Why Christmas Is The Perfect Time To Start A Tradition With Your Grandchildren

From baking cookies to giving back, there are so many ways to celebrate the season together.

The holidays seem to go hand in hand with treasured traditions. The season inherently encourages family togetherness, which in turn inspires deeply personal ways to celebrate, from making cherry-chocolate mice a la The Nutcracker to viewing White Christmas with mom. If you don’t yet have an annual holiday tradition with your grandchildren, make this year the Christmas you will start one.

When you consider what might be the best activity to put on repeat, consider if there can be special meaning behind it. Maybe you choose the chocolate mice because The Nutcracker has personal meaning to your family. Perhaps crafting has always kept your hands busy, and a tailored activity each year will fit the bill.

Whatever you decide, everyone involved will benefit.

Choose With Your Heart

One of the difficult things about establishing a new tradition is choosing something that feels special and memorable to build it around. The holidays make that decision easier, as there are myriad seasonal activities to choose from.

Corral the kids for a cookie-baking marathon in your kitchen, or load everyone in the car with thermoses of hot chocolate to take in the neighborhood Christmas lights. Create objects for your kitchen projects, or take them shopping for toys to donate to a local children’s hospital or Angel Tree program.

Even if it’s an activity you’ve never done together before, it’ll feel special simply because it’s something your grandchildren won’t experience any other time of year.

Commit To Building Memories

Another tricky part of starting a tradition from scratch is establishing consistency. That’s why Christmas is a great time to begin one. Rather than getting lost in the everyday shuffle of life, the tradition will become something the whole family can look forward to each winter. After just a few years of repeating the tradition, your grandchildren will hardly remember a Christmas without it!

The exciting part is what comes from the activity. Will you being creating Christmas relics they will cherish into adulthood? Or do you want this to be an activity like sledding ice skating that will yield photo memories and playful competition? Feeling your way into what your grandkids might enjoy most, and listening to what gets them excited, matters.

Keeping The Tradition, At A Distance

If you know you won’t see your grandchildren over the holidays, there are still ways to create memorable holiday traditions. Send them an Advent calendar to open each day; read a beloved book over FaceTime on Christmas Eve; share favorite family recipes for latkes or cookies; or gift them unique ornaments for the tree every year so that they’ll always have a little piece of you with them for the holidays, even when you’re apart.

Remember that holidays cannot always be ideal. Often geography gets in the way, or other family matters interrupt anticipated plans. Don't let this stop you from keeping a tradition alive. Even if your goal is create an ornament, who's to say you can't send them all of the crafting supplies for this year's project? Hook into a Zoom call, go through the steps, and find that you are able to connect despite the distance.

The Bonds That Keep Family Close

Even if you can only pull off small gesture, and it has to do with the gifts you choose, consider the classic Three Wise Men move. Something they want, something they need, and something to read. Establish a theme surrounding what you know they will like. This could mean that you always give the best stocking stuffer gift.

Of course, traditions are meant to be fun, not stressful, so don’t sweat the details. At the end of the day, holiday rituals are just one more way to shower your grandchildren in love, whether you’re with them in person or celebrating from afar. There’s no better Christmas gift than that!

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