Holiday Season Traditions to Begin this Year
{ By Miranda Martin }
It’s the holiday season, and that means it’s time to bust out the holiday decor, deck the halls, and spend some time with our loved ones as we reflect on the past year (and look forward to the year ahead)! If you’re looking to create more meaningful, lasting holiday traditions with your loved ones this season, try these tips for beginning holiday traditions that will endure for years to come.
Traditions you may already know, but need to start:
Some holiday traditions you may be familiar with, but simply don’t do for one reason or another. Why not revisit and re-evaluate these tried-and-true traditions this holiday season and see what sticks? Try getting the family together and doing holiday season activities like…
Christmas Caroling:
Why not revive this age-old tradition, and go house to house in your neighborhood singing carols? This is so much fun, and I remember caroling as a kid at various houses in the area. I think people should bring this back, right?! It’s fun, positive, wholesome fun for an entire family, group of friends, or community group and spreads cheer (for free!) to everyone.
Advent Calendars:
As a kid, I had a new one of these bad boys every year (and I was obsessed)! Chocolate-filled advent calendars tend to be inexpensive (like ones you can find at Five and Below), and always brought such joy to me as a child. Even if you’re an adult, consider buying one this season, and waking up to a chocolate holiday treat every day in December because, ya know, why not?
Elf on the Shelf:
This may be divisive (and we didn’t have these when I was a kid!), but Elf on the Shelf is a fun way to get the whole family involved in a new, wacky holiday tradition that’s swept the nation. Visit their website, order an elf, and come up with creative things for the elf (or elves, if you buy multiple!) to do each night while the kids sleep that they can wake up to and enjoy (like a note from Santa, a snowy, flour mess with a plate of cookies, or whatever else you can think up)!
New Holiday traditions to begin this year
If you’re maxed out on the tried-and-true holiday traditions, maybe it’s time to start creating, net-new holiday traditions this year? From throwing your own holiday gathering strictly for your friends (if you already do something with your family), to creating a more modern celebration, these newer-age holiday traditions might be for you, including…
Going to a holiday luncheon OUT (just for friends!):
This year, my friends and I tried something radically new and different– instead of putting the pressure on one person to host our yearly, holiday friend gathering, we went out for, get this, holiday lunch and margaritas! That’s right– we met at a local Mexican restaurant for lunch, margs, and just talked the afternoon away and exchanged gifts there. None of us had to host, and the pressure was off. It was informal, fun, and enjoyable (and again– none of us had to HOST!), and we plan to do a holiday luncheon out every year from now on.
Driving out of town to see holiday light displays you wouldn’t normally see:
Make it a road trip! My family and I drive a few hours away to go see brilliant light displays each year, and we love it. Instead of taking the regular trip around the block to see our neighbors’ holiday lights, we make a whole day of it, and trek out in the car (complete with peppermint mochas in tow and Christmas Carols on the radio, no doubt!) for an entire Saturday or Sunday focused on just enjoying one another’s company and light displays in parks or other areas (like Busch Gardens’ holiday light display, for example!) we’ve not seen before.
So, what holiday traditions do you plan to try this year? Happy Holidays to all, and we hope you enjoy every moment– no matter how you celebrate!
