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Our Christmas Traditions and Why They Matter

Our family has a set of Christmas traditions that we do almost every year. There is always a year here or there where we miss one, but in general, we try to make sure to hit every tradition each year. As a family, it gives us something special to look forward to, and it builds our connection as a family. We are a family that starts celebrating on Christmas Eve, and then all day on Christmas as well!

Our Christmas Traditions and Why They Matter

The Christmas Eve Service at Church

For years our family has been going to Christmas Eve Services at Church. I remember back as a child that this was a special time for our family. All the hustle and bustle of the season takes the backstage, as families go together to church and have an hour of family time, reflection on the true meaning of Christmas, as well as Christmas Carols of course!

Our church’s Christmas Service takes only 1 hour, includes Christmas Carols, hot cocoa or coffee, and our Pastor’s Wife reads from a Children’s Christmas Book. It is a great time to focus in on Christmas, share loads of hugs, and then leave ready for Christmas.

Opening Jammies for Christmas Eve

As far back as  I can remember, we have received jammies as our Christmas Eve present. It really works out well, Kids want to open one gift on Christmas Eve, and Mom’s want everyone to have decent jammies for Christmas Candids in the morning. Win-win! So, since it worked so well for my childhood, I incorporated it into my children’s Christmas Eve as well. Sometimes robes or slippers are included too!

Once everyone is in their new jammies, then we are on to the next adventure.

Car Caroling on Christmas Eve- Sometimes in Jammies, Always with Hot Cocoa.

A few years ago, my oldest daughter, Victoria, had a great suggestion. To drive around town late on Christmas Eve looking at lights. The first night she suggested it we were already in our Christmas Jammies. So, we decided to go in our warm jammies and bring blankets to stay warm. My daughter has a great eye for details, so she made sure we had a thermos of Hot Cocoa and cups to bring along.

We sang carols until we could not sing anymore, laughed at all our confusion over some of the more obscure lyrics and enjoyed our hot cocoa. We live in a rural area, so it can sometimes be a little difficult to find lights, but half of the fun is the singing in between good finds. There is also the laughter over seeing a warm glow in the sky, driving around to try to find the source, only to find someone’s security lights. Very good memories were made so we decided to make it a yearly tradition.

Our Christmas Traditions and Why They Matter

Playing Family Games-

Our family loves playing family games any time of the year, but always like to play them around the holidays. One of my favorite memories is that of my adult children playing games late into the night on Christmas Eve. As a Mom, one of my hopes is that my children will love spending time with each other on a regular basis. So, I truly love to hear this.

My brother, sister and I love to play games together. We have played for years. Sometimes it’s board games, sometimes it is team Pictionary on a large whiteboard for all to see. Often, after the first round of the game we change the rules, and often, it ends up that one person just reads the cards, and the rest of us randomly yell out answers. Not everyone in the world likes to change game rules, but we do!

Unwrapping presents one at a time.

We are a family that unwraps presents one at a time. Then often, we comment on each other’s presents. My Mom started this tradition, and we have all followed through. Sometimes, depending on the how long it takes the person to open the present, it can get a little slow. But it makes each present a special event, where the gift is valued. Often, the giver tells why they chose that gift for the other person. It’s kind of cool.  As our family has grown, it means that it can take hours to open the presents. Of course, the little kids start playing with their toys during this time. The last few years, in fact, we have taken a break mid- opening to have breakfast.

Orange Juice, Breakfast Casserole, and Cinnamon Rolls for Breakfast

Speaking of breakfast, we always have the same thing for breakfast on Christmas. We have Orange juice. Every year. I think growing up my Mom thought that it would help us not get cranky during the opening of gifts. So, we just all carried the tradition on. Then we have a Breakfast Casserole. Growing up, my Mom always made it with Ham. I am not a fan of Ham, so I changed it to sausage. Someday, I would like to try it with bacon. Regardless of the meat chosen, we always have the breakfast casserole. You can read the recipe here in the post I made on starting a Meal Train.

Finally, we have Cinnamon Rolls. Historically, we use Frozen Bridgford Bread Dough. I let it thaw at night, and then roll the dough out and cover with large amounts of butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Sometimes I use brown sugar and pecans to make sticky buns. Sometimes I use white sugar and create a Snowman or Christmas tree shape on a sheet pan. Then, of course, I drizzle them with white or green glaze.

OJ, Breakfast Casserole, and Cinnamon rolls make an amazing breakfast on Christmas. Of course, we have coffee as well. I love that I never have to think up what to have on Christmas morning, and everyone can get hungry for the tastes of Christmas morning. It really makes a good tradition.

Our Christmas Traditions and Why They Matter

Eating Dinner at “Some Point” throughout the day.

Although we are very traditional in our Christmas Breakfast, we are not traditional at all with our Christmas Dinner. Sometimes we do Turkey with all the fixings, but sometimes, we do whatever we feel like that year. One year we had a Prime Rib Roast, another year we did all hors d’oeuvre’s for Christmas Dinner. Another year we had Ham and Scalloped Potatoes. Really, we just don’t keep the focus on dinner, we put the focus on having a great time together as a family.

One of the funniest Christmas Dinners we had was about 6 years ago. I am what you might call a frugal person when it comes to the use and purchasing of new appliances. I just always want to make sure that we get all the use out of an appliance that we can. So, I had known for quite some time that our oven was slowly dying.

There were quite a few signs that the oven was dying. First, the hinge that held the door closed broke. So, it had to be held on by bungee cords strapped up over the top of the oven. Then, one of the burners went out and never worked again. Soon, the top heating element stopped working on one side. But, since the bottom element continued to work, I was sure Christmas would be fine.

So, on that Christmas, about 7 hours into cooking the Turkey, when it was clear that it was very light in color, kind of a greasy salmonellyness had taken over, and the juices were clearly running red. Turkey was not going to happen. So, we ended up having Mashed Potatoes, Dressing, Cranberry Sauce, Microwaved Yam Bake, and Hot Pockets. Yep, microwaved hot pockets. We all ended up laughing through it, and a few days later I bought a new oven. Good Memories Made.

The Recap

Speaking of Memories, we don’t like to wait to talk the memories over. We talk about the memories right after they happen. As soon as any visiting family members leave, we talk about all the things that happened that day. We call it the recap. In fact, we are so serious about doing a recap that family members call the house to discuss the recap. I remember one recap where my brother and his family called to talk over the recap, and at the same time, my sister and daughter called to talk about the recap, while the rest of the family was still sitting in the family room. I love it as I think it solidifies the best memories in our minds before they have a chance to leave.

Keeping these traditions not only gives our family something to look forward to, but it creates a connection to the past and future at the same time. For instance, my children who no longer live at home, know that when they come home, certain decorations will be out for the holidays. They know some of the treats we will have, and the things we will do. This will give them a base of traditions they can start with their families, and then, of course, they can create their own as well.

Whatever you choose to do this year for Christmas, do something to connect the past with the future, to bring family members together, and to spend time together making memories. Remember that for traditions to be impactful, they don’t have to cost a lot, and they don’t even need to be super time consuming, they just need to be intentional.

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Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!

Jenny