Easy Christmas Traditions to Start with Kids
The holiday season can be such a magical time, especially when you have young kids. There’s nothing quite like seeing their faces light up at the sight of twinkling lights, and watching their excitement grow as Christmas morning approaches. But as parents, we know it’s not all smooth sailing. Between shopping, cooking, wrapping gifts, and keeping up with everyday life, the holidays can sometimes feel more hectic than merry.
You’re not alone if you’ve ever thought, “How am I supposed to make this season special when I can barely keep up with the basics?” It’s a real challenge, balancing the desire to create those picture-perfect memories with the reality of your already packed schedule. But here’s the good news: making the holidays magical for your kids doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.
That’s why I’ve put together this list of 15 simple and meaningful Christmas traditions ideas you could start with your little ones. These ideas are fun, easy to do, and designed to help you focus on what matters most—spending time together and building memories that will last a lifetime. And remember you don’t have to do them all – just pick and choose a few that fit in with what you and your family like to do.
Starting Christmas traditions with young kids is such a wonderful way to create lasting memories and bring your family closer together. Traditions also give your family its own unique way of celebrating and are a great way to build excitement and a sense of magic around the holidays. Starting a Christmas tradition doesn’t have to be elaborate, time consuming or expensive, it’s often the simple little things that become something the kids look forward to/remember doing each year.
Whether you’re looking for quick activities or something a little more involved, these 15 ideas are perfect for young kids and easy to fit into your holiday routine;
Decorate a Christmas Tree
Whether you have a real, artificial or a small ornamental style tree – put on some Christmas music and get decorating.
Christmas Books
Read a Christmas book each night leading up to Christmas. Whether you do this for the whole of December or just the week before. If you don’t have any/many Christmas themed books at home, borrow some from your local library or find them cheaply at a second hand shop. Repeat the same ones if necessary
Christmas Craft
Get creative with the kids and make some Christmas craft. Whether it is some cards to gift to your neighbours, family/friends or some Christmas colouring/activity sheets.
We love all the fun and simple ideas shared by Lydia Rowley on Instagram HERE .
And over at Happiness Is Handmade there is a great round up blog post of kids Christmas Craft Ideas HERE.
You can also use our FREE CROWN TEMPLATE to make some paper crowns out of wrapping paper or Christmas print cardboard.
Christmas Lights
Go exploring your neighbourhood/area to look at Christmas lights. Depending where you live you can get in the car to go to a suburb/city area or walk around your local area. Local neighbourhood groups often display details of where the best spots are in your area to look at Christmas lights.
Buy a Gift for the Wishing Tree
Take the kids to buy/donate a gift for kids who may not be receiving any gifts this Christmas
Christmas Baking
Baking Gingerbread is one of our family traditions at Christmas time. We love THIS RECIPE from Donna Hay we use it each year to make gingerbread for the kid's teachers/friends as end of year gifts. It does take a while to make gingerbread from scratch; we always break it up into 3 steps/sessions;
- Make the dough one day (or I make it without the kids)
- Cut out the shapes and bake the gingerbread.
- Then do the decorating.
There are also lots of gingerbread kits you can now buy to make the process easier, or buy a ready made kit with the biscuits already made, and just do the decorating with the kids.
Advent Calander
There are many versions of the countdown to Christmas Advent Calander from paper windows to revel a picture, building up a nativity scene each day, to daily chocolate treats. You can also buy the empty pocket style advent Calanders to fill with your own choice of items. Our Christmas kindness/activity printable is perfect for this style of advent Calander to promote a Christmas kindness/ connection activity each day.
Donate Old Toys to Charity
Go through any old toys/books your kids no longer use and donate them to charity. If you want to make this one a bit special, you could use Personalised Old Toys For Santa Sack – from Petite Maison Play
Christmas Movie Night
Grab the popcorn and watch a Christmas movie or 2 with the kids. Some of our favourites; Home Alone, Elf, The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Grinch, Klaus.
Santa/Family Photos
Take the kids to see Santa, book in to have a family photo taken, or get a friend/relative to take one each year. Photos taken in the same place/setting each year are fun to look back on to see how everyone has grown! Our family Christmas crowns make a great addition to family Christmas photos too, or make your own with our free crown template.
Sing Christmas Carols
Go to your local carols in the park or put some on at home to sing or have a dance party too.
Make a Salt Dough Ornament
Salt dough is easy to make and use, similar to play dough you can use cookie cutters to cut out shapes, or imprint with the kids finger prints etc. Bake in the oven and keep them plain or paint/decorate them to add to your tree or gift to family and friends. See a recipe and some ideas over at Salt Dough Ornaments - Nature Play WA
DIY Christmas Crackers
Make your own version of a Christmas favourite for you Christmas table. Use a template or buy a DIY Christmas cracker kit to fill your own crackers. Add one of our crowns or make your own with our free crown template, add a Christmas joke and a little treat for your own personalised Christmas crackers.
Christmas Eve/December 1st Box
Setup a box to gift on December 1st or Christmas Eve with some special Christmas items such as Christmas themed pjs and a book.
Leave cookies and milk out for Santa
Christmas eve leave milk and cookies out for Santa, and a carrot or two for the reindeer!
These traditions are designed to bring your family together in ways that are fun, meaningful, and—most importantly—manageable for busy parents. There’s something here for every family, so pick a few and make them your own!
Starting new traditions doesn’t have to be overwhelming! The key is to keep things simple and focus on what works for your family. Choose one or two ideas that feel manageable and meaningful—there’s no need to tackle everything at once.
Remember, it’s not about perfection; it’s about creating moments of connection. Let the kids get involved, whether it’s decorating cookies (even if half the icing ends up on them!) or crafting ornaments that aren’t quite Pinterest-perfect.
Spread activities over the season instead of cramming them all into one week, and don’t hesitate to adjust these ideas to what works for you and your family – don’t try to do it all! The most important thing is spending time together and making the holidays magical in a way that feels right for your family.
See our range of family Christmas Crowns HERE
Download our free crown template HERE
See our blog post on 5 DIY fabric Christmas Crowns to make HERE
Download our Christmas Activity/Kindness Printable HERE
