Our Favorite Christmas Traditions

Anyone else love Christmas traditions? Christmas is always a magical time of year, but this year it is even sweeter! We’ve always had a handful of Christmas traditions, but now that Cayson is here we are stepping it up a bit. So these are a few of our favorite Christmas traditions!

1. Pick out a real Christmas tree :: The day after Thanksgiving we like to go pick out a Christmas tree & decorate it! Is there anything better than walking into your home and seeing {and smelling} a Christmas tree? I think not!  Plus, Cayson LOVED staring at it.
2. Christmas Cards :: Growing up my parents always sent out a Christmas card with a collage of photos from the year. Now, Caleb, Cayson and I do the same thing.
3. Make Christmas Cookies :: Calories don’t count during the holidays- right? These are currently my favorite cookies to make {while listening to Christmas music of course}!
4. Hot Chocolate :: I’m not a normally a fan of sweet drinks, but hot chocolate is a totally different story. I love dark hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows or whipped cream! {These are a few delicious dark hot chocolates: here, here, here}
5. Christmas Candles :: I almost ALWAYS have a candle burning in our apartment. And I adore all the various holiday scented candles. Recently I’ve been loving this one and this one by Nest, but I’ve also had my eye on these two {here & here} cheaper holiday candle.
6. Champagne, fruit & Chocolates :: Every year we would start Christmas morning in our living room. We would begin by popping a bottle of bubbly, bringing out the fine crystal flutes, and enjoy a glass of champagne and a box of chocolate while we went through our stockings. And it never failed, our stocking always had a piece of fruit {usually clementines for me and a banana for my brother} at the very bottom to munch on while we started our day. We’ve continued the tradition in our new little apartment and I love it!
7. Christmas Movies :: Hallmark and Netflix make the best, cheesiest holiday movies ever. We watch as many as possible!
8. Read the Christmas Story :: Cayson may not understand it yet, but we love reading all about the reason for the season with him.
9. Christmas Crackers :: My family loves English Crackers {like these & these} and have included them with every major holiday for as long as I can remember. They normally include a paper crown, joke or riddle and a small toy. We normally opened them after our big Christmas meal and always enjoyed finding out what was inside. {And yes, everyone was required to wear the paper crown for at least a photo :) }
10. Christmas Feast :: Most years growing up my parents hosted Christmas at our home and everyone was invited. Family, friends, neighbors- whoever. Either way, we always had tons of delicious food and we all dressed up and sat around the table. My dad was always in charge of setting the table {a skill he learned from his mother} and it always turned out like a work of art. Even hours after dinner was over we would still be seated at the table laughing and telling stories.  I have so many cherished memories around our family table. This might be the tradition I am most excited to continue, as I have so many fond memories of our meals together! Caleb & I have already hosted 5+ big holidays together in NYC and we plan on continuing the tradition. Yep, we fit 8 people for a full turkey dinner in our tiny little apartment. It may be tiny and it’s nothing glamorous, but it keeps us close and talking which I love!

What is your favorite holiday tradition?