Want to start Christmas Eve Traditions with your family? Here are some fun, family friendly traditions your family will love year after year.
If I had to rank the days I look forward to most, Christmas Eve would be number one. It’s full of anticipation, excitement, and my favourite part, the Christmas Eve traditions.
Building holiday traditions with my growing family has been something I’ve looked forward to since Amelia was born. Can you guess when her original due date was? I took that as a sign that Christmas was going to be a big deal in our house.
Tell me, do you look forward to your family Christmas Eve traditions? What did you bring from your own childhood?
For me growing up in an Italian family we had a big (I mean BIG) seafood dinner.
Now that Amelia is getting old enough to remember what happened the year before I’ve set out to start the Christmas Eve traditions, I hope she and Theodore will grow to love year after year.
Need some ideas to start your own traditions? Here’s some ideas!
Deliver Christmas Cookies to Neighbours
What better way to spread the warm feelings of coming together than bringing a special delivery to your neighbours on Christmas Eve.
Make a Milestone Christmas Craft
Watching my kids grow brings out all the feels for me and I want to remember them at each stage. I love making Christmas ornaments with the kids hands and feet to look back on year after year.
Bake cookies for Santa
I love the tradition of leaving cookies out for Santa – a classic! Baking cookies is one of our favourite activities so why not add a festive spin, make it one of your Christmas Eve traditions and bake cookies for Santa
Make Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas Morning
Cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning is a tradition we started Amelia’s first Christmas. It’s always been me making them the night before, but why not include the kids!
Check out my favourite Vegan No Knead Cinnamon Rolls from The First Mess. It’s easy and they turn out fluffy and delicious.
Track Santa
How fun for the kids! Sit down together throughout the day and track where Santa is. Find the Santa Tracker HERE.
Make a Platter for Santa’s Reindeer
Need to sneak some veggies into your kids leading up to some festive snacking? Make a platter for the reindeer with carrots and other veggies. They’ll be sure to snack along as you make it.
Arrange a Visit from Santa
Recruit a family member to dress up as the big guy and stop by to say hello to the kids.
Open a family Christmas Eve Box
This is one of my absolute favourite Christmas Eve traditions. Put together a Christmas Eve box with matching family pajamas, the ingredients for a fun and festive snack, and a special ornament for the kids.
Are you interested in being more eco-friendly this Christmas like me? What about buying a custom box you can use for years to come. Look how beautiful this one is.
Want to get life out of your Christmas pajamas? I love the tradition of getting new pajamas but I see the waste there. To avoid throw out mentality when it comes to our tradition of getting matching pajamas I purchase high quality items that are gender neutral (if you have a boy and a girl for example) and in colours and patterns that aren’t specifically Christmas – give me ALL the stripes!
Leave a trail of Santa’s footprint
How cute is this! If you’re not into tracking dirt in the house, this might not be for you. Take a pair of boots and leave a trail of Santa’s footprints for the kids to find in the morning.
A Date Night with Your Partner
Quite honestly, the holidays can be hectic and stressful between the financial aspect, shuttling your family around, and a change in schedules.
Every year I look forward to putting the kids to bed and sitting down with Arthur just the two of us.
Since our first Christmas, we’ve enjoyed rum and eggnog together and it’s become one of our favourite Christmas Eve traditions.
If you’re like me and just can’t stomach the rich ingredients of classic eggnog, rest assured. I’ve got you covered. Check out the Three Vegan Eggnogs with Classic Eggnog Taste. I also love this recipe from Jillian Harris – the queen of festive cocktails!
Hot Chocolate in Special Mugs
Tell me I’m not the only mug enthusiast here?
I’ve now started to share my love of mugs with my kids by getting them festive holiday mugs. Amelia was over the moon!
Make up a batch of hot chocolate in your special mugs and sit by your fire, play a family game, or enjoy with a holiday movie.
Not so into the sugary hot chocolate mixes from the store? Not to worry, making your own hot chocolate from scratch is super easy. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
Volunteer
I think often about how fortunate I am and the holidays make me realize that even more.
Find some time to go as a family or on your own if your kids are little to give back to your community.
If it’s not in the cards to go and volunteer in person, consider adopting a family and purchasing Christmas dinner or gifts.
Watch a Christmas Movie with Festive Popcorn
Family movie nights are a weekly tradition in our house so you can bet we’ll have one on Christmas Eve.
Lay out all the blankets and pillows and cozy up together to watch your favourite Christmas movies. I can bet you’ll watch the same ones year after year!
Add a festive twist to your classic movie night snack and make Sugar Cookie popcorn!
Make a Seafood Dinner
This is a Christmas Eve tradition from my own childhood. My grandmother made a huge seafood dinner every year when I was growing up.
I love mussels and seafood pasta and my kids devour salmon!
Get some inspiration for the best Christmas Eve seafood meals HERE.
Take a Drive to see the Winter Festival of Lights
I live just outside of Niagara Falls, Canada where the Winter Festival of Lights is an annual event.
If you’re local, pack the family in the car in your matching pajamas and festive snacks and take a drive along the falls.
If you aren’t local, do the same but drive through your community to see all the beautifully lit homes.
What are your favourite Christmas Eve traditions? Drop a comment and tell me!
