A Few of Your Favorite Things: Holiday Traditions
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Maybe they’re classic, like baking cookies and watching White Christmas. Maybe they’re quirky, like hiding a pickle ornament on your tree and watching Die Hard — chances are, they’re an important part of the season.
Just for fun, let’s celebrate some customs associated with this time of year…maybe they’re already on your calendar, or maybe you’ll be inspired to start a brand new family tradition!
Host a cookie exchange
If you like to bake but aren’t necessarily up for honoring your great-great grandmother’s tradition of tackling 18 different recipes, cookie exchanges are a fun way to ensure variety without turning your kitchen into a full-service bakery the weekend before Christmas. There are plenty of Pinterest-y twists you can put on the event, but the gist of it is this: each invitee bakes a big batch of their favorite holiday treats, brings them to a central location where taste-testing, recipe-swapping, and general merrymaking occur, and then everyone leaves with a delicious array of goodies to share throughout the season and/or eat in the car on the way home.
Buy matching holiday pajamas for the family
If the idea of family pajamas makes you roll your eyes, we get it. But here’s the thing: if you wear regular pajamas all day, it might just seem lazy. But when you wear matching holiday pajamas all day, it’s adorable! So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to rock sweatpants during the Christmas morning brunch you host without getting the side-eye from your mother-in-law, consider a grownup-sized version of the same cute jammies her grandkids are wearing as an alternative. P.S. If your family has four-legged members, don’t worry…there are plenty of festive sleepwear options for your pets, too!
Have a holiday-themed movie night
You can still keep that 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story on in the background when the time comes, but if you want to take things up a notch, think about choosing a holiday film the whole family loves and having an extra special movie night! Whip up some hot cocoa and maybe a batch of candy cane popcorn, throw on those matching PJs (see above), and gather ‘round the television for some cozy, low-key seasonal fun.
Organize a holiday game night
Movies are great, but if your family needs a break from screen time, game nights are an awesome interactive alternative! You can just bust out your favorite board games and play them under the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, or you could mix in some holiday-themed variations of classic party pastimes. You can keep it family-only, or invite some friends and neighbors over to enjoy an evening of Christmas games (and help you eat all the sugar-laden food items you’ve accumulated since Thanksgiving).
Treat yourselves to a festive night out
Cozy nights in are a wintertime staple, but taking at least one sweet, sparkly outing during the holiday season can be a fun tradition! Dress up and go see The Nutcracker, bundle up and hit the closest ice skating rink, or just buckle up and take a drive to see the Christmas lights (maybe taking a route that allows for a hot chocolate pit stop). If you’re a musical family, maybe there’s a caroling group you’d like to join or a holiday concert you’d love to attend. From train displays at the museum to Santa’s workshop at the mall, there’s bound to be something for everybody and every budget!
Volunteer in your community
Giving gifts to each other is a fun tradition, but giving back to your community is an amazing way to experience the true spirit of the season and spend time together as a family. If you have older children, you might consider serving meals at a local soup kitchen or packing up holiday boxes at a food pantry. If your kids are too small for those activities, there are plenty of other ways to be of service…you could choose a few items to donate to Toys for Tots or drop off warm socks and gloves at a homeless shelter. If you’re not sure where to start, go here to search for volunteer opportunities in your area.
This is also a good time of year, as you celebrate warmth and peace and the spirit of giving, to reflect on the people who bring you the most joy, and how you might better protect them with life insurance. So if you have a few moments in between cookie swaps and Pin the Nose on the Reindeer tournaments, get a free life insurance quote from Our Life Covered℠. You can even do it while sipping hot cocoa and wearing your holiday pajamas.
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Originally published at www.ourlifecovered.com.
