10 Fun Family Christmas Traditions

10 Fun Family Christmas Traditions – Christmas time is here and the fun family traditions are being brought out of the closet for the holiday season, but to those of  you who don’t have any family traditions and would like to get on board, this list of 10 fun family Christmas traditions is for you. Christmas is a time for family and a time of giving, I find the giving more fun than the getting because there’s just no way to express the joy of blessing someone with a completely unexpected gift as a sincere sign of deep gratitude. This list contains several different traditions that your family can take up, ranging from games to community service but please, don’t forget the volunteers in your life this holiday season; Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H Clubs, Civil Air Patrol, unpaid folks that run bible study in their homes, community leaders that organize that special event your kids are still talking about – all of them. It can be cookies, a card, or a monetary gift, but the volunteers that make up your community deserve a special recognition and are frequently left out.

Some of these traditions have different age interest ranges, but I think everyone should still be able to enjoy them. And, you don’t even have to limit yourself to just one tradition, you can go wild with it. These traditions could be done together or apart; it is up to you. You could even tweak them to fit your family, or add more traditions and variations. The more the merrier. So, have fun with your family traditions. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

1. Volunteer Your Time at a Homeless Shelter – This is a great way to teach/show your kids what a blessing giving can be. It can also teach them to be grateful for what they have. Click this link and enter your state to find a directory of shelters in your area.
2. Volunteer at Operation Christmas Child – If you have an Operation Christmas Child shipping/packaging plant near you, I suggest going and volunteering to check the boxes. It is a fun filled time of world service. Kids ages 13 and older and welcome to join in the event. Our home school cooperative spent a night volunteering at our local processing center – talk about a safe way to get your kids into community service!!!!!! Awesome event!
3. Packing Operation Christmas Child Boxes – It is a lot of fun to pack your own boxes for needy children around the world.
   Advent Calendar of Games – For the families who love to game (be it board games, card games, or video games) this is a fun way for family bonding over competitive game play. Each day of the 25 or 24 days of Christmas you play a different game as a family. They can be any type of game from board games to video games; you could even do outdoor games if you want.
4. Cookie Backing Exchange With Your Neighbors – Each family in your neighborhood picks a type of cookie then everyone meets at one house to exchange cookies, play games, and party. Or you can just do the exchange part, whatever fits your family but make it fine and feel the attitude of gratitude!
5. Pickle Prize – More designed towards kids, but still fun for parents to watch. You buy a pickle ornament and then one of the parents hides it on the Christmas tree. The kids then have to search the tree to find the pickle. The kid who finds it first wins a prize. Now, if you don’t want to spend any money you could do the same things with your Elf on a Shelf or any other ornament that is special to you.
6. Best Decorator Competition – If you are a family that likes to decorate then here is a game you all can enjoy. Each member of your family picks a room in your house to decorate (insert your own rules for picking decorations). Then, you invite family/friends over to vote on the room that is best decorated or, better yet, if you’re having a Christmas Open House have anonymous voting at your get together. The winner then gets a prize after the ballots are counted. Now if you are a close nit neighborhood or a close nit street get your neighbors involved and make it street wide or neighborhood wide for your contest!
7. Christmas Lights Viewing – If you have some place local that boasts a magical Christmas light display, then you can make it a family tradition to go and view them and maybe spend that evening wrapping gifts or watching a special Christmas movie
8. Advent Calendar of Movies – ABC family (television channel) does this every year around Christmas. Pick 24 or 25 movies and each night watch one movie leading up to Christmas. Pop the popcorn, snuggle, and let loose the grattitude for your family knowing that although your sink may be full of dishes or your feet hurt from working, one day you’re going to miss these moments.
9. Bedtime Advent Stories – You are going to need 24 or 25 Christmas stories for this one so be sure to hit your local library, then,   each night your family reads one story before going to bed. Older kids can take turns with reading so it’s not just the parents doing the reading every night. This is a great way to get younger kids to settle down after the excitement of the day with the coming of Christmas.
10. Baking cookies for Santa – I love this traditions and we’ve personally been living it for 18 years now (my oldest is 19 and my youngest is age 6). 2 Days before Christmas we bake whatever cookies are a favorite and then find the perfect place to leave them with a very special note for Santa. See my fun and easy baking recipe Christmas cookie recipe here