People Are Sharing Their Personal Holiday Traditions, And Some Are So Cute I Think I'm Going To Adopt Them

We all have our favorite things to do for the holidays that instantly put us in a festive mood. And while there are many holiday traditions that are widespread customs, it's always interesting to see the fun (and sometimes strange) ways people add their own personal touches to them. For instance, my family always makes a bigger deal of Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day; we have a fancy meal and decorate the tree while drinking holiday cocktails and listening to Christmas carols.

To get in the holiday spirit Reddit user u/Yellow-Sunflower1 took to the r/christmas subreddit to ask people, "What Christmas tradition have you started or continued?" Here are some of the coziest responses:

1."We have Christmas fondue for dinner on Christmas Eve. I set the table up and we have a meal of cheese and wine. Then we let the kids pick a movie. It is a super cozy night of family food favorites."

2."My family watches Jingle All the Way every Christmas Eve with Chinese food. We started it as a joke because the movie is pretty bad, but over the years we’ve started to love it and can pretty much quote the entire thing!"

3."My family does the 'gotcha' gift, which started by accident. They forgot to put the big gift under the tree and didn’t realize it until almost everything was open. So they snuck it outside and ditched the house. Each year the gotcha gift delivery got crazier. Like finding it on our car seat as we left or in a medicine cabinet when we got home."

4."My grandma would leave jingle bells with ribbon on the porch, one for each of us, and 'half-eaten' carrots, to show us the reindeer had stopped by. It was always so cool to see as a kid and I want to continue this tradition once I have kids."

5."I always go shopping for a special ornament with my mother, I now include my kids."

6."Bacon and eggs on English muffins for breakfast on Christmas day. Always remember having it when I was younger and I've continued the tradition now."

7."We have multiple Christmas trees in the house. Each tree has a number. We spread the presents out, a few under each tree. We are a family of gamers. On Christmas morning, everyone wakes up, and gets coffee or milk, whatever. We meet in the living room and roll dice. Whatever number is rolled, that’s the tree we go to. Repeat until all trees have been visited, and all presents have been opened. It really adds to the excitement, it takes longer, which we enjoy. It’s a lot of fun."

8."Each year we visit our local zoos for their Christmas light displays. It's usually nice and chilly so we savor the hot chocolate as we walk around."

9."Lighting candles and sending pictures to the family group chat on winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It’s fun and gets everyone looking forward to being together soon."

10."A memory bauble for the tree every year. We pick one thing we as a family want to remember and we go hunting for a bauble that will represent it. My tree is full of brilliant memories."

11."We started a 'random smorgasbord' Christmas lunch. On the afternoon of the 24th, we go to the grocery store and everyone gets an 'assignment' - entree, side(s), dessert, appetizer, etc. But you pick out whatever you want, no coordination allowed. This has resulted in meals of mini quiches, Philly cheese steaks, cranberry sauce, green beans, and mini eclairs. I can't remember where we got the idea, but it's usually pretty entertaining. Nachos, beef Wellington, cranberry sauce, and cheesecake were another oddball combo. My wife and kids really like cranberry sauce, if you couldn't tell."

12."We all have to make each person in our immediate family a handmade gift. It can be just a card. My youngest loves to draw, and last year, she drew an anime version of each family member. I usually bake something or do a small amigurumi. My oldest did a small violin recital of Christmas carols last year. We try to be creative, but make it not too stressful. We do the handmade gift exchange on Christmas Eve night."

13."Second Christmas! My sister and I started it a few years ago when we were too broke to buy each other a gift for Christmas after getting our family their gifts. So in February when taxes came we set a budget and got each other Christmas presents. We’re supposed to have a nice dinner and open them at the same time, but some years we get too excited and have to share them right then."

14."My dad’s parents always put a box of chocolates under the tree they ate first thing Christmas morning while opening presents. My dad did that for us and I have carried on the tradition with my kids."

15."My mom used to sneak in after we went to sleep on Christmas Eve and put our filled stockings at the foot of our beds in a (sometimes futile) attempt to keep us from waking her and my dad up too early. My husband and I do that with our own kids now. It still doesn’t work! But it’s fun. They’re all teens or young adults now but they still all come in and sit on our bed and show us everything Santa brought them before we go and see what’s under the tree."

16."Christmas Eve boxes: I put their new PJs, reindeer hot chocolate, reindeer food, a special cup and bowl for hot chocolate and marshmallows, a little Christmas activity book, a bath bomb, and a small present. I leave them under the tree for them to find on Christmas Eve morning and they love it."

17."We always have the glass pickle ornament on the tree, it's a German-American thing."

18."Doing a Christmas puzzle each year! Everyone moans and groans before starting but by the end they all enjoy it."

19.And finally, "Advent calendars for the kids. I have a now 13-year-old son I would buy those chocolate Kroger advent calendars for. When we moved back home closer to family, I started to do that for my niece and nephew. I hand them out at Thanksgiving, making sure they have them before December 1st. Who doesn’t love getting a little chocolate surprise daily until the big day?"

What are your family's favorite holiday traditions? Let us know in the comments!

Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity.