Parents Share The Little Traditions That Make The Holidays Feel Magical For Their Kids
Many folks strive to make the holiday season feel magical for the kids in their lives. But with a lot of us feeling exhausted and cash-strapped this time of year, doing that in ways that don’t require a ton of effort or money is essential.
Indeed, many parents — and moms in particular — feel immense pressure to create holiday magic for their families, running themselves ragged trying to “do it all.” And often, it takes “a lot of unseen and underappreciated effort to keep everything humming along smoothly,” as journalist Gemma Hartley previously wrote in a viral essay for HuffPost.
We asked HuffPost readers to share how they make the holidays special for their kiddos without sacrificing their sanity in the process. Read on for some fun and festive ideas you might just want to try with your own family.
Responses have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
1. “We have a ‘Grinchmas’ party every year — all green-themed snacks and we watch ‘The Grinch.’” — Kelly M.
2. “We bring hot cocoa and snacks in the car while we drive around the decorated neighborhoods.” — Christine C.
3. “We ‘plant’ a pinecone in the Christmas tree skirt and do a magic spell over it. When the kids wake up the next day, the tree is there. Then we decorate together. This gives me a less-stressful chance to get the tree set up.” — Taylor N.
4. “Last weekend, we listened to Christmas music, put up our tree and then had a family sleepover in front of the tree! The kids loved it and so did my husband and I.” — Dr. Stephanie Liu
5. “On Nov. 30, while my daughter sleeps, I change her bedding to a Christmas-themed one. And when she wakes on Dec. 1, she is always amazed at the elves’ and Santa’s magic. I’m just grateful that she is a heavy sleeper!” — Olly P.
6. “With four kids aged 3 to 16, our secret to a magical holiday season in our home is loosening up: extra late bedtimes, pancakes for dinner, indulging in sweets and extra screen time.
Running a tight household is crucial for us, but during the holidays, we welcome a bit of turmoil. For our kids, late nights, outdoor play after dark and unexpected Robux are the equivalent of winning the lottery. We think back to our own childhoods, doing all the things we wished adults would have done for us.” — John Marshall
7. “We keep a bucket of fake snowballs in the living room and have snowball fights all season.” — April L.
8. “We have a very large and elaborate key that is on a long red ribbon. Until Christmas Eve, it hangs on the tree, but then it goes on our door ‘to let Santa in’ because we don’t have a fireplace. We also go out and drive around the village looking at lights and listening to the NORAD Santa report on the radio after dinner on Christmas Eve.” — Kathy H.
9. “My wife and I have family that is Jewish and Catholic, but neither of us are religious. Before kids, we struggled trying to navigate the holidays authentically. We wanted to try something new as parents, so we recently adopted New Year’s Day. We exchange gifts and spend the entire day together as a family. Our kids still get to celebrate Hannukah and Christmas with our extended families, but New Year’s Day is ours. Knowing it’s a special day just for us really adds to it. A holiday I didn’t give much thought to before kids has become my favorite day of the year!” — Aaron Martin
10. “I would have an indoor camp-out with my son. We set up a tent next to the Christmas tree, ordered pizza, made cookies and watched Christmas movies until we fell asleep in the tent.” — Allison S.
11. “Baking! My son loves rolling and cutting the shapes of the cookies, turning on the mixer and tasting the spoon at the end.” — Rosa C.
12. “We cut down our own Christmas tree in the designated forest area near us in Colorado. Our 3-year-old daughter likes the ‘hunt’ and that she picked it out. The trees are always a little Charlie Brown-ish, but with bows and ornaments, it fills in and can add to the charm. The permit to cut a tree down is $20 so it’s also an affordable option that makes memories.” — Leah V.
13. “Many years ago, we had a wood fireplace. One year on Christmas Eve after the kids went to bed, we tumbled over the fireplace grate, made footprints with dad’s boots in the soot and ate some of the cookies left for Santa. We created a little bit of a mess, but it was totally worth the astonished look on our kids faces!” — Karen H.
14. “I did a treasure hunt with little gifts and clues to find the next one. Took a while to find them all, which added to the magic and didn’t blow the budget.” — Frany C.
15. “A little random, but Disney+ put out a three-hour ‘Frozen’-themed Yule log a few years ago. That Christmas, we turned it on in the living room on a whim. My son liked it so much that last year he asked ahead of time if we could do it again. So guess what’s going to be crackling in the background on Christmas morning again this year?” — Rachel K.
16. “I used to make a list of holiday activities and check them off as we went. A lot of them were very low-budget: drinking hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie; having a picnic lunch in front of the tree; sending Christmas postcards to cousins; writing to Santa or calling one of the Santa voicemail numbers that you can find online; doing a Christmas lights walk around the neighborhood. While I’m sure my kids would have loved a Polar Express train ride, for example, we created lots of Christmas magic without it.” — Mandy C.
17. “We each pick out what we want for Christmas dinner (within reason), decorate our dining room table and have a fancy dinner!” — Cynthia L.
18. “We painted our own wooden advent calendar and still use it every year. We fill the little drawers with one piece of chocolate for each kid every day, but three to four times, they get a note, too. The note is always a rhyming clue they need to solve to find a little gift. Each one is an inexpensive item like fancy cocoa and a chocolate stirring spoon or a window cling or a surprise adventure to an indoor playground. The joy is all about the surprise and mini scavenger hunt.” — Sarah H.
