Christmas Traditions For Family Travelers & Expats

What do you cherish and remember most clearly about Christmas during your own childhood? Was it the food the carols and music going to church the Christmas tree? When we look back at our childhood we don’t remember the gifts that we were given, we would call the things that we did as a family that created the most long-lasting memories.

Family Christmas traditions that adhere to year after year during the festive season are an important part of childhood and often free or don’t cost much.

Here are our 8 best memory-making traditions for families to enjoy this Christmas

Send Homemade Christmas Cards

Go old school and send some homemade cards. In the modern era of e-Christmas cards this is a traditional way to make your Christmas celebration special. Making homemade Christmas cards can involve the whole family. Sit down with some glitter, stencils, stickers and colored paper. Play Christmas music to get you in the morning your kids and you will have great fun making the cards and then and giving them to friends and family.

Make An Advent Calendar

Make or buy an advent calendar that can be reused each year. Instead of putting suites or toys in it put a note for each day about all the different things you love about your child there would be a full-scale riot in my house if there were in a small present or treat in the calendar each day so you may want to consider adding the notes on top of a little present!

Give Them a Christmas Eve Box

Treat your kids to an early gift with a special box that contains festive pajamas to wear in a Christmas film to watch If you want to spend less, you could include a festive book or art and craft activity so that they can make a special Christmas Eve decoration for the tree

Prepare a North Pole Christmas Breakfast

An amazing way to welcome the festive season is by preparing a North Pole Christmas breakfast for your family on the first day of December. Get the kids involved in designing the menu and making the decorations. Many families combine on North Pole Christmas breakfast with the elf on the shelf who joins them for a meal. He then appears every morning doing something mischievous until Christmas Day. I think most parents either love or loathe the elf. I’ll let you decide!

NOTE: If you loathe the elf like moi, then a suitable alternative is Melk the Monkey!

Grab him here & then shoot me an email for a special gift when you do!

Leave Food Out for Santa & His Helpers

Leaving food out for Santa and his friends is another lovely tradition for Christmas Eve. Don’t forget to prepare the reindeer food out of dried oats and biodegradable glitter and have your kids scatter it in the backyard or lawn on Christmas Eve. You can also go out and gather greenery like Holly and ivy from a garden to decorate the mantel pieces or other areas in your house.

Make a CHRISTmas Supper

Opt for a special dinner (using whatever native ingredients are available to you. Totally okay if itis different every year!) and family prayer night. Spend time giving thanks to the One that sacrificed everything for us.

Download your FREE Christmas gratitude list here (TIP: Laminate it & write on it daily)

Say Cheese!

Many families forget to take a family photo on Christmas Day. So, make time to capture a photo with your family each year in front of the Christmas tree striking the same pose. It will be interesting to document how you change each year. Then, you could put the photos into a special album!

Go To a Carol Service

Even if you are not generally a churchgoer, going to a service at your local church on Christmas Eve is a lovely thing to do with your children. Seeing carols and listening to the story of the nativity is sure to put everybody in the festive mood and it’s good to take some time to remember the origins of Christmas.

Wrap It All Up

Enjoy the special festive memories you make with your family. Your children won’t stay little for long, and it’s great to remind them that Christmas is about being together and not just about presents and treats.