These old-fashioned Christmas traditions are guaranteed to bring the Christmas spirit into your holiday this year.
Old Fashioned Christmas Traditions
The true Christmas Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and we feel it keenly when we freely share it with others!
Christmas Stories!!!
Nothing is cozier than snuggling up with a little one, a blanket, and a good storybook! Share your personal Christmas stories or meaningful experiences, and meaningful published Christmas stories!
My husband has some excellent Christmas stories from his childhood... One when his dad was in the hospital on Christmas day for kidney stones, and their basement flooded... Family and many community members came to help the kids pump freezing water out of their basement and brought them food!
I love to read well-illustrated Christmas stories with my little kids! One of my favorites is A Christmas Dress For Ellen. It makes me cry every time I read it!
Other Great Christmas Stories to read include:
- The Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke, (I like this leather-covered Bible as a gift idea!)
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke.
- The Christmas Train by Thomas S Monson
Christmas Dinner Traditions
We have a special Christmas dinner tradition! You can cook and put on a Christmas dinner for those you love, and if cooking isn't your thing, take them out! Christmas dinner is a special time for family and friends to come together and share the Christmas spirit and their love for each other.
Take time to set the table, and make it as nice as possible so that when your friends and family see the table, they know this is a special occasion!
Roast Turkey and smoked beef brisket are our family's Christmas traditions for dinner main dishes, this year it's this Prime Rib Roast Recipe! Just put extra love into it and the presentation to make the night special!
Decorate With The Family (or Friends)
As a busy mom of 6 (4 at home), It's tempting to decorate the way I want to by myself! But nothing really gets everyone feeling the Christmas spirit like decorating the Christmas Tree, putting up lights, garlands, and of course the nativity set!
Cut fresh bows or branches from spruce and evergreen trees and make your own Christmas wreaths! Fresh wreaths bring the fragrance of Christmas into your home, and they make a great gift!
Play (or sing) Christmas Music
I like to quietly play Christmas music around the house, and watch how everyone becomes a little happier and a little kinder to each other! It adds a little feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air, and everyone is just a little more content!
I love Amy Grants Christmas collection album.
Cookie Exchanges!
Have you ever done a Christmas Cookies Exchange? It's super fun... Get a group of (for example say 10 people) moms or friends together that all make 10 dozen cookies. Everyone wraps each dozen separately, and you all exchange plates of a dozen Christmas cookies at a fun little gathering!
That way everyone only has to make one type of Christmas Cookie, but you all get 10 different kinds of Christmas cookies! It's fun, your kids will thank you, and you have the makings for great Christmas plates to give away!
Our Favorite Christmas Cookies
Snowball Cookies (also called Mexican Wedding Cookies)
Date Coconut Pecan Snowball Cookies
Soft Sugar Cookies - Cut Out and Decorate, 3 Variations!
Playing Games
One thing that our family has been doing every Christmas for over 20 years is playing games! This year we got a new puzzle too... We are going to have breakfast and do our puzzle of Christ Christmas morning before we open presents. This will give my adult kids time to get here before we do our gift giving.
We also love to play games as family and friends... And we get pretty competitive around here, but that makes it fun! Some of our favorite games are Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Cornhole, Risk, Uno (especially for my 4 year old) and Scrabble 😉
Tell Someone You Love Them!
Giving gifts is usually an expression of love, BUT this Christmas, tell someone you don't usually tell verbally that you love them! Expressing love to those around us is rare these days making it even more special. It'll make their day and gives you that heartwarming feeling that we all crave especially at Christmas time!
We've always taken our kids shopping for each other. This helps them express love to each other and feel the joy of GIVING!
Wrap presents for others! This is a big one that my kids really enjoy... And I'm so glad they do! By bedtime on Christmas eve, I'm really tired and not looking forward to an early morning that little kids can guarantee. Good thing my older kids LOVE to wrap gifts and set Christmas out for the little kids for me!
Another cute idea to tell someone you love them is to post a "3 things I love about you" on social media and tag your family or friend.
Take your neighbors a plate of Christmas goodies and have a short conversation with them!
Christmas Church Worship & Parties
Every year church is part of our Christmas... It doesn't matter what religion you are! If Christmas falls on a Sunday, it's the perfect place to feel the real Christmas spirit at church! If Christmas does not fall on Sunday, we go to a church Christmas Choir Performance or a Church Christmas Dinner! Christmas Dinners at Church aren't usually on Sunday, but we look forward to them every year!
Scripture Night
We've had a tradition of family scripture night every night since we've been married, and it started generations ago... However, I love to save and read the Bible account of Christs' birth in St Luke for our family's Christmas tradition! We read the account with the entire family on Christmas eve!
Family (or friends) Prayer of Gratitude
No matter what religion you are, take time to put together a list of things you are sincerely grateful for. The last 2 years haven't been easy for most of us, but there are always things to be grateful for if you really stop and think! I am grateful my 2-year-old is sleeping through the night (most nights) in his own bed!
This list can be as basic or detailed as you want... But, the more thought you put into it, the more Christmas spirit you will feel! After all, ALL good things come from God!
Kneel down on the floor (by yourself, with your family, or with friends, in a circle) and start by addressing God. I say, "Dear Heavenly Father". Then just talk to him like a friend, and give him thanks for the things (or people or experiences) you are grateful for. Acknowledge the hand of God in your life, and all the good, then feel His love in your heart!
Cooking & Baking Christmas Traditions
Christmas cooking is one of many very old-fashioned Christmas traditions. The best gifts take our time and thought, and Christmas goodies are some of the best gifts to share! We love to make Christmas cookies, iced sugar cookies, date pecan & coconut snowball cookies, these Mexican Christmas cookies, and chocolate-dipped caramel pretzels!
Making and decorating Gingerbread Houses is a fun one that all the kids get excited to do... Maybe it's all the candy, but makes the house smell so good, and it's fun!
Christmas goodie cooking is an activity my kids look forward to every year. They love rolling out Christmas cookie dough and decorating them with Holiday-inspired frosting. And we all LOVE the chocolate-dipped caramel pretzels so much that we eat half of them before we give them away!
These treats are so good, you'll be excited to share the love with those you love. Wrap your Christmas goodies on a pretty plate and drop them off with a card to your friends and family!
Trip To Mountains
Every couple of years we take a family trip to the snowy mountains to chop down a fresh Christmas Tree, and go sledding. My husband and kids LOVE to get into the mountains and cut down a Christmas tree... I think it makes men feel more like men, and kids love it.
While you are in the snowy mountains, take time to enjoy sledding! Make a video for memories and bring a big cooler of hot cocoa to keep everyone warm! Fun family (or friend) memories like thee are so fun to look back on over the years.
Christmas Traditions - Movie Night
We all love choosing a good Christmas movie and snuggling on the couch with hot cocoa and popcorn! A few of our favorite Christmas movies are:
- The Grinch (Of course, the kids always love this one.)
- The Chosen Series (We watch this on Youtube. It's a very well-done reenactment of Christ's life and ministry. We are addicted, and binge-watch it!)
- Elf
- It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
- The Family Man (2000)
- One of my very favorites is Little Women
Service Christmas Traditions
Finding service opportunities in your community is a great way to spread, and feel the Christmas spirit! When you give selflessly you are sharing the Christmas spirit... And when you give someone else those feelings, you feel them too!
You can usually find good service opportunities at a local church, or online at justserve.org for local opportunities to bless those around you! There are endless needs, or opportunities to bless those in need, in the world these days. You can find people reaching out in local Facebook groups and shelters. I find service most rewarding when I can help someone close to home.
You can also donate money or time to a charity online like the World Food Program at https://www.wfp.org/ or help fight human trafficking at https://polarisproject.org/.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!