*This is a collaborative post*
Some families have so many Christmas traditions that it feels as though the entire month before Christmas is full of adorable things to do, like decorating cookies, baking cakes, putting up streamers, and drinking warm cider. But other families? Not so much. If that sounds like your family, and if you’d like to get a little more Christmas-tastic this year, read on for some tips and ideas…
Consider Your Audience
First and foremost, make sure that you consider your audience. If you’re the parent of teenagers, then it probably isn’t time to joyfully present them with the Elf on the Shelf and expect them to greet it with anything other than disdain and confusion. You need to consider who exactly it is you’re dealing with: if your partner loves to be outside, then it’s a much better idea to suggest a snowy Christmas morning dog walk than a movie on the sofa with hot chocolate. Creating new traditions doesn’t have to be about changing absolutely everything you do.
Make A Bucket List
If you want to create new traditions, you need to take the views of everybody into account. Why not make a family bucket list that you’ve all contributed to? This means that everybody gets a say and that you do plenty of things so that you can continue the ones that you all enjoyed into future years. It’s a lot more effective than introducing Christmas sweaters and pointblank expecting it to be a thing every single year from now on.
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Make It Edible
If your family is somewhat reticent about trying to form some Christmas traditions, the top tip is to make them edible. People might not want to sit around watching Christmas movies, but they will almost certainly be more inclined to do so if there is eggnog provided along with several platefuls of Christmas cookies. A lot of the best Christmas traditions include great food, whether it’s making a Christmas cake a couple of months before the day itself, making mulled wine for an excellent pre-Christmas party, or sculpting a perfect Yule log out of chocolate cake and frosting.
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What About Charity?
Remember that Christmas traditions don’t all have to be about eating a lot of sugar and lying on your couch wearing a sweatshirt with a Christmas tree on it like a trussed up Christmas turkey. They can also be about helping other people, and about charity. If you live near the sea, get yourself sponsored for an icy cold Christmas morning dip in the water - and if you can bear it, make it an annual tradition from now on!
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It’s All About Spending Time Together
Finally, remember that Christmas traditions are all about making sure that you spend quality time with the people that you care most about. It isn’t about the specific games you play - although Christmas jigsaws for adults can provide hours of fun - it’s about the time that you share together. So long as you form your new Christmas traditions around laughing and having fun with your loved ones, chances are they’ll stick around for another few years.
Although it’s also important to remember: sugar cookies help too.
*Contributed by Sam Jones. Header image source Pexels.
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