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Welcome to our 5 part series Cozy Christmas Connections, where I’ll be looking at 10 fun family ideas for Christmas each week, and how to make this festive season the closest yet for you and your family.
I hope you get some inspiration from these ideas, and that implementing them bonds your family closer together!
Last week’s post looked at 10 Ways To Keep The Meaning Of Christmas In Mind. If you missed it, be sure to read it!
10 Bonding Family Traditions For Christmas Day
I am blessed to be part of a family that loves traditions, when I was growing up, and the magic of all those special traditions we shared, and waited in excitement for, stayed with me when I had my children. Now that they’re old enough to start appreciating them, I find myself wanting to start those old traditions in my home!
Making Handprints
Each year before Christmas Day lunch, I trace around each child’s hand, on scrapbook paper, and then laminate them and cut them out, and write the year on. It’s precious seeing how each child has grown every year! I think a paint handprint is a great option to do too, I’ll be trying it this year in place of the outline. It will be more crafty and fun!
Image found on Olive Parties
A favorite dish from childhood
I think continuing a favorite dish of yours from childhood is a sweet way of keeping a special memory of yours continued into your future. I make my grandma’s Bacon Spaghetti; who knows, it may become my grandchildrens’ favorite Christmas dish in 40 years time..
Photo from WikiHow
Bacon Spaghetti:
1 cup finely chopped fried bacon
1 cup tomatoes, blended
2 Tbsp garlic paste
1 cup grated cheddar
Mix together and stir into hot spaghetti
Wish Cards for each child
I made a set of these for my two oldest children, asked each family member to fill them in, and then I laminated them and put them in our memory box for the kids to read one day. This Christmas day after our lunch, I’ll be handing around my 6 month old son’s set of cards for every family member to fill in too 🙂 Something meaningful for the family to do this Christmas!
Image from lilsugar.com
A Grateful Game
A tradition we started last year, is this one, which we call the Grateful Game.I make a book beforehand, similair to this one, and we pass it around on Christmas Day for everyone to fill in. The family is large enough to fill the book pretty quickly after a few rounds, and it’s a special keepsake for future, when your children can look back at what everyone’s fave memories/moments were that year!
Tutorial for the above book can be found at I love it all with Monika Wright
Read a favorite family book
I loved this book as a child, so when I found it at a second hand bookstore as an adult one day, I pretty much reacted like a child. And bought it instantly. Since then, it has been made into a short movie, which I adore, so every Christmas we watch the movie, and read the book 🙂 Do you have a favorite book you loved as a child? Why not keep it as the Christmas Day book and share it with your kids?
The Snowman can be bought at their official site: The Snowman
A family photo with Santa
We did this for the first time last year, and it was awesome. My two year old didn’t like Santa, but apart from that, it was a sweet memory, and a great way to watch how we all grow and change each year. Last year I was pregnant, and this year little one will be 8 months old, and the other kids a year older and bigger! It would be fun to use the same Santa; we had a Santa in the mall our friends used to use too, it was always funny going to visit them and seeing them in a pic with our Santa hehe!
Festive music everyone loves
One of our favorite traditions is to put on Michael Buble’s Christmas while setting up the table, and getting the last biscuits out of the oven. I find it romantic, it puts me in a fab mood and the kids run around in a happy buzz. What album is your festive favorite? 🙂
Advent Calendars
These were a favorite of mine when growing up. Even if it was just a simple one with little chocolates in every window. My kids have this beautiful house advent calendar. During the year it gets filled with little army men, marbles and other random toys they play with in their fantasy worlds, but this December, it will be up and out of reach, filled with little treats for every morning after breakfast 🙂
On Christmas Day, they open the last ‘door’ and get the best present/treat, as well as a little note reminding them of Jesus, the real reason for Christmas 🙂
There are some really creative advent calendar ideas out there, especially on Pinterest. Get inspired if you don’t already have one!
See our DIY Advent Calendar here and our Memory verse one here.
Home made Christmas cards
We love making these for friends overseas, especially. We come up with funny photos to take of our family, and write sweet messages inside. Our friends, in return, send us cards, with photos of their families. It’s nice keeping in contact like that 🙂 And the card making activity, usually over a few days, is a lot of crafty, photography fun too!
On Christmas Day, we put the cards on a small table next to the dinner table, and talk about the friends in our lives, and we are thankful.
You can find this on Etsy @ TheMeekBoutique
Read the Bible as a family
Last but most importantly for us: reading the bible together as a family. Dad will read the story of Jesus’ birth, and we take a moment to reflect on the story, and be thankful!
This can be found on Amazon
I hope you gain some great tips from these ten! 🙂 Creating family traditions is a beautiful way to make memories with and for your children, for generations to come. Put some special thought into it, and enjoy!
If you have any great traditions you love doing as a family, we’d love for you to share them with us! What do you do to connect this festive season?
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Truth in the Tinsel: Spend December impressing God’s Word on your kids’ heart! You’ll get 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities. Plus fun printables and templates! More info here.
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Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families says
The bacon spaghetti sounds tasty. Thank you for sharing.