Families lean into tradition each December, and perhaps children are so much more enthusiastic in participating in holiday customs and traditions, but parents will join in on the fun too! These traditions range from decorating the family Christmas tree to baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.
With great wonder and anticipation, children look forward to various holiday season traditions when the calendar turns from November to December.
Parents of young children can make this unique time of year even more special by engaging in various kid-friendly traditions that are sure to produce lots of fun and even more lasting memories.
•Advent calendars: The precise origins of Advent calendars are unknown, but historians believe the tradition was started by German Lutherans in the nineteenth century. More than a century later, roughly 50 million Advent calendars are sold across the globe each year, according to Marketplace. org. Advent is a nearly monthlong period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ leading to Christmas Day on December 25. Each day during Advent, children open a flap, window or door and find a small gift, poem, candy, or another item that adds to the excitement of the season.
•Matching pajamas: Though the tradition of wearing matching holiday pajamas may not have the same lengthy history as Advent calendars, it’s nonetheless a very fun custom for families. Parents can decide how frequently their families dress up in matching pajamas at bedtime during the holiday season, but doing so on Christmas Eve is a popular way to make a fun day even more special. Another idea is to host weekly holiday movie nights during the season, which presents a perfect opportunity to don matching PJs.
•Holiday lights tour: Holiday lighting displays have come a long way in recent decades. Whereas it might once have been popular to string a few strands of lights around the exterior of a house, many holiday celebrants now beckon their inner Clark Griswold and turn their properties into areas with enough illumination to land a small plane. Holiday inflatables for the yard add to the awe of such displays.
Kids tend to be especially fond of these types of displays, so parents can make a point to pick a night each holiday season to go on a tour of their neighborhoods and towns to see this year’s offerings.
•Christmas dance party: Sweets are another staple of the holiday season, and what better way for kids to burn off some of that extra sugar than to dance it away to a holiday music playlist curated by Mom and Dad? Cue up some Christmas classics: “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy,” but let kids dance to a few of their own favorites as well.
•Volunteer: There are many opportunities for children to experience the awe and wonder of giving back to the community, from clothing and food drives, to writing letters to veterans and people living in nursing homes, to making donations to the Salvation Army or other charities. The holiday season can be a fun and intentional way to make a difference in other people’s lives and to give back to the community. Volunteering can be a great way to make memories with your family and to get into the Christmas spirit.
•Elf on the Shelf: This Christmas tradition may take some creative liberty for parents, that is centered around scout elves who “arrive” in a keepsake box, with a storybook from the North Pole late November before Christmas arrives. Once the scout elf “magically” comes to visit he moves to a new spot each night, he may have spilled the cereal, experienced winter blues for a few days or made a mess with toothpaste in the bathroom.
Children are instructed not to touch the elf, or he will lose his magic. The elf may report childrens behavior to Santa.
The book and “Elf on the Shelf” began in 2005, authored by Carol V. Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell.
Holiday traditions help to make the season a special time of year. Families can embrace various kid-friendly traditions to invite in all the fun and enthusiasm this December. ✲
