60+ Christmas Traditions – Daily Readings

I got this message on Instagram:

O! I’m wondering if you have any good tradition ideas for Christmas Day. We have so many wonderful traditions leading up to Christmas and then the actual days feel flat and boring. I wanted to create some traditions to look forward to after all the presents have been opened and played with.

Our Christmas day usually looks like opening stockings, having a nice breakfast, opening presents as a family (we choose age-appropriate gifts for others to open and because it’s not a rushed opening, it takes us quite a while).

After the presents, we enjoy the afternoon playing with new games or toys – which we all love – and usually have Christmas dinner for the family in the evening.

For some people, the idea of ​​MORE traditions at Christmas is simply overwhelming.

One Instagram commenter said, “I’m so happy to have a boring day after all this craziness. No help here.”

Another said, “Christmas is a rest day. We do everything during the holidays and this is our only day to rest.”

And I tend to agree – I love a day to stay home and enjoy some company. In fact, a year or two ago, my husband suggested that we skip the annual big family Christmas Day lunch he had attended since he was a kid – he just wanted to be home and not feel pressured to drive and visit on Christmas Day so much.

But others feel like the original commenter did!

One of them said, “I don’t have one, but please share! I feel the same way!”

So if you like a lazy Christmas at home, ignore all this advice.

But if you’re looking to add a thing or things to your Christmas Day traditions, here are some great ideas popping up on Instagram!

60+ Christmas Traditions

• Sledding
• We made a Birthday Cake for Jesus. He loves confetti cake and lots of sprinkles according to my son
• We had breakfast together and games/puzzles all afternoon before a big dinner
• Christmas movie marathon
• Go sing
• Today is the day we make gingerbread houses!
• Big lunch board, hot chocolate, fondue for dinner
• We watched Elf and ate Thanksgiving leftovers and dessert I put in the freezer
• We sing Christmas carols before opening presents and make a skillet breakfast the night before
• Watch a movie while the kids assemble Lego kits on a blanket
• Cinema trip! (This is a very popular suggestion!)
• Go visit family!
• Big Lego set as a gift for family
• Church in the morning (yes church on Christmas Day!) and fondue after
• Play the games we gift to the family together
• We ski if not on Sunday
• Make sure to go outside – yes it’s usually cold but the fresh air is amazing!
• We open one gift or series of gifts per person every hour!
• Stay in Jammies all day, play with new toys, read books, and watch movies! No cleanup!
• Waffle bottoms! I only make them once a year and this is it!
• I used to always receive books for Christmas and then spend the day reading.
• Go for a walk
• We love going to restaurants for breakfast and enjoying Chinese Food
• We moved our family birth to Christmas Day. That way we don’t have to plan two different nights, and we can think about Christ on Christmas.
• A walk after lunch is like a quiet time to read a book/new toy
• A relaxing hike while playing high, low, Christmas season nonsense
• A rich Christmas breakfast with special treats before we look for presents.
• We frosted and decorated the cake together.
• Family Talent Show
• We had a hot shower with friends this year!
• My friend’s family went on a scavenger hunt to get the final prize! (This is also our favorite Christmas tradition – I have a whole blog post about it here!)
• Bingo to unlock prizes
• We take it slow when it comes to opening presents. If kids want to stop and play with prizes for 30 minutes, we let them!
• We chose a few gifts and saved them to open in the New Year.
• Sending cinnamon rolls with our kids to some of our closest friends before starting our day.
• Family outing between breakfast and gifts. Stockings then breakfast, then a walk, then a gift
• I do the same puzzle every Christmas from my beloved grandfather who died
• We stayed home in our pajamas, ate lots of frozen appetizers, and played with new gifts
• Great breakfast with more choices than necessary for a family of 6
• We always wear pajamas and watch Charlie Brown Christmas movies
• Looking forward to a new start with Merry Bells
• Everyone got a new magazine and we curled up on the couch to read
• We spent the afternoon with extended family and then went to the movies in the evening.
• Monkey bread for breakfast, Read Luke 2, stockings and gifts, after lunch go to the cinema
• Buffet of apps and snacks all day, stay in Pjs, play games or do puzzles. Christmas music turns on.
• Go to a candle-lit Christmas service with the family
• I have a friend who goes on a polar bear family dive every Christmas
• A nice Christmas dinner, easy leftovers on Christmas Day and I can play games and enjoy the day.
• There are no names, just numbers on the gifts. Children find the number, I say who it is for. Open them one by one.
• Christmas tree shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
• Brother’s gift before going down the tree. I love how focused they are on each other for a while.
• We made Chex mix and 1 last Christmas cookie, then played board games all night.
• Waffle lunch at my in-laws
• Big Brunch with the whole family; pajama day; go for a walk to see Christmas Lights with chocolate
• We keep the old classics in the background- White Christmas, holiday inns, it’s a beautiful life
• The final gift is always a family gift- usually we all get to enjoy it
• Adults celebrate Christmas while kids play with new toys!
• Homemade personal size pizza for dinner
• Luxurious hot chocolate bar with brunch and cinnamon swirl buns.
• We would walk to the local fire station and bring snacks while they were away from the family
• We fly! Family of 5 people. It’s a great day to go somewhere, the airport/airplane is very friendly
• When I was a teenager, we snowshoeed in the afternoon and then watched a movie that evening
• We had a big breakfast with the whole family in town, each family brought 1-2 easy dishes
• Going to the beach is my favorite California Christmas Day tradition!

Any other great Christmas Day traditions? I want to hear it!

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