This weekend, my girlfriends and I were talking about holiday traditions and lamenting the fact that “family time” over the holidays often involves each member of the household hidden away in different rooms on their devices.
We all decided we needed a new holiday tradition but had a hard time coming up with any good ideas. So I thought I’d reach out to you, my loyal readers to ask, what do you do in your house or with your family to spend meaningful time together over the holidays?
We’re only looking for answers that are an outing or activity–something we can do as a family that doesn’t involve screens (so not things like wearing the same Christmas pajamas, ugly sweaters or watching White Christmas on Christmas Eve).
Here were some of the ideas we bandied around:
- Gingerbread house decorating contest
- Family drive to see Christmas lights
- Going to see a holiday concert or play
- Playing indoor golf, bowling, laser tag or pool
- Carolling around the neighbourhood
Sadly, while we think these would be fun, some are expensive for a family of four or six and there is a good chance our adult-grown children would groan and protest at things like carolling, so anything that is affordable and passes the Bah Humbug metre is a bonus.
Help us rediscover the joy of the holidays with our families and share your ideas by leaving a comment.
Read more about two of my favourite holiday traditions (although the first one is very unique to our family—you won’t want to adopt it!)
- Pass down a holiday tradition
- Open a door a day (today is December 1—time to start your advent calendars!)
Happy Act 
We try to go cross country skiing, skating or tobogganing on Christmas Day. It helps our family to get out of the house and get some fresh air and exercise.
One really fun Christmas we all gathered to play one of those murder mystery plays- we assigned characters at dinner and then everyone had to run around and find costumes around the house. Low competition (unusual for us) because there was such a short time to prepare, much laughter and silliness. It was a good time.
Such fun! It made me think of an old neighbour of ours who used to assign roles as well to help minimize the work surrounding Christmas–so one family member was appointed bartender, two were dishwashers, etc. Not a fun way to spend time together exactly, but made for a fun and easier Christmas for everyone…
A tradition of ours that has stuck since the kids were little is for everyone present to read a Christmas book aloud on Christmas Eve. Over the years this has included having grandparents read books, aunts uncles, you name it, whoever is in the house on the 24th. It is a treasured hour or two (the books tend to be short, storybooks) and everyone has a treasured book they pick, like The Grinch, The Night Before Christmas, A Wish to be a Christmas Tree, etc. This year with kid2 not home for Christmas Eve, the one thing she asked for was for us to bring books so when we see her, we can do storytime together. Happiest of holidays to you and yours, and thanks for another year of enjoyable blog posts and stories!
This is such a beautiful idea, thank you for sharing!
Try to find one day that you can all get together. Share some foods, maybe drinks and play some funny games.