Want to make Christmas extra magical this year? Why not start your own tradition? There are lots of great Christmas traditions you can start with your toddler. Helping to make the time you spend together even more magical, the traditions you begin this year will potentially carry on throughout the generations.
So, what traditions could you introduce this Christmas? Here, we’ll reveal 10 awesome ideas to help inspire you.
1. Matching Pajamas
What cuter way to celebrate Christmas with your toddler than by wearing matching pajamas? This can easily become a yearly tradition and pajamas are something that become appreciated the older you get!
Many parents choose to give the matching pajamas to the family on Christmas Eve. That way, you can all wake up in your pajamas, ready to celebrate the big day.
2. A Christmas Present Hunt
Do you wish the Christmas excitement could stretch further? Why not start a Christmas present hunt tradition? You can give your toddler their smaller presents first, along with gifts from family and friends. Then, later in the afternoon if you can hold out that long, get them to find their main presents.
You can give them clues and help them find the gifts. They will love having additional presents to open and they’ll find it super-exciting having to hunt for them too. This is a tradition that can carry on for years as older children will love the hunt even more!
3. A Christmas Eve Box
This is a popular tradition today and can make Christmas Eve so much more exciting. The idea is to have a small box for each member of the family. Within the box you can place items that each person will find enjoyable to open.
So, you could place your matching pajamas in the boxes to start, then add things to your toddler’s box such as a new book, a Christmas film and maybe a new decoration for the tree. You’ll start to really look forward to doing the Christmas Eve boxes year after year.
4. Santa’s Footprints
Another tradition which has become popular in recent years is Santa’s footprints. When your toddler goes to bed, use flour to create fake snow, sprinkling it in the hallway by the door. Then, create large footprints leading into the home. You can tell your toddler they are Santa’s footprints when they wake up in the morning. This really adds to the magic of the big day. You can get away with using this tradition for years as your toddler grows.
5. Crepe Paper Barrier
If you want to really convince your little one that Santa is real, you can also create a crepe paper barrier across their bedroom door. You’ll need to be super-quiet as you do this while they are sleeping. You’ll also need to make sure they sleep all the way through the night.
You can tell them the barrier was created by Santa’s mischievous elves to ensure your toddler didn’t sneak out. They may be a little unsure when they are first greeted with the paper barrier, but they’ll have a lot of fun breaking through it on Christmas morning.
6. Choose A Tree Together
The Christmas tree is one of the most exciting parts of the festivities. So, why not make an even bigger deal out of getting it by choosing a tree together? Your toddler will love getting involved in the decision of which one to take home. It can become your annual tradition to head out and pick your tree.
7. Host A Christmas Movie Marathon
An easy tradition to start is the Christmas Movie Marathon. It’s unlikely this one will take off on Christmas Day. After all, there’s lots of toys and other exciting things going on to sit quietly through a movie! However, it’s definitely a tradition you could start on Christmas Eve.
You could even combine this tradition with the Christmas Eve Box tradition. Each year, you can give the Christmas Eve box, get changed into your matching pajamas and then enjoy a cozy Christmas movie marathon.
8. Christmas Baking
In the lead up to the big day, why not start a Christmas baking tradition? You could either bake the same thing each year or try out different recipes to see which one you prefer. Toddlers love helping with baking, so you could use that to your advantage if you need to get a batch of baking done. It’s something you’ll both enjoy doing together and you’ll be left with delicious festive goodies.
9. Christmas Day Photo Shoot
Capture the excitement of the big day each year by taking a family photo in front of the tree. You can compare the photos every year, seeing just how much everyone has changed. It will be even more sentimental comparing photos years down the line, seeing how small your child once was.
You could even go all out and do a full photo shoot. So, rather than taking just one photo in front of the tree, organize to dress up and take several posed photos to stick in a Christmas album.
10. Homemade Christmas Cards
Finally, instead of buying Christmas cards to send to friends and family each year, why not make your own? You could even cut out the pictures on old Christmas cards and use them to decorate your handmade ones.
Toddlers love crafts so this is definitely a tradition they’ll love to start. You may want to do the writing, but your toddler can help with the decorating side of it.
Conclusion
There are lots of great traditions you can start with your toddler. The above are just 10 great ideas to get you started. Whatever you choose to do, having annual Christmas traditions really helps to make the holiday so much more special. Do you have any traditions you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments.
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