Simplifying Christmas: 20 Traditions to Help You Slow Down and Enjoy Your Holiday

Anyone who celebrates Christmas would likely agree that the month of December is one of the most magical times of the year! Unfortunately, it can also be one of the busiest. As a mom, especially with young kids, the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, decorating, and attending countless events can quickly become overwhelming.

But what if this year could be different?

Instead of rushing through this holiday season, I encourage you to focus on slowing down, being present, and creating lasting memories with your family and friends. The best way to do this is by establishing a few simple but meaningful family traditions to spread throughout the final month of the year leading up to Christmas and New Years. 

Creating New Traditions

Below are a few ideas for easy to implement, heartfelt traditions you can start this year that will hopefully last for generations to come. It’s time to simplify your holiday season and focus on what truly matters—time with your loved ones!

Feel free to pick and choose the ones that speak to your heart or that you think will fit your family circumstance best. Don’t over commit! Pick 2 or 3 new traditions to serve you and your family this year and enjoy the time spent making memories together. Don’t forget to take the photos!

1. December 1st Pajama Tradition

This is a rather popular Christmas Eve option for some, but I prefer to wrap up a holiday themed set of PJ’s for my kids to open on December 1st each year. It’s a fun way to officially kick off the holiday season!

This simple tradition can be easily paired with some of the others listed below. Our family has begun pairing this with the second option on the list and making a movie and cocoa night out of it. I find the two go together well as they both encourage a relaxed and cozy atmosphere as we kick off the Christmas season.

2. Hot Chocolate and Christmas Movie Night

Pick a night during the week leading up to Christmas to enjoy hot cocoa and a classic holiday movie with your family. Snuggle up on the couch in those new Christmas pajamas and get some popcorn kernels on the stove. Let everyone pick their favorite holiday movie to write down on a piece of paper, then crumble the paper up and throw it into a container (mixing bowl, Santa hat, cookie jar – whatever is on hand) and have the youngest blindly pick one paper out of the container. That’s the movie for tonight! Fair and square, hopefully not too much bickering to be had here.

The focus is on being together and enjoying the moment. If one movie isn’t enough for your family, make this a weekly tradition for each week leading up to the big day. This could also ensure everyone’s movie gets played before the season is over. 

 3. Daily Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar

Instead of a traditional advent calendar, create one with daily acts of kindness. Each day, choose a small act to do as a family—whether it’s baking cookies for a neighbor, donating to a charity, or leaving a kind note for someone. It’s a great way to teach your kids about the spirit of giving while keeping the focus on connection.

This time of year, while magical for some, can be really tough for others. A small act of kindness can go a very long way for many who are having a difficult season. This is a very wholesome family tradition that the whole family can get involved in. Try brainstorming together to get your calendar sorted, or if your kids are very young, check Pinterest for some advent inspiration. I know you’ll find all sorts of fun ideas there!

4. Decorate Together, Slowly

Instead of rushing to decorate your house in one day, make it an ongoing activity or turn it into your own “12 days of Christmas decorating” type of theme. Focus on one area each day or plan a day or two to make your own holiday decor – think dried orange garlands or a gingerbread village. Choose to do a little each weekend leading up to Christmas. Turn it into family time—play Christmas music, sip on cider, and let the kids help with their own special decorations.

Be sure to include your children in this as much as possible – they are more excited than you, I can assure you! Plus, they love to contribute to special occasions like this. Fill their cups as well as your own during this time of year. Make sure they understand it’s not about gifts – it’s about togetherness and true quality time with those who love you!

5. Christmas Storybook Countdown

Wrap 12 to 24 Christmas-themed storybooks (these can be books you already own!) and let your kids pick one to unwrap and read together each night. This would be a bit like a story book advent calendar!

If your children are very young or you simply don’t have a large selection of books to choose from yet, you can easily do this with library books! Just be sure not to damage them when you add wrapping paper. We do something like this each year with an assortment of our own and borrowed holiday books from the local library. My kids look forward to it and always enjoy the extra excitement around story time. This sweet and simple tradition encourages quality time and can easily be adapted to whatever works for your family. 

6. Nature Walk to Gather Holiday Decorations

I just love this one, especially if you have toddlers through elementary aged children! Instead of buying all your decorations, go on a nature walk to collect pinecones, holly, and evergreen branches. Use what you find to make homemade wreaths or table centerpieces. You could dress up the mantel a bit or add them to your front porch decor. It’s a great way to get outdoors, slow down, and enjoy the natural beauty of the season! It also makes for great conversation starters – especially for the kids – when they get excited to tell you how a certain color of berry caught their eye, or who found the most pine cones. 

7. Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments

Have a craft day with the kids where you make simple, homemade Christmas ornaments. These could be as easy as paper snowflakes or salt dough ornaments. The goal isn’t perfection, but spending time together and creating something meaningful. There are so many ideas on Pinterest for these I wont overwhelm you with links, but I will share my own board that I’ve been pinning fun Christmas crafts to for kids over the years. There are a ton of fun options there! Also, if you do go the salt dough route, go ahead and make a few extra special ornaments for the grandparents this year to add to your tradition – each grandparent gets a new ornament as a part of their Christmas gift. You can continue this tradition each year as well. Trust me, they will love it!

8. Christmas Card or Note Night

Instead of feeling pressured to send out perfect Christmas cards, dedicate one evening to writing simple cards or heartfelt notes to a few family members or friends. Let your kids decorate the envelopes or add their own doodles inside. It’s about spreading love, not perfection. This can also double as a teaching moment with older kiddos for how to address letters and when to send them if you want them to arrive on time. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t enjoy getting happy mail! 

9. Family Gratitude Jar

Start a Christmas gratitude jar on December 1st. Each day, have every family member write down something they’re grateful for and add it to the jar. On Christmas morning, open the jar and read them together. This is a beautiful way to keep the holiday season grounded in gratitude and really learn to appreciate the blessings you have in your lives. This season it’s more important than ever with an overwhelming amount of ads and influencers telling you how much you NEED this that or the other. A gratitude jar could be just the ticket to keep minds and hearts grounded this time of the year. 

10. Gingerbread House Decorating

Pick an evening to decorate gingerbread houses as a family. You can make it easy by buying a premade kit or go all out by baking your own. Let the kids be creative with their designs, and remember— it’s about the time spent together, not how perfect the house looks! Also, keep expectations in check and just go into this one knowing that the house is probably going to fall down within a few days unless it’s reinforced with toothpicks or some other means of structural support. I would hate for your kids to break down in tears because they come downstairs one morning to find their beautiful creation in a pile of gum drops and icing. 

11. Holiday Music Dance Party

This isn’t one that I would “add to the calendar” so to speak, its more of an organic occurrence. Take a break from holiday prep and have a spontaneous dance party in your living room to Christmas music. Let your kids pick their favorite songs and dance along with them! It’s a great way to let go of stress and bring joy into your day.

12. Christmas Morning Breakfast Tradition

Instead of stressing over a big Christmas dinner, start a new tradition with a special breakfast. Whether it’s cinnamon rolls, pancakes in festive shapes, or a simple breakfast casserole, focus on sharing a relaxing meal together before diving into the day. Again, Pinterest will be a great source if you don’t have a recipe box full of old family recipes to tap into. I like to whip up a casserole the night before or do an overnight crockpot recipe so we can wake up and have very minimal prep and cleanup in the kitchen on Christmas morning. You don’t want to have to deal with prepping a meal while eveyone in the house is chomping at the bit to open presents. 

13. Christmas Light Walk or Drive

Pick an evening during the week, bundle everyone up in their winter gear and go for a walk or drive around your neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. Bring a thermos of hot cocoa or tea and take your time enjoying the beauty of the season. This has absolutely become one of our kids’ favorite holiday traditions and it’s so simple! It requires little to no planning if you have neighbors close by. If you live in a more rural area maybe post on your local town’s Facebook group asking for tips on where the best lights will be and plan to head there for the evening. 

14. Holiday Baking Day

Choose one afternoon to bake cookies or other holiday treats as a family. Keep it simple with easy recipes, and let the kids get involved by decorating the cookies. We do this every year with my grandparents (my children’s great grandparents) and cousins. It’s such a fun way to get everyone together around the holidays when presents aren’t the only thing on your kid’s minds! You can even package them up as gifts for friends or neighbors if you’d like.

Have some classic Christmas movies playing in the background or holiday music playing while you decorate your cookies. If you really want to add a little something and get into the Christmas spirit you could all show up in matching Christmas pajamas or ugly Christmas sweaters to add to the occasion. Think of how fun those pictures would be! 

15. Make a Holiday Playlist Together

Create a family playlist where each person adds their favorite holiday songs. Play it during meals, while decorating, or during any downtime throughout the season. It’s a simple way to connect through music and build anticipation for Christmas. 

16. Storytime by the Christmas Tree

This is definitely one of my favorite Christmas traditions! Pick a night to turn off all the lights except for the Christmas tree and maybe the ambient light from a fireplace and read a few Christmas books together. The soft glow of the tree lights and warm fire will create a cozy, magical atmosphere that your kids will look forward to each year. 

Pro tip: set up a camera or phone nearby to snap photos on an interval timer or take a video of you reading with your kids by the tree. Your entire family will cherish these memories each year when you look back and see how sweet and small your babies were. Such priceless moments should be captured as often as possible!

17. Christmas Eve Walk Under the Stars

Before settling in for the night on Christmas Eve, get everyone bundled up and take a short walk outside under the stars. This quiet moment can help everyone unwind from the excitement of the day and appreciate the peacefulness of the season. This is a great time to reflect on all the new traditions and quality time you’ve been able to fill your cups with this year. Ask your children what their favorite part of the holiday season has been so far and enjoy the special gift of this time together before the chaos of Christmas morning ensues!

18. Memory-Making Ornament Tradition

Each year, let every family member choose or make one special ornament that represents something meaningful from the past year. As your collection grows, decorating the tree will become a walk down memory lane, filled with stories and laughter. You could even take this a step further if space allows and have one tree dedicated to your special memory ornaments while the other is decorated with more traditional bulbs and tinsel. It doesn’t have to be an additional full sized tree, just a small one set up in the den or family room. How fun! 

19. Christmas Carol Sing-Along

This is one that you see in all those classic holiday movies. If you’re lucking enough to have someone in the family who can play piano, this could be so fun to start at the holidays! Gather around the piano or just in the living room for a family sing-along of your favorite Christmas carols. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a great singer—the focus is on the fun and togetherness.

20. New Year’s Family Reflection Time

After the rush of Christmas, take a quiet moment as a family to reflect on the past year and talk about hopes and dreams for the coming year. This tradition helps you wind down from the holiday season and start the new year with intention. I love doing this for myself each year and I think it’s a great idea to get the whole family involved. This is one of the best ways to really see how your year went and establish fun new goals and plans for the coming year!

Conclusion

By focusing on simple, easy-to-implement traditions, you can slow down and create space for what truly matters during the holidays—connection, joy, and being present with your family. These traditions don’t require elaborate planning or perfection, just time spent together.

Here’s to a calmer, more meaningful Christmas season for you and your family!

I hope you’ve found some value in these holiday traditions. Feel free to add some of your own in the comments, I’d love to hear about them!!

Until next time, friend.

Olivia

_{Don’t forget to save this to come back to next year!}