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Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. It’s a time to celebrate our Lord & Savior, it’s a time to spend with family, and it’s the time to eat really good food! My family and I have some special Christmas traditions that make the season even brighter and I wanted to share them with you!
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Get a letter from the North Pole.
For years I have bought letters from The Santa Claus House in the North Pole, Alaska. These letters come post marked from the North Pole. It’s absolutely magical! My son loves them and the best part is they’re affordable!
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Write a letter to Santa
Even though we get a letter from Santa, my son always sends a letter out to Santa. Normally I just put these letters up and never send them.
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Have professional pictures with Santa
I have a wonderful photographer who does lovely Santa pictures every year for us. They’re treasures and the basis of our Christmas cards every year!
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Watch Santa feed his reindeer
You can watch Santa feed his reindeer! Santa comes on at certain times of the day and you can even download the app! Reindeercam.com
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Call Santa
Did you know you can call Santa and get a recording of him? 951-262-3062
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Leave out reindeer food on Christmas Eve
Hunter loves doing this! We make reindeer food from oats, sprinkles, and glitter and throw them in our yard to attract Santa’s reindeer!
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Make a Gingerbread House or train
Every year we make a gingerbread house and a gingerbread train! It’s so much fun! Get yours here.
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Bake Jesus a birthday cake
Every year we bake a cake for Jesus’ birthday. We end up eating it, but the celebration part is all worth while. We even sing Him Happy Birthday!
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Go Christmas light watching
What better way to enjoy Christmas with your family than to go riding looking for lights. Make it fun – bring along hot chocolate and see who can spot different scenes first!
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Cookie Swap
If you haven’t been to one of these, you need to! It’s so much fun! Basically you get together with friends and girlfriends and you bring cookies! You can share ideas, play games, and play the white elephant game. It’s so much fun!
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Watch Christmas movies and drink hot cocoa
This is one of my favorites! Our family loves to watch Christmas movies and drink hot cocoa!
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Donate to a canned food drive
Christmas is the season of giving and what better way than to donate to a canned food drive or a coat drive! We also like to participate in local toy drives!
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Shoot down mistletoe
This is a season favorite for me. Ever since I was young my papa would take me out in the woods and let me shoot down mistletoe. It seems silly really – but it was fun. I loved shooting the gun to see how many shots it would take before I got it. We’ve been able to pass along this tradition to our son! When I was little, I didn’t keep the mistletoe, but now we hang it in the house until Christmas is over!
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Cut down a tree in the woods for the front porch
When I say – cut down a tree in the woods – I don’t mean a tree farm. I mean, quite literally, we go into the woods and search for a small tree to cut down. We either put it in our sons room, or put it on the front porch to decorate. You can have your very own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!
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Christmas Play
Every year we have a Christmas play at church! My son loves being in the play, telling stories of Jesus and His love for us!
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Get a personalized family ornament
Another one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Every year we head up to Pigeon Forge Tennessee and go to the Christmas Place & pick out a family ornament to be personalized.
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Elf on the Shelf
Oh… I could go on and on. This is my absolute top favorite… Elf on the Shelf. If you haven’t started this as one of your Christmas traditions, you need to head over to my Elf on the Shelf page now and I’ll explain it all.
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Sock Swap, Ornament Swap
Every Christmas Day with the in-laws we have a sock and ornament swap. This is much more fun than the typical white elephant game! You play the exact same, but each person brings an ornament and a pair of socks!
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Make handmade ornaments for the parents/grandparents from upcycled material (wood, corks, etc)
My family LOVES this one. Every year I make them some type of handmade ornament or doodad. I’ve made wooden snowmen, wooden reindeer… all sorts of cute things!
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Design custom Christmas cards
I typically design my own Christmas cards and have them printed. We usually have a bible verse on them and the pictures from my sons Santa photography shoot. They’re absolutely ADORABLE!
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Toy advent calendar
Usually the elf brings this when he comes and my son LOVES it! This year the elf brought this one here with dinosaurs. Last year the elf brought this Lego one! It’s a gift every day!
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New Christmas pajamas
I LOVE pajamas. They’re so stinking cute! Every year I buy pajamas, like the ones here, for my son to wear on Christmas Eve!
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Story of Jesus
This is another favorite of my Christmas traditions. Jesus is the whole reason for the season. Our family gets together, usually around the fire, and reads the story about Jesus’ birth.
What traditions do you and your family celebrate? Does your family have any of the same Christmas traditions as we have?
