When I think back to holidays past, many of my fondest memories are centered around family traditions. A special soup prepared just for Christmas brunch, the story of Christ’s birth read aloud before the gifts were opened, a baby doll each year for a little girl, gifts given to needy families, time spent with family. Traditions are what help us build those sweet memories of holidays past.
For our family, traditions take some planning. Sure, we may do something on a whim one year and decide to do it again year after year. But usually the traditions that endure are the ones that we’ve put some thought into. Here are some fun tradition ideas.
The Jesse Tree
Last year we did our first Jesse Tree with Emma. If you’ve never heard of a Jesse Tree, it’s an advent activity. Each day you color an ornament that represents a bit of the lineage of Christ. The tree begins with creation and stretches through the Old and New Testaments until you reach the story of the birth of Jesus. Each day you read the scripture and add a corresponding ornament to a small tree. The tree can be a small artificial Christmas tree, some branches in a bucket… whatever works for you.
If you want to try this activity this year, I recommend keeping it simple. You can download some FREE printable Jesse Tree ornaments that my husband created for Mandi at Life… Your Way. These are the ones that we’ll be using with Emma. We usually do our Jesse Tree ornament after dinner each evening. We read the scripture, Emma colors the ornament, and we put it together and hang it on the tree. It’s a simple daily reminder that we’re celebrating Jesus this season.
The Elf on the Shelf
A friend told me about doing the Elf on the Shelf tradition with her grandkids. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like lots of fun! If you’re not familiar with the Elf on the Shelf tradition, let me explain.
Author Carol Aebersold began the tradition with her family in the 1970s, explaining to her children that Santa sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, she put out a little elf doll to “watch” the kids. The elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When the children awake each day, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity makes The Elf on the Shelf a fun hide-and-seek game.
You can get an Elf on the Shelf kit from Amazon, and there’s even an elf skirt available if you prefer a girl elf.
Operation Christmas Child
This week is the collection week for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. If you’re not familiar with Operation Christmas Child, it’s a branch of Samaritan’s Purse that takes boxes of toys and necessities to kids in need around the world. Your family can get involved by packing a shoeboxes (or lots of shoeboxes!) and getting them to a local drop-off location. Check out the Samaritan’s Purse website to learn more about what to pack and how to pack it.
Other Traditions
We’ll be taking part in some other traditions such as reading the story of Christ’s birth before the gifts are opened and visiting with family. We may even add a new tradition or two this year. 😉 But NOW is the time to start thinking about which traditions should be a priority. That way we have time to gather any materials we need, make any plans we need to make, and make sure that the activities actually happen.
Does your family have any fun holiday traditions?
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The last few years we have personally known families that were in need of some assistance at Christmas time; however, they were not about to ask for it. We only knew of the need from our close ties. We were able, with our children, to gather some food and gifts….the best part though, comes when those gifts are secretly delivered the night of Christmas Eve…..think “knock and run”.
Oh I LOVE the knock & run! 😀 I think that giving to families in need is the BEST possible tradition for us to instill in our kids.
Last year we started a tradition I read about at Kitchen Stewardship: We set up our nativity scene without Baby Jesus, and during Advent we made a soft bed for him by adding a piece of “hay” each time we did a good deed–writing it on a strip of paper and placing it on the pile. It worked out particularly well because during Advent I had the worst migraine of my life and had to go to the emergency room at 4am, and later that day, feeling amazingly better, I sat by the manger making a piece of hay for every person who helped me. 🙂
Oh I LOVE that, Becca! Thanks for sharing that idea. I’m going to have lots of new tradition ideas to think about this year. 🙂
We give each of our children a new ornament and write their name and the year on the bottom – this will give them a good starter collection when they move out on their own.
I also sew (or buy, if I don’t have the time) each child a new pair of PJ’s. They get them on Christmas Eve night after church and are allowed to stay in the ALL DAY Christmas day – even if we go anywhere!
My grandparents did ornaments for us each year, and you’re right… It does mean the kids have some nice ornaments to take with them when they’re ready for their own trees. Love the PJs tradition too. Who wouldn’t love to stay in them ALL day long!? Great idea!