I hear the sleigh bells in the distance…
I was blessed with the title of mom this year, so I also get the title of Santa Claus this December. I’m so excited for all things Christmas, it was and still is a favorite in my household, we went hard with decorations, Christmas gifts and traditions each and every year. I’m so excited to start my own traditions with my little family! But I was a little stumped on what ones to do with my baby.
Here are the 3 traditions I will start for my babies 1st Christmas:
CHRISTMAS TRADITION #1: Christmas PJ’s
On christmas eve, she will have 1 present to unwrap. You guessed it, it will be Christmas pajamas. Well I guess this year since she will only be 8 months old, I will be getting most the excitement from this but.. we deserve that too.
Every year when I was growing up we went to my grandparents house for christmas eve. And every year I received a new pair of pajamas. I get you might be thinking how could you be excited about pajamas as a kid!?
But let me paint the picture, it’s christmas eve, you’re getting ready for bed excited for the best day of the year and you get to put on your brand new pajamas, that you’ll get to wear all day the following day, your mom is taking pictures, but no fear I have on my cute new pjs.
I mean.. I don’t know, it did something for me. Now that I think of it maybe that’s why I feel like I need a new outfit for any “special” occasion…
Here are a few cutie pj’s I lovee for the little ones:
CHRISTMAS TRADITION #2: Craft Day (night, hour, weekend)
I have a new found love for homemade gifts as i’ve gotten older. All year you buy things you want/need and once it comes time for christmas, you can’t even think of anything you want (at least off the top of our heads, i’m sure we all have an amazon list floating around.)
So this year when you ask grandma what she wants for christmas and she says “Oh I don’t know” or “I don’t need anything”. Que the homemade gift!
Mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles are the perfect recipient for your child’s homemade gift. And you and your child get to do something fun that doesn’t involve a screen. A win is a winnn.
Pair the craft with something small, maybe a bottle of wine, gift card or candy?
Here are a couple crafts I want to give a try this season:
Handprint/Footprint Ornaments
Paint those little feet green and red, and go to town! We want to cherish those tiny baby hand and tiny baby feet for as long as we can. And you really don’t need to stick with putting those prints just on ornaments, you can do a canvas, hand towels, mugs, really anything, just make sure you select the appropriate paint!
Cookies For Santa Plate
There are soo many adorable ideas for this on pinterest, so many things you can do to get the kids involved. Fingerprint strand lights, santa’s sleigh, reindeer, again the options are endless! Its something youll be able to use year after year and will only become more special as the kids grow.
Popcorn and Cranberry Garland
A classiccc, I feel like we keep trying to recreate the wheel when the idea of a tradition is just the opposite. Sometimes doing the simple classic things are the best. Although I might eat more of the popcorn than gets garland-ed.
Throw on a christmas movie and get down to it! This may only be feasible for your older kiddos. But sometimes a mindless activity is just what we need.
Christmas Tradition #3: Christmas book advent calendar!
This one is one I’m super excited about and would even loveeee an adult version for myself, but make it Thriller and Romatacy books for me.
For this you will buy 24 Christmas books (or non Christmas books) and wrap them up, label them 1-24 and open 1 every day to read with your babe!
I love the idea of this tradition, and feel that it has a huge impact. The best part, you can save all the books for the following years, just store them with your christmas decorations so you know right where they are. When you’re ready the following year, wrap them up again! This is one I think your kids will look forward to each year! A wonderful way to countdown to Christmas day.
Since this is my daughter’s first Christmas, and being only 8 months old, to save a few bucks this year I will probably start with just 12 books. She wont know, and then next year I can add the rest! ORR you could always keep it at 12, do what works for you!
Hot Tips:
- You can find so many Christmas books this time of year at TJ Max and Marshals for CHEAP!
- Save a copy of The Night Before Christmas to open and read on Christmas Eve.
These are 3 traditions I want to implement this year, and can’t wait to add more in the years to come! Let me know in the comments what your favorite traditions are and if you are going to do any of these this year!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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