is the sack! My kids are 7 and 8 and I hope we have a few more years of this at least...

We also have a "Santa Cam" that a friend gave us years ago and it was intended to be like a "security camera" kind of thing to make the kids behave. Well, my children HATED the thought of someone watching them so we changed the purpose to be to CATCH Santa when he comes on Christmas Eve and then Mommy is emailed the photo. I'll take a photo of the tree with all the presents and then photoshop Santa in it (they have apps for this). Someone told my older son last year Santa isn't real and he grabbed my phone to show him the proof.