I think holiday traditions are the best part of the holiday season. The only problem with traditions is when a family or friend situation changes so the tradition changes which can really mess with your emotions. Most of my traditions have changed for the better (marriage changed traditions from “my family’s” and “his family’s” to “our family” traditions) but some traditions change because of death of family member or friend or loss of friendship in another way. I like to remind myself that traditions are not obligations, we can choose whether we participate each year and maybe come up with new ones as life changes!
Currently, my husband and I are a family of 2, and we have decided some traditions that we will keep as a couple. I expect our traditions to change when we have children, and they’ll probably continue to evolve as our lives evolve.
New Christmas Pajamas
I like wearing pajamas around the house and Christmas time is the best excuse to buy a matching set with Shane and just be that couple that wears matching pajamas. Currently, my favorite pajamas are the Nordstrom Lingerie ones, and the J Crew Factory Cotton ones, but for matching pajamas I normally get a set at Old Navy or Target.
Buy one new holiday movie
I LOVE holiday movies and I really love when they’re on Netflix or Amazon or Hulu so I don’t need to own them. I don’t believe in paying for cable so watching movies on Freeform is not really an option for me. I want to own all the holiday classics on Bluray or in digital form but it is too expensive to buy them all at once, so until I own them all I will buy them one year at a time. Side note: I had to purchase Elf as my movie last year not because I didn’t already own it, but because I watched it so much my copy had too many scratches so it became unwatchable.
Buy a new ornament that represents the year
We have gone to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth in previous years to pick one out, but we were gifted a cute “new home” ornament as a housewarming gift so we’re not getting another one. I really like going to Frankenmuth as a yearly holiday tradition, but we’ve opted out this year because we already had so much going on.
Breakfast on Christmas morning
Currently we go to my parent’s house and my mom cooks a wonderful assortment of breakfast goods for us, but we will continue this tradition if we choose to stay home instead. I like having the slow Christmas morning with breakfast goods we normally wouldn’t have like baked French toast and egg cups.
Church on Christmas Eve
We’re not loyal to our home church on Christmas Eve, I actually really like going to a more traditional church for Christmas Eve. I think traditional church elements have their place and for me, Christmas Eve is a once a year time to celebrate the “religious” part of my religion.
Christmas party with our friends with a white elephant gift exchange
Every year we host a Christmas party with our friends when they all come back into town for the holidays. To make things easier on gift giving, we decided to have a white elephant gift exchange between everyone instead of everyone buying everyone a gift. This has led to very funny items being exchanged which creates or re-enforces inside jokes and deepens our friendships.
Take a Christmas Card picture
Even if it’s too late to send our Christmas cards, I like that we’re in the habit of taking a Christmas picture as a couple. I think too many people wait until they have kids to take pictures together as a family – it’s like they forget you’re a family now even before kids! You don’t need young kids in your life for your life to have meaning, so take a picture! You’re a family now – with or without kids.
Comment below with some of your favorite traditions – I’d love to hear of new ones I could start!