I am a BIG fan of Christmas traditions.  I have been wittering on about therem here for the last seven years.  I believe that you shouldn’t feel that you HAVE to keep up with traditions, but that when they work for your family they are a great way of anchoring memories for years to come.  So in collaboration with Littlewoods and their #MakeTheirChristmas campaign I want to share with you five Christmas traditions that you need to start now.

Have you seen Littlewoods Christmas advert?  We watched it for the first time earlier in the week and the boys really had no idea that Myleene Klass could actually play the piano!  I have been browsing their christmas items and need this beautiful candle bridge.

5 Christmas Traditions you need to start now

Christmas is a magical time and for me a lot of that is down to the traditions that we adopt and enjoy.  We have lots of traditions that we have as a family, such as buying one new ornament per person for the tree each year and making our own Christmas cards.   The thing is these are what work for us and I want to share some of the bigger ones with you now.

1)  Make advent a time of bringing joy to others – We started our advent acts of kindness tradition a couple of years ago.  I wanted to try and move away from the commercialism of christmas and introduce the boys to the heart of Christmas.

2) The build up to Christmas can be really busy for everyone.  Rushing around here and there, shopping, buying and wrapping gifts, writing cards and so much more.  The pressure can be tremendous.  So take time out each day to do something small as a family.  We do this with our advent activities.  Some days it can be something as small as writing christmas cards and other days could be visiting Father Christmas.   I find that by having a dedicated activity we spend some time each day together mindfully as a family,

3) If your boys are anything like mine then they build themselves up to a frenzy on Christmas Eve.  When they were small we started our own Christmas Eve traditions and they are a big part of us all enjoying the both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  MadDad always takes Christmas Eve off and the boys get new PJ’s and some activity to keep them busy.  We also have a super Christmas Eve party with our best friends.

4) Can you remember what you got the children for christmas three years ago?  Can you recall the best card you were given or even what TV you watched?  I want to remember or if not remember, but reminisce about all these amazing times, so last year I created a Christmas Memories book.

5) The most important Christmas tradition is to ensure that you do not get too caught up in keeping up with the traditions that you choose to adopt!  You need to remember that what works for one family might not work for every family, so be selective and remember that times change and therefore so can traditions, nothing needs to be static.  Also remember to be flexible and have fun.