Christmas can be a season that slips by very quickly. Parties, shopping, and decorating can easily steal our time. If we aren’t intentional, we can miss opportunities to make special memories with the ones we love most.
I believe Christmas provides ample opportunities to create special moments through quality time with friends and family. So, this year, get your loved ones together, start a new tradition and make it your best Christmas ever.
Use this list of ideas to plan a Christmas season full of memories you will cherish for years to come.
- Attend A Local Church Performance: Look for musical concerts or nativity reenactments.
- Tour Your City’s Best Christmas Lights: Find out which neighborhoods have the most stunning displays.
- Organize A Progressive Dinner: You move to different friends’ homes to enjoy each course of the meal.
- Host A Gingerbread House Competition: This could be done among your immediate family members or as part of a holiday get-together with friends.
- Attend An Ugly Sweater Party: Bust out your most colorful garb for this event.
- Have A Christmas Cookie Exchange: You only make one kind of cookie, but you’ll get to go home with a great assortment to share.
- Host A Christmas Movie Night: Top family-friendly picks include “Elf,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “White Christmas” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
- White Elephant Gift Exchange: Bring funny or quirky gifts to make it more fun!
- Volunteer At A Local Food Shelter: Giving back is a great way to remember the true meaning of the holidays.
- Host A Netflix Marathon: Have you seen “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” yet? How about the new season of “Fuller House?”
- Write Letters To Santa: It connects your kids to one of the most important themes of the season: Believe!
- Host A Christmas-Themed Game Night: How about Christmas charades? You could challenge yourself to a Christmas-themed Scrabble game, too.
- Participate In Operation Christmas Child Or Angel Tree: It’s an effective way to help the less fortunate in your community.
- Visit A Living Nativity: Kids might pass by your little nativity statues at home, but they’ll be fascinated by a real-life display.
- Jam To Your Favorite Christmas Songs: Pop in one of your favorite Christmas CDs or enjoy pre-made playlists on Pandora or Spotify.
- Cut Down Your Own Tree: A visit to a Christmas tree farm makes you cherish the tree you get so much more.
- Write Christmas cards For Deployed Soldiers: Imagine how much you’ll brighten their holiday with a few kind words.
- Host A Christmas Craft Night: You could make everything from fancy ornaments to simple popcorn and cranberry garlands.
- Visit Elderly Relatives Or Neighbors: Some older folks get left out of the holidays, so don’t forget them during this time of the year.
- Take A Holiday Family Photo: Frame it for the mantel or use it to make sweet Christmas cards for your loved ones.
- Read The Christmas Story Together: Get out your Bible on Christmas Eve and take a quiet moment to share the story of Christ’s birth with your family.
These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about ways you might plan for special memories this Christmas. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Let us know in the comments below.
You may also be interested in Finding Quiet Time For Reflection During The Busy Holiday Season
