Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

Updated December 3, 2018

‘Tis the season for all of the holiday fun! Despite all of the hustle and bustle, this truly is my favorite time of year. I love having a full calendar of things to do, people to see, and traditions to make. I’ve enjoyed it even more since becoming a mom. Sharing such a special time with my girls is something I truly cherish.

One of the best things about starting your own family is the traditions you get to make together. Greg and I really have enjoyed this part of marriage and child-rearing. You are in control of how special the holiday season is, and it means more to me than I could ever put into words.

I love reading about others’ traditions, so today I thought it would be a fun idea to share some of ours.

Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

Decorating for Christmas

Of course, this is at the top of the list! This seemed to be a topic of discussion on social media this year – when you should or should not decorate. I say do whatever makes you feel happy. We are day-after-Thanksgiving people. All of the holiday decor comes down and is put up within a day or two. We love our Christmas decor – we’ve got four Christmas trees in our house!

This year, we got some new outdoor decor to make our front porch extra fabulous. Everything we got is from Balsam Hill – one of the best places for high-quality decor and artificial Christmas trees. We are extremely impressed with the quality of the items we received and absolutely loved the way our front porch turned out.

Our porch has never looked this festive! Honestly, we haven’t really ever decorated it much before, and I am so happy to give it some cheer.

Throughout the rest of this post,  I have a bunch of detail photos of the items. You can click on the photo to be directed to the specific item. They’re having a Black Friday sale (up to 50% off items), so make sure to snag it now!

Elf on a Shelf (lazy parents’ edition)

I know the Elf on a Shelf has a bit of a reputation among parents, and some are vehemently against it. I totally get it. It’s a lot of pressure to set up these elaborate scenes every single night. I also don’t love the idea of the elf “telling Santa” if they’re bad. We simply move the elf around the house. Way less pressure. The girls don’t know any better and they enjoy looking for the elf each morning when they wake up.

Christmas breakfast casserole

Greg makes a mean Christmas breakfast casserole every year. It’s a recipe he used to enjoy growing up, and we now enjoy it together. It’s a mixture of eggs, sausage, and cheese – baked into perfection. We enjoy it while opening gifts on Christmas morning. What do you have for breakfast on Christmas morning?

Carols & Bells Church Service

We love the church service every year where we get to sing our favorite Christmas carols and ring bells. It’s always a fun tradition that totally gets us in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Movies

What’s Christmas without Christmas movies? We’ve collected a bunch over the years and enjoy them all throughout the season. Some of our favorites include The Snowman, The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, Home Alone, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Christmas Cookies

Baking Christmas cookies is always fun, especially together. We love to make traditional sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and peanut butter kiss cookies. They always make huge batches so we give them to friends, family, and teachers.

Ugly Sweater Party

This is a new tradition for us that we started last year. This year’s party is next week and we can’t wait! We invite all of our friends over for a fun night. Kids are totally welcome, too, and they wear their festive Christmas pajamas. It’s seriously so much fun and a party we’re looking forward to.

Celebrating Kennedy’s Birthday

Kennedy was born the week before Christmas (I can’t believe she’ll be 7 this year!), so celebrating her is always part of the season.

Driving around to look at Christmas lights

There’s something about getting the kids into their pajamas and jumping in the car to look at Christmas lights around the neighborhood. Blast the Christmas music, drive around, and enjoy. Easy, free, and fun!

Starting Christmas morning with just us four

Christmas week can be a whirlwind of visiting family members. While it’s always a great time to see all of our loved ones, it can be a lot. My favorite thing is spending Christmas morning with just my husband and children. It gives us time to connect and enjoy the day… just us.

Our Outdoor Christmas Decor from Balsam Hill

Here’s a list of all of our outdoor decor from Balsam Hill. Again, we are so impressed with the quality and how beautiful it looks in our home. You will not be disappointed!

• Mountain Meadow Wreath and Garland  (6-ft Garland, 26-in Wreath – both with clear LED battery) – We love how these are not only battery powered but also have timers! Set it and forget it. They are stunning by themselves – no need to add any additional decor to them.
• Mountain Meadow Potted Trees (3-ft trees) – These also are battery powered with timers. They look gorgeous out of the box.
• Holiday Beacon Lantern with LED Candles – These lanterns are a statement piece that can be used year-round. You can take the holiday swag off the top when the holidays are over. They look beautiful outside on a doorstep or on a mantel.
• LED Golden Glow Trees (4, 5, and 6-ft) – These trees are a beautiful and unique addition to any holiday decor. We have these displayed outside in our lawn, and are for indoor or outdoor use.

I am so thankful for this holiday season and all of the traditions that come with it. What is your favorite holiday tradition?