8 Holiday Traditions To Love
We are in the thick of the holidays. Here are 8 holiday traditions to love this year. What are some of your favorite traditions?
Traditions can be so much fun. There is a lot of anticipation and excitement surrounding the holidays and traditions. It can be easy to get carried away. But at the same time they can help bring an awesome holiday spirit into your home. Below are 8 holiday traditions to love this year.
I’m going to talk about some of my favorite holiday traditions. I hope they will inspire you to continue to do some of your favorite traditions or maybe start some new ones this year.
Parties
Who doesn’t love a good old holiday party? Getting to see and visit with family or friends you don’t see too often. Eating yummy food. Maybe getting a visit from the jolly old man himself. It’s all fun!
Growing up Christmas Eve night was always my mom’s side to celebrate. We ate the same dinner at my grandparent’s house (now we mix it up). There were presents to open by the decorated Christmas tree in the basement. Grandpa would always read the nativity story from the Bible. And then we would play Christmas songs with the pipes and nails. Good times!
Christmas Day we would go over to my dad’s side for a party. Again we would gather at my grandparent’s house. The food was great and always served from the buffet in the dining room. We got to open presents and play with cousins.
As an adult with littles of my own we have many family parties we get to attend. A Saturday before Christmas we gather with all the Robbins to celebrate. There are a lot of us! This year we will have most of the 49 family members here to party! We eat, open gifts, sing songs, and the kiddos act out the nativity story.
Holiday Movies
Who else LOVES Hallmark cheesy Christmas movies? Oh my, Eddy and I can’t wait each year to start watching them. Even though they are super duper cheesy and have very similar plots we can’t get enough of them.
It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a heavy dose of cheesy, happy fun. Or without National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation! I am not one to watch movies over and over again, expect if I’m watching Christmas Vacation. We watch it every year and it is still as funny as ever.
Gingerbread Houses
Every year we get to go over to my parent’s house to eat dinner and decorate gingerbread houses. All the grand kids love it and have a blast. The kiddos get a candy overload (and so do I…).
We have had some funny ginger bread mishaps over the years… houses falling apart or being ruined by younger cousins or siblings, the icing being rock solid, and candy EVERYWHERE!
This year we decided to hot glue the houses together. Then we glued them on the tin foil covered cardboard. What a difference this made. My mom also bought a pack that included four different mini houses. It was perfect! Not too big and not too small.
A good friend of mine hosts a gingerbread decorating party at her house every year. I get to leave my kiddos at home and party with some amazing friends.
Christmas in Color
If you have not had the chance to go to Christmas in Color then I highly suggest you make it happen. This is a new tradition, started last year, that I looked forward too all year long. It last about 30 minutes. The whole time I have a smile on my face.
What is Christmas in Color? Prepared to be amazed!!! It is a drive through lights show. There are over 1.5 millions lights, tunnels, singing trees and snowmen, and music. It truly is amazing. In Utah it is located in South Jordan. This particular show is also in Arizona and Colorado. I suggest you search to see if you can find something similar where you live.
When you purchase your ticket you are buying one per car. You get to pick your date and time. When you get there you will be told what channel to change your radio to. Then you get to drive slowly around and be wowed by the lights and music show.
Just look at these pictures!
12 Days of Christmas
Every year since Eddy and I got married (minus one year, not sure what happened) we have done the 12 days of Christmas. We have had a lot of fun thinking of the individual or family.
Once we have decided who to do it to then we think of 12 things they might enjoy or need. There are a few days that are the same each year. It is fun to sit down to wrap the gifts and think of messages to write.
Even during the years when money was super tight we found a way to make it happen. We shopped more at a dollar store (still do today) or made things by hand. It doesn’t have to be pricey items. It is the thought and love that counts.
Lights
In Salt Lake City there are some great places to go see lights. One place we go every year is Temple Square. They do such an amazing job making sure the lights look great and that there are tons of them. They will have live music at times in the visitor centers.
Right outside of one of the visitor centers is a big nativity scene set up. They have a recorded message to go along with it. Also on the grounds they have a lot of other nativity scenes set up.
We usually have hot chocolate to help keep up warm as we walk around the crisp night.
Books/Stories
Do you know that I love to read and I love children’s books? Haha! I think I mention it about once a week… Anywhooo I just can’t help myself.
When we set up our tree and decorations all of the holiday books get to come out. This year I was going to try wrapping some of them so my kiddos could open one a day. They were so darn excited to look at them that I never got a chance to do that. Maybe some day…
We have a fabric tub that lives in the living room. This is where our holiday books go throughout the year. It’s kind of magical to read books by the lit Christmas tree with my kids.
If you need some suggestions of some of my favorite holiday books then head here to check it out.
Ornaments
When I was little my older sisters and I picked out a little angle bell. I picked a green one because at that time green was my favorite color. When I was a little older pink became my favorite color. I remember being so mad that I had a green angle bell, not a pink one. Now that my favorite color is back to green and has been for forever I adore that beautiful angle bell.
I get very excited to put my special ornaments on our tree every year. When I got married my mom gave me my ornaments we had gotten as we grew up. I love the memories those ornaments hold for me and the stories I get to tell my kids.
So every year we get our children an ornament. Then someday (in the very far distance) when they move away from home they will be able to take their special ornaments for their trees.
Something Eddy and I started doing when we traveled was to pick out an ornament as a souvenir. It is such a wonderful time pulling them out each year. We get to tell our kids about the trips we took before we had them and remember the trips we have taken altogether.
I know there are many traditions that are so important to many people. I’d love to hear about the traditions you hold dear. And WHY they are so important to you.
I hope that these 8 holiday traditions to love will help you begin something new or perhaps remember something you used to do. Happy holidays!!
