Meaningful Christmas Morning Traditions
Oh, Christmas Morning! I can quickly imagine the smells and feeling of it. Christmas morning is a magical time! It is filled with joy, anticipation, and love, and not even just for children. For so many, Christmas is the best time of the year, and creating meaningful Christmas morning traditions requires thoughtful planning. From the food to special surprises, every detail contributes to a festive and heartwarming celebration of Jesus. Because really, that’s what it truly is all about.
In this guide, we’ll explore some practical tips and ideas to help you plan a meaningful Christmas morning for your family.
The Importance of Meaningful Christmas Morning Traditions
Christmas morning traditions bring families together and create lasting memories. We are not talking about perfection here. I know as a mama, I can quickly get caught up on making things “perfect”, and really all that does is put unnecessary pressure on me as the tradition maker. No, I’m not talking perfection. I am talking about faithfulness to Christ year in and year out to provide traditions that unify your family and create lasting bonds that point to Him every year. Here’s why they matter:
1. Builds Anticipation: Traditions give children something to look forward to each year as you lead up to the celebration of Christ’s birth.
2. Strengthens Bonds: Shared family traditions cement family bonds.
3. Creates Lasting Memories: Traditions often become treasured stories & memories passed down through generations.
Step 1: Preparation
A smooth Christmas morning, of course, starts with thoughtful preparation.
– Setting the Scene: having stockings hung, having gifts wrapped and ready to unwrap, and having the home decorated for Christmas. Our stockings are a big tradition in our home. I have made them out of old heirloom quilts from our family, and embroidered my children’s names on them. The kids look forward to them every year. Here’s a free stocking tutorial if you’re interested in creating your own.
– Breakfast Prep: Do you have a traditional Christmas meal planned out? It is a good idea to make something that is easy to prep ahead of time but is still a special treat.
– We finish up our Advent every year on Christmas morning, so I have all that out with our family Bible as well. This is a very important meaningful Christmas morning tradition.
Step 2: Set Christmas Morning Expectations Ahead of Time
We make sure our children know ahead of time what to expect. Although they would like to wake up and open presents at 6am, that is not what we will be doing! Mama and daddy need to eat and have some coffee in them first!
Some ideas for Christmas morning expectations are:
- When will presents be opened? Knowing this helps my children so much.
- Will you be opening stockings first or presents first?
- Will everyone be opening gifts at the same time or one at a time?
- Do you want to take pictures of everything? I know it helps my children to know I want to slow down and take a few photos to savor the morning.
Hey friends, please don’t forget to follow me over on Instagram! I post more photos and ideas over there. Sharing this post on Facebook or Pinterest is another great way you can help me out at not cost to you. Thank you!
Step 3: Having an Extra Special Breakfast
Food is usually a big part of any celebration, and Christmas morning is no exception. Here are some Christmas morning breakfast ideas:
- Sweet Ideas: cinnamon rolls, waffles or pancakes with homemade whipped cream, or maybe a yummy French toast bake.
- Savory Ideas: breakfast casseroles, eggs with bacon and toast, quiches, or breakfast burritos.
- Festive Christmas Drink Ideas: Hot cocoa, eggnog, a Christmas smoothie, or special juices.
I make cinnamon rolls every year with juice and fruit. It is a yummy breakfast that I can have prepped ahead of time. My kids know that we have this every year on Christmas morning and look forward to it.
Another festive tradition is to use Christmas dishes or mugs on Christmas day. You can buy a set or spend the year collecting an eclectic set.
Step 4: Creating Advent Traditions
Some ideas to incorporate Advent into Christmas morning :
– Read the Christmas Story: We usually finish our advent readings and then also read Luke 2.
– Sing some Christmas hymns.
Extra Tips for a Stress-Free Christmas Morning:
1. Have your robe handy or your clothes laid out to put on first thing in the morning.
2. Have Christmas music playlists ready and on a timer to play.
3. Have your camera charged or your phone at the ready for photos.
4. Have your table set and ready to go for breakfast. This saves lot of stress!
5. Have any advent materials all ready and set out.
6. Have the presents all set out in piles for each child. That way there isn’t a ton of shuffling or sorting.
Building Lasting Traditions
I know that as a mama, it can feel like so much of your families traditions can rest on your shoulders. And honestly, they probably do! I find that if I can see this as a joy and not a burden, I am able to play to my strengths and find creative ways to enjoy this time. Examples of this for me personally are to make things for Christmas morning that I actually enjoy baking and having it prepped ahead of time. I also really enjoy wrapping presents and being creative in how they are wrapped brings me joy.
Another important example is something I mentioned above. Do not reach for perfection. Find simple ways to add meaning to your traditions and faithfully do them each year. You can add to them as the years go by, but really try and only add one tradition at a time or it can be overwhelming.
Final Thoughts on Meaningful Christmas Morning Traditions
Remember that Jesus is truly the meaning for the season. Trust that you can provide a wonderful Christmas for your family by really focusing on what truly matters.
Pin it for Later..
More Christmas Posts to Enjoy:
25 Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas
