Courtesy of Tiffany Nieslanik
My childhood was a little tumultuous. Because of how often we moved, we didn't have many traditions that continued year after year. So, once I became settled, I began creating traditions for myself. One of my favorites has been making a celebration out of the entire month of December.
From "bad" holiday romcom-watching parties to a habit of collecting tree ornaments every place I travel, I go all in on Christmas. Since becoming a mother, I've embraced this tendency, which has made the list of our holiday traditions get longer and longer. While it's chaotic, I love everything about the experience.
Our traditions start the day after Thanksgiving when we trade our gratitude tree for a Christmas tree. Our family has gotten a tree from the same farm for over a decade, and once we get it home, we put on holiday songs while we decorate. At this point, so many of our ornaments come from places we've visited together that it's a fun walk down memory lane, too.
Courtesy of Tiffany Nieslanik
We also have a family advent calendar that I fill with small candies, new board games, and Christmas pajamas for the kids. I also add notes to the calendar that take us on outings throughout the month of December, including outdoor ice skating, trips to see Christmas light displays around town, and a holiday movie marathon. Finally, the final day of the advent calendar holds the first clue of a scavenger hunt for our kids on Christmas morning that leads to a shared present for them.
We also look for ways to give within our community, like sponsoring families or elders for the holidays, participating in toy and clothes drives, and creating bags with socks, hand warmers, water, and snacks to hand out to homeless people throughout the month.
Just the act of listing what we do throughout the season makes me feel a little extra. But by now, I've created a system that helps keep all the magic-making manageable for me. I'm a self-proclaimed organization nerd who loves using Asana to keep tasks organized.
I have created a "Holiday" project board that outlines everything we do each year, along with deadlines, a budget, and ideas we did in previous years that I can pull from. In mid-November, I sit down to look at my board and our budget to create our advent activities schedule, figure out if I'm missing anything, and plan from there.
Courtesy of Tiffany Nieslanik
The traditions we're creating as a family take a lot of effort on my end, but now that our kids are getting older, I'm seeing the benefits of the work. Last year, my youngest asked "Santa" to bring him an advent calendar. This year, he filled it with leftover Halloween candy and notes about board games to play as a family each night. Then he set it out for all of us.
My oldest recently started a business selling handmade goods, and she gives a portion of her earnings to a local nonprofit. And my middle tackles gingerbread house-making, holiday decorating, and Christmas caroling with the zeal of Clark Griswald.
Our kids seem to embrace the spirit of Christmas continuously rather than focus on one big day or presents alone. We manage to avoid the holiday hangover feeling so often associated with December 26. Our family genuinely looks forward to holiday activities all year long. And our kids are learning the joy of giving to others during the holidays and beyond. Even though the experience demands a steady supply of holiday magic and more than a little organizational effort, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
