The most memorable things about our Christmas is not the gifts, but the memories made that last a lifetime. My favorite memories are the experiences and I look forward to them every year. Here are some ideas that we have incorporated in our family and will experience in years to come. Keep in mind to think what would work with your family that you can see yourself doing annually. There is no one way to have a tradition for your family. Think “quality time” verses “quantity”.
1. Get a Fresh Cut Christmas Tree. Visit a local Christmas tree farm to get a fresh cut fir and/or wreath. On the way there and on the way back play the holiday station on the radio to add a little jingling beat. Some locations have family-friendly activities to partake, special events, pictures with Santa Claus, mazes, hayrides, petting barns, kid rides and more. Usually they open the day after Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to take pictures of your experience with the family.
2. Trim The Tree. Decorate your Christmas tree with your string lights and favorite ornaments. As a fun activity with my children we were successful to use my son’s handprint to create the guide in painting a Santa Claus with acrylic paint. I can see us creating a new ornament every year. There are dozens of other handprint painting ideas. It is quite affordable and you can just focus on doing one ornament per person. Below are some helpful links to get inspired in creating your own original ornaments.
How To Make A Snowman and Santa Claus Dough Ornament?
Pictures are included with an easy recipe to follow and step-by-step instructions how to use your child’s handprint to create a memorable ornament. Be creative an create other types of creatures or use a variety of cookie cutters for festive shapes. Incorporate random elements like buttons, ribbon or objects that have a pattern. Most important part is to have fun when you are doing this.
How To Make A Homemade Ornament Made with 2 Ingredients?
If you love aromatherapy this simple recipe of breathing cinnamon has many benefits that helps you in reducing drowsiness, irritability and to concentrate better. Of course it will add to your home a pleasant scent of Christmas.
How To Make Rustic Christmas Ornaments?
Are you going for a farmhouse ranch look or have a vintage looking theme? This post will inspire you how to utilize fabric and stamps adding that perfect personal touch to your tree or any of your decór in your home or office space.
3. Have Dinner in a Gingerbread House or Life-size Candy Land House. Make a reservation to dine in the Snowland Gingerbread House at Great Wolf Lodge. There is a $10.00 fee donated to the Ronald McDonald House. The lunch/dinner menu that is provided is from Lodge Wood Fired Grill. When we build an outdoor playhouse for our children we plan to incorporate it into a life-size Candy Land Board Game so that the finish line would be lunch or dinner inside. There is a bunch of pinterest ideas to create a magical experience.
4. Reindeer Games. I am sure you are probably trying to remember that song where you have heard this one before. Well, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer may not have been able to play, but you and your family sure can whether it is for a family past time, family gathering or you are throwing an annual Christmas party. Check out these ideas for a little inspiration to kick up some entertainment for all ages by The Spruce.
5. Exterior Illumination. Install exterior lighting to your home and adorn your front door with a wreath. The photo on the left is actually a home of a friend that I know of who used a licensed and insured contractor. Which is a good reminder that if you would rather not do your own installation then start your hunt for a Christmas light installer in October to schedule your appointment.
6. Family Photos. Have a local photographer take photos of the family somewhere off the beaten path instead of waiting in long lines at the Mall for the big red guy. We were thankful that at the Christmas Tree plantation where we pick our real Christmas tree that there was a local professional photographer that had created a whimsical festive station for an affordable rate of $5 a download. And don’t worry about having the kids sit perfectly still. Sometimes the best photos are what naturally takes place. It could be your next greeting card. See my 2018 greeting card below.
7. Greeting Cards. Use those photos to create holiday greeting cards to send through the postal service to your family, friends, etc. Visit uprinting.com to get them digitally printed directly from their website. Choose from a variety of options of paper stock and to include envelopes with your order. Be sure to select “greeting card” as the type of printing project that you want to print. There is a difference in cost, quantity options and to include envelopes. There are a number of other digital printers out there. This is just one of my niches that I use often.
8. Watch Christmas movies. Here are some suggestions for your movie night: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf, Polar Express, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, The Santa Claus, Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, A Christmas Story, The Grinch, Home Alone, A Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, The Family Stone, Four Christmases, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Vow, The Holiday.
9. Christmas Jammies. The night before Christmas give your family matching pajamas and take a fun photo. This is just me, my in-laws, my niece and my son sporting our 2017 jammies. You can mix and match the adults and the kids or stick with a certain theme. We wore a naughty or nice list with matching plaid pants. Our children wore Disney related Christmas themed jammies. Have fun with this! There are options to even get adult onesies.
10. Game Night. Make a giant bowl of reindeer food, s’mores, drink hot chocolate and play board games. This can surely be a real fun-time. Here are some suggestions: Family Feud, Scrabble, Pictionary, Cranium, Heads Up, Uno, Dominos, Taboo
11. Special Family Only Dinner. Make a special dinner that is only made on Christmas Eve. Ours is steak and lobster. Focus on the family and keep the digital distractions from intruding on your family time. This is your time to think about how thankful and blessed you are. Share with each other what those things are.
12. Slumber Eve. Sleep around the Christmas tree.
13. Giving. Donate to a holiday food drive. Serve a meal. Pay it forward at a restaurant.
14. Angel Tree. Buy a toy listed on a wish tag on one of the Angel Trees. There are a number of companies, churches and public places where you can find one. Social service agencies and schools refer families to The Salvation Army for help with Christmas. Participants are interviewed to verify that the family is truly in need.
15. Story Time. These are just some suggestions to cuddle around the tree or the fire place. Have the patriarch read the Nativity Story, Twas’ The Night Before Christmas, or one of the youngest’s personalized adventure books.
16. Baking Together. Make cookies to festive desserts.
17. Karaoke. Rock around the Christmas tree and make a joyful noise. If you are a family that has some great voices this would be a great time to add to those family memories. My husband loves to sing and has no problem rocking the mic any day of the week. Adding an evening of karaoke can be fun and bring some holiday cheer. Of course you can sing whatever songs that may be available. Here are some song suggestions for a sing-a-long: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Jingle Bell Rock, Santa Claus is Coming To Town, Winter Wonderland.
18. Happy Jar. At a family gathering at dinner or breakfast write your favorite memory, blessing, thoughts, notes, prayer answered on a piece of paper and put it in a jar. Petit Lou Lou had some pearly words of inspiration that you may want to check out the idea behind doing this activity with either your family or with your extended family. Use a mason jar or make a decorative series. Maybe take a jar and dedicate it to places that you would like to visit, day trip ideas, concerts, entertainment or places that you would like to vacation to.
19. Visit the Holiday Lighting at the Dallas Zoo. With our extended family we used to drive the Christmas lighting tours. With the age group of my children it is just not realistic for us anymore. Thankfully, our local zoo started decorating for the holidays and offer family-friendly activities. Check out the Dallas Zoo event schedule here.
20. Stocking Love. Think about your kids and other family members to drop special homemade cards or notes to each other. For unusual gift items here is uncommon goods to inspire you to insert in those stockings. Besides adding trinkets or gifts. If you are looking to create a creative stocking that is original to start hanging check out the Bunny Hill Designs for a template to cut out. There are more ideas out there than the usual red and white boot.
21. Ice Lanterns. Add a beautiful touch to your yard by making these icy orb decorations along the walkway, driveway, trees or around the flowerbeds. Every now and again, our Texas weather changes and it can snow. I’m sure it is nothing like Michigan winters, but I am looking forward to an upcoming cold snap to make our own. Also this would be a great idea to incorporate into a winter wedding centerpiece or a winter wonderland themed event. I would avoid adding any food coloring, because it stains. You could also add embellishments like cranberry twigs or other natural foliage.
22. Merry Dance. Put on some sappy love songs and dance with your spouse. Let your children see you love each other through song and dance. Dance with your babies and/or children. It may be a little workout. But it is worth it. Teach your children to do a line dance or special family dance moves.
23. Family Prayer. Gather in a circle, hold hands, pray over your family/loved ones and speak blessings over them.
24. Family DIY Gifts. It is always better to give than to receive right? If you have a crafty/baker side consider making something special for a friend, neighbor, coworkers, clients, and/or family. Each year I have tried different ideas from Italian sodas from Central Market to funny wine names. If you like to create a little basket there are always some cute little packaging, or cheese or a fruit that you could put together. Creating fun cake pops to making miniature art. These little treasures are special when they are thoughtfully presented.
25. An Uncle/Aunt Present. For those hard-to-shop-for teenagers. Create a game show with an option of a selection of prizes. For example we chose our family version of Let’s Make A Deal. By the way, our nieces and nephews were all winners when they played and won one or many prizes. The ending result was to give a gift that would involve you interacting with them outside of the holiday.
– Here Are Some Prize Ideas –
– Indoor skydiving. This was actually one of the grand prizes that we offered and was a big hit. I was actually in my first trimester of being pregnant with my twin daughters so I didn’t get to try it with my niece. There is a weight limit to participate. Depending on the flight you book you get the gear and a crash course how to fly. There’s no plane, no parachute and no jumping. It’s just you, a smooth cushion of air and FLYING. It was such a treat to see especially those who were showing off their moves.
– Pizza Delivery. A prize to deliver pizza a maximum of $25 per call. The winner would call you and request a pizza from Papa Johns. You would order the pizza online or by phone and have it delivered to them where ever they may be. For as many times that you would like to offer this prize. This is a great opportunity to check in how they are doing. Definitely a creative way to be involved as a positive influence in their life.
– Ice Skating at the Dallas Galleria.
– Visit Downtown, take the Trolley and eat from a food truck.
– Date Night with your Uncle and Aunt to a fabulous restaurant. Pick a date and get dressed up. Pick up your darling niece/nephew and enjoy a 5 course meal somewhere special.
– Six Flags. Have some fun and ride those rollercoasters.
– Parallel Parking. Teach your nephew or niece how to park at a library or college parking lot. Obviously this is only applicable to those who may not have their driver’s permit. But it is an idea.
Togetherness is a very important ingredient in family life.
