Chrsitmas is sneaking up on us fast!  And after Maxwell’s trick or treating performance, I am pretty excited about Chrsitmas. This will be his 3rd Christmas, but the first one where I feel like he will really understand the process. As a kid, my mom made a big deal out of Christmas and me and my 5 brothers and sisters loved it! We baked fudge for every neighbor and teacher in the land, Santa left crumbles of his cookies with extra fun thank you notes, and we loved our hand sewn advent calendar. I want to start Chrsitmas traditions with my family, so I polled everyone I know and came up with this giant list of 72 Christmas traditions!

72 Christmas traditions to start with your family this Year:

1. Drive around town together and look at Christmas lights

2. Host an annual cookie decorating party

3. Read the Christmas Story from the book of Luke as a family

4. Organize best gift wrapping competitions with your crew (Here are tons of clever gift wrapping ideas!)

5. Baking Christmas cookies with the family or friends to give away

6. Giving the kids matching pj’s and a book every year on Christmas Eve. Immediately following that, the kids put on the pajamas and the family reads the book together by the fire. Don’t forget to take a pajama picture!

7. Singing a Christmas carol before opening gifts

8. Making tamales or other specific heritage or ethnic foods with the family

9. Sipping mimosas and/or coffee cake on Christmas morning

10. Making and decorating gingerbread houses

11. Singing Christmas carols while baking sweets

12. “White Elephant” gift exchange with the family

13. Going to the movies on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

14. Hosting an annual Christmas tree making pizza party

15. Elf on the Shelf or Christmas Angles- leave notes every day

16. Setting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving with Christmas music and hot chocolate

17. Opening Christmas gifts at midnight

18. Each family member fills another’s stocking

19. Decorating a themed Christmas tree

20. Organizing a family talent show

21. Decorating the whole house and tree all in one day, with Christmas cartoons and music in the background

22. Doing a “25 books of Christmas” advent calendar: buying 25 books and everyday the kids unwrap one and the family reads it before bed

23. Doing an advent calendar with the kids (Here are 25 DIY advent calendars to make together!)

24. Hunting for the last Christmas decoration: every year, after the decorations are down, the kids go around the house to see if they can find a stray decoration

25. Watching Christmas movies while wrapping presents and drinking eggnog

26. Sipping hot chocolate by the lit fireplace curled up under a blanket, and watching the first Christmas movie of the season

27. Picking out the perfect tree and the Christmas tree farm

28. Eating finger foods for Christmas Eve dinner

29. Attending a candlelight Christmas Eve service

30. Going ice skating every year

31. Making handmade ornaments (Here’s a fun ornament idea for toddlers!)

32. Cleaning the house on Christmas Eve, so Santa doesn’t see a messy house

33. Putting together an annual family Christmas play

34. Playing board games with the family after Christmas dinner

35. Opening only one present or only the stockings on Christmas Eve

36. Homemade Texas Snowball fights: throwing marshmallows at each other!

37. Random Acts of Kindness game among the family leading up to Christmas

38. Baking a cake with a goody inside, whoever gets it, gets the “Christmas luck” for the year!

39. Hosting a Christmas dress up contest (Andy and I have some great Christmas dress up ideas!)

40. Thriftmas- finding a $3 or less gift for a family member

41. Taking part in living nativity scenes or Christmas parades

42. Enjoying the quiet by the Christmas tree and fire

43. Having grand kids spend the night on Christmas Eve, because Santa visits there first!

44. Putting together a box of our favorite things and leaving them for a family in need- Ding Dong Ditch style!

45. Sleeping under the Christmas tree as a family, the night before Christmas Eve

46. Making a hot chocolate bar for Christmas Eve

47. Making a calendar or family year book

48. Each family member chooses a Christmas ornament to symbolize their year, and sign the bottom of it with their name and date.

49. Taking Santa pictures the day after Thanksgiving

50. Making a Christmas wreath with friends for y’alls front doors

51. Hosting a Christmas Eve penny auction

52. Attending local light parades and light shows

53. Christmas gift scavenger hunt with clues and hints on where to find the gifts (This can make the smallest gifts so fun!)

54. Making handmade cards for friends and family

55. Taking kids to the toy store, picking out a toy and donating it to Toys for Tots or an Angle Tree

56. Hosting an ornament exchange party

57. Decorating the outside of your house with neighbors (How to make a snowman scene on your window.)

58. Hosting an ugly Christmas sweater party (32 clever ugly sweater party ideas here.)

59. Eating cake on Christmas Eve for Jesus’ birthday

60. Setting out special food for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve

61. Creatively addressing holiday cards to send to family and friends

62. Putting together a Christmas Eve box complete with new pajamas, snacks, hot chocolate packets, and a Christmas book or movie

63. Eating Santa Claus pancakes for Christmas breakfast

64. Getting texts from Santa

65. Opening a new family game on Christmas Eve and playing it together

66. Each family member drawing one name and buying that person a special gift

67. Taking a family picture each year to use to send Christmas cards

68. Sending Christmas cards (Here are ours for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016)

69. Sprinkling reindeer food outside for Santa’s reindeer

70. Visiting and taking pictures with Mr. and Mrs. Claus at your local mall

71. Playing Bingo to see who opens a gift first

72. Going to the mountains to cut down your own tree

73. Collecting and displaying holiday cards

Do you have any awesome Christmas traditions to add to the list? Leave them in the comments!