holiday traditions

The Holidays are rich with traditions that vary from family to family.  What a better December share from the Clickin Moms photography forum members than showing their own unique Holiday traditions?!  Enjoy the different ways that members celebrate throughout the month!

members’ holiday traditions

“I’d have to say, my son’s favorite holiday tradition is our Elf on the Shelf, Pinocchio. He has already starting asking about when that mischievous elf is going to make a reappearance. We love it because it’s silly and it makes us all laugh. I post photos of Pinocchio’s adventures online so friends and family can get in on the fun!” – Kathleen ‘momtog_kat’

“We love just decking the halls!” – Danielle ‘danse’

“Traditionally, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the day our family decks the halls! As the kids get older they remember each and every decoration, studying each one as we bring it out! They spend all day setting up our little village under the tree. As soon as it gets dark, they light it up and admire it, moving around the little people and perfect their little scene! It’s so sweet!” – Jaime Sheridan ‘jsheridan’

“My kids get to pick from the many Hanukkah Menorahs we have collected over the years to light each Hanukkah. Then they each get to take turns picking out the color of the candles and they also (now that they are older) get to light them by themselves. Then they each get 1 present each night.” – Jessica Nelson ‘JessicaN’

“Making a gingerbread house. My husband and I have made one every year since before we had kids. So, about a 6yr tradition going…” – Michelle ‘michellekphoto’

“Ever since my son was born a whole three years ago, he gets a new set of Christmas pajamas. Here he is in his new set of the year!” – Lacey ‘reltubl’

“Our traditions aren’t very novel. But they are special to us. Here my 3.5 year old is helping his 1 year old sister learn about his favorite Christmas Tree ornaments. It made my mama heart happy.” – Natalie ‘mamatrack’

“We have three especially meaningful traditions… one I explained about in my entry for the monthly contest. We buy a Nativity scene, pick a shut in who we think could use a little something to look forward to, and send them one piece of the nativity at a time. Included in the box is a story about how that particular character fits in the Christ Story, and the words to a Christmas carol. On Christmas Eve we bring the last piece, the baby Jesus, and deliver in person with all of us caroling at their door. This year we picked two people… one was a child on the kid’s swim team who has cancer, and the other was a man in our church who had cancer. Unfortunately, he died last week, so we are sending it to his widow.” – Carri Peterson ‘petersonclan’

“One of my favorite traditions is the Christmas ornaments. I’ve collected ornaments since I was in high school. I started purchasing ornaments for my children when they were born. Each year they get a new one. Hallmark if I have the money, less expensive ones if not. I generally get ornaments that ‘go’ with the child . . . ornaments with soccer balls for middle child, books for youngest, etc. Below is one of the first ornaments I purchased myself at age 17. I have a precious German wax ornament . . . it has bite marks where a small 3 year old thought it looked like a tasty snack. The ornaments aren’t worth a lot, but they’re priceless to me. Every year, as I decorate the tree, I remember the past, when my children were small and and filled with the wonder of Christmas.” – Leslie ‘busyme’

“Here is my annual Holiday Tradition….Christmas Cookie Baking with my BFF! This was our ninth straight year of baking. Would you believe that we did all of this baking in SEVEN HOURS? No kidding. We made seven different varieties of cookies: Cornflake Wreaths, Gingerbread Men, Jam cups, Macaroons, Sparkle Cookies, Peanut Butter Kisses, and Fruitcake Cookies. Our family and friends will eat well this Christmas!” – Holly ‘HollyGoodwin’

“Does drinking wine in front of the pretty tree count as a tradition?” – Marla ‘marlathrall’

“More cookie baking here in boston. Every year we get together with my mom & dad ( affectionately known to the kids as gigi & poppy) and we make hundreds of Christmas cookies for friends, relatives and ourselves!
Here is a photo of my mom helping the kids top the cookies with kisses!” – Cara ‘carasoulia’

“I’m trying to start a new tradition with my kids (3 year old twins). I want to get a picture of a Christmas hug every year. The thing is I hardly ever get them smiling and looking in a picture so if I can get a good picture of them hugging then it is a great early Christmas gift for me.” – Carrie ‘twin_mom’

“One of my most favorite traditions growing up was to go to this neighborhood, that would go all out for Christmas lights/decor. We would all meet up in front of the neighborhood and pile into a car together often leaving the back of the minivan up so we could all fit and see the lights. Sometimes we’d even get a trailer with hay bales to sit on. We’d sing carols and wave at the residents and other on-lookers. Usually there is a line a mile long to get in. Each block has a theme and the themes have been the same for as long as I can remember and some of the decoration are the same too. It’s magical and I love that I can now share this with my children.” – Jennifer ‘JenniferDell’

“This year we started what I hope will become a tradition in our house; we began a “25 Days of Christmas” plan on December 1st. I made a list of 25 activities to do – one per day – from December 1st through December 25th, and I put each activity on its own piece of paper in its own envelope for the kids to open every day. I numbered the envelopes and put one of their names on each to avoid fighting over who gets to open the envelope! The activities are everything from winter and Christmas crafts I’ve found on Pinterest to sending a care package to troops overseas to reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ on Christmas Eve. Since this was our first year doing this and since my kids are still fairly young, this year’s plan includes a lot of craft activities, but my hope is to add more and more activities of giving and kindness as they grow older and as we continue this tradition. This was Day 1 of our “25 Days”…making handprint Christmas tree canvases.” – Ashley ‘Ashley’

“Decorating the tree. Every year, each family member gets a new ornament on Christmas Eve, and so as we decorate the tree, we are always trying to remember which ornament is from which year…usually they have a significance to that particular year. My husband and I still have our own ornaments from childhood too.” – Heather ‘hmeyer626’

“We, too, do the gingerbread house thing. Every year I curse those blasted houses! How is icing going to hold up an entire house?! The girls love it though and the houses are a total mess by the end.” – Melissa ‘Melissa’

“My absolute favorite tradition is hunting for THE PERFECT Christmas tree. My parents and I have been taking the journey out into the fields of trees since I was just a tiny tot. My husband and I continued the tradition with my parents when we got married, and now bring our girls along. And we must find TWO, so it’s double the fun. Our oldest went out on her first tree hunt at only 5 weeks old! It’s my favorite day, and I was so joyful this year when my oldest daughter clearly had memories of doing it the previous year. Now they will be memories for another generation’s lifetime. Here are my girls with my mom this year…” – Karen ‘KarenL’

“Rolling out sugar cookies and decorating them is a favorite family tradition during the Christmas season. We usually make hundreds of them to share with our friends and neighbors. This year was the first year my daughter was really able to participate and get excited about making cookies for her friends. I love her excitement and pride in this photo!” – Holly ‘delona’

“One of our favorite holiday traditions each year is to get dressed up and head to downtown Seattle for a fun family day. We take time to visit with Santa, ride the carousel, go out to a nice lunch and really enjoy the downtown holiday vibe with just the four of us.” – Davina ‘dgruenstein’

“There is something magic about watching your child, being held tight by her Daddy, throw bran flakes out into the yard on Christmas Eve, as a way to attract Santa and his reindeer to our house.” – Lauren ‘lsanderson105’

“We have a couple traditions but by far my kids favorite is our advent calendar. I made this a couple years ago out of matchboxes, inside each one is an activity for the day, such as read a Christmas story, drive around and look at lights, enjoy some hot chocolate and my kids absolute favorite is stay up 10 minutes later.  Another tradition that my girls look forward to every year is their annual video message from Santa. We just started this one a couple years ago as well. Although my 8 year old just realized today that the messages are exactly the same with just the name changed lol.” – Jessica ‘jessaphb’

Thank you to everyone who shared a photo and story about your traditions!  Now tell us, what is your favorite family tradition during the Holidays?