Can you believe there are only 16 days until Christmas? December is flying by. Normally this time of year, I’m busy running around and trying to find last minute gifts and I’m guilty of not being present in the moment. It’s easy to get so distracted by everything else and forget what the season is all about. That’s why Family Christmas Traditions are so important – they keep us focused on what’s important.

This year is different than years past – I was done with my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. (that never happens!) I’m not sure how it happened, but I started thinking about what I wanted to give everyone back in October so that helped. It’s given me so much more time to pay attention to how fast Isla Rose is growing and just how magical Christmas can be through the eyes of a child. She loves to say, “OH WOW!” when we turn our Christmas lights on. We took her to see Santa this year and even though she didn’t cry, she certainly didn’t smile either, but I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve probably been driving Evan crazy with all my talk of family traditions lately (feeling a little like Clark Griswold over here trying to get him in a Christmas-y mood) and even though we already have a few that we have done for years, it’s Important to start some now that we have our own little family.

So below I have a list of Christmas traditions we already have and some that we are starting this year!

Family Christmas Traditions we already have:

We make gingerbread cookies-

Well Evan’s mom makes ginger bread cookies and we decorate / eat them. They are delicious and it’s so much fun to decorate them. Just check out this gingerbread man that I made to look like Evan. The resemblance is remarkable.

This is something that Evan would like us to continue doing and he has enjoyed it every Christmas as far back as he can remember.

We play dirty Santa-

My family is enormous, so it doesn’t make sense to buy every single person a gift because that would be crazy expensive. Instead, we get together on Christmas Eve and we bring appetizers instead of cooking a full meal. We started this a few years back and basically, if you’re over the age of 18, you buy a $30 dirty Santa gift. If you’re under the age of 18 then all the adults buy you a present. We stay away from gag gifts and put some thought into the gifts we buy. It is so much fun going back and forth, and we end the night playing a few board games. We really love this tradition and hopefully it sticks around. If you have a large family and want to try this, I suggest mentioning it early enough so that you can work out the details.

We watch classic Christmas movies-

Don’t get me wrong, Elf is funny, but I really enjoy the older movies and so does Evan. My favorite is Miracle on 34^th street and he really enjoys watching White Christmas, Christmas Vacation & A Christmas Story. (he REALLY likes Christmas) I want Isla to grow up knowing all the classics, so this tradition is sure to stick around.

We buy a few ornaments each year-

I usually always buy Evan an ornament because it’s something to reflect on his year. For example, the year that we went to Scotland, I got him a Santa that is wearing his family’s tartan colors. I also purchased a new ornament for Isla this year for her second Christmas. Her grandma’s also buy her a few ornaments every year. It’s nice to look at them when we decorate the tree. I love the sentimental ornaments. I’m never going to be someone whose tree could be in a catalog. Everything might not match perfectly but that’s fine with me.

Family Christmas Traditions we are starting this year:

Making a Christmas Eve Box-

So, I guess Christmas Eve Boxes are a pretty big deal in the UK and I don’t hear much talk of them here but basically, it’s a box and it’s festively decorated with your family’s name on it. It typically holds hot cocoa mix, PJ’s, and a movie you watch together as a family.  This year I’ll be making a box for our family and I’ll show you exactly how to do it, as well as what I’m putting in it. I’m really excited about this. I can’t wait until Isla is old enough to get excited when she sees this box.

Reading the story of Jesus’ birth–

We already read children’s books about the birth of Jesus to Isla, but I feel like we need to read it directly from the Bible to her as well. We will do this on Christmas eve. I think that would be a great way to end the night and reflect on the actual reason for the season. For reference, we read Luke chapter 2, verses 1-20.

Giving back-

It’s so easy to think about ourselves and our own families this time of year but I want to volunteer more through out the holiday season. I think this is a great way to teach Isla about giving back. There are so many opportunities to serve in the OKC area and this is one tradition that I am really excited about.

Documenting more-

One of the main reasons that I started this blog was so Isla could always go back and look at it when she is older. Some of my favorite memories are gathering around and watching old family videos. We don’t have that many of them, but they are special because I can hear my dad’s voice in them. So, this year we will be videoing more. Opening presents, looking at Christmas lights, whatever it is – I want Isla to have that to look back on.

Hosting a Christmas breakfast-

My brother and sister typically open presents with their children and spend the day together since we saw each other on Christmas Eve. This year I’m hosting a big breakfast at our house. PJ’s welcome and the kiddos can bring their toys and play with their cousins. I am really excited about this because my husband will be doing most of the cooking. He is an expert with breakfast food. He worked at Waffle House for a summer and has been the designated breakfast guy ever since.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our family traditions and I hope to hear some of yours too! Please comment down below if you have any other ideas.