Look to the Christmas season to instill
the value of Christmas tradition
Traditions are a fundamental aspect of a home environment. It creates stability and strengthens the foundation of any family. Children are the biggest appreciators of tradition, although in many cases, it is later in life -when they are adults and often parents themselves- that this appreciation is recognized. As children, traditions are often times, annoying events and occurrences that take place habitually. Remember Chevy Chase’s movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)? The family trudges out into the middle of nowhere, knee high in snow, frozen solid, to chop down a Christmas tree, only to realize they forgot the axe. Traditions create warm memories and Christmas is just one wonderful opportunity to introduce special traditions.
The Advent Calendar is a educational favorite Christmas tradition
As a child the Advent calendar is a great tradition with many objectives. It creates anticipation as the excitement of Christmas nears. It teaches young children about how a calendar works. It also gives parents a break in having to answer the most frequent question; “when’s Santa coming?” Some Advent calendars have fun little images inside each door you open. Others have pieces of chocolate. You can also get wooden calendars which can be handed down from parent to child to grandchild. The Advent calendar is an old tradition, but one that all children love.
Gingerbread Houses are the sweetest of Christmas traditions
You really cannot go wrong with gingerbread houses. It’s a great way to bring the whole family together, and especially getting the children to cooperate with each other. You can buy great gingerbread kits or bake the gingerbread yourself. The fabulous smell of freshly baked gingerbread is the advantage of the latter option, but time doesn’t always afford that luxury.
The Nativity scene is the tradition that relays the true meaning of Christmas
With so much excitement about Santa Claus and presents, it’s very easy for children to forget that the origin of Christmas. Nativity scenes are a great reminder for children and often they love to help assemble the scenes. During this event, you should consider telling the Nativity story using your scene as the visual an illustration.
Other Christmas traditions include midnight mass, cutting down your own Christmas tree, or a reading of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, but often Christmas traditions can be personal to a family; a special meal, singing carols, or a Christmas Eve gathering. Even a drive through the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights is a fun Christmas tradition. The tradition doesn’t have to fit into any specific mold, it just has to be consistent from year to year, so that your children can rely on and look forward to it. You never know; it may become such an important part of their lives that they inherit your tradition into their own family circle and pass in on to the next generation.
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