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If you are like me, you find Christmas magical! Every December, I try to find as many ways possible to create long lasting holiday memories for my children. Here are some of my favorite traditions that we do year after year.
1. Add To Our Collection of Christmas Books
There's nothing like curling up together with a story! One of the best ways to spread the joy of Christmas to your kids, is by reading about it! Each year I add a few more books to our Christmas Library. Check out some of our favorites here, and head to our Amazon shop for more amazing children’s Christmas books.
2. Have a Christmas Dance Party
My kids loves a good dance party and we all love Christmas music! We play a Spotify Christmas for Kids play list on our Amazon Echo and dance the night away!
3. Create a Christmas Craft
From ornaments to handprint keepsakes, there are so many amazing Christmas craft ideas for kids! This year we plan to add to our DIY ornament selection, and make a Christmas snow globe! Make sure you are following me on instagram @abalancedchildhood to see them once they are made. I will also update this blog once they are!
4. Get Christmas Jammies for the Whole Family
There's something special about the whole family getting together in their Christmas jammies. In our family, we tend to have multiple options. The kids will get their first matching pair from their Elves the day after Thanksgiving. Then, every Christmas Eve, the entire family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins…) get a new pair too!
5. Create a Christmas Themed Sensory Bin
If you’ve been following along, you know that we love sensory play! Head to my instagram @abalancedchildhood to see all of our Christmas sensory play so far this year.
6. Hang Up Family Christmas Stockings
Santa can come alive for the whole family. Seeing our stockings hanging up by our fireplace is such a special way to feel that Christmas spirit.
7. Go For a Christmas Light Drive
We love to put on our Christmas jammies, head out in our car with the Christmas music blasting, and drive around to see all the beautiful Christmas lights. We probably do this at least once a week until Christmas!
8. Decorate Our Play Room For Christmas
I love decorating our playroom for Christmas! I like to display our favorite Christmas books, and stock our shelves with Christmas/winter themed toys for the kids to explore. The kids are so excited each year to see their favorite Christmas toys, and a few new ones, out again to play with!
9. Have an Elf on the Shelf
You'll either love the idea of Elf on the Shelf or hate it. We tend to have lots of fun with ours. The kids named their elves Sprinkles and Cupcake. The occasional times we forget (or forget to have Alexa remind us), we make a pretend note and have the elves play a hide and seek game later in the day. Do you ever forget to move your elves?
10. Christmas Movie Nights
In our family, we pull out our sofa bed and have special movie nights with popcorn and Christmas goodies. So far this year, we’ve had movie nights for Home Alone, The Santa Clause and the new Home Sweet Home Alone on Disney Plus. What are your favorite Christmas movies?
What are some of your family's favorite holiday traditions. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I'd love to hear about the holidays you do celebrate and the traditions your family has!