Christmas Traditions to Start (and the Classics Worth Keeping)

A note before the list: we make Tribute, the group video maker, and it's one of the 14 traditions.

Which classic Christmas traditions are worth keeping?

The classics last because they're simple and they repeat. In a Pew Research Center survey, 79% of U.S. adults said they planned to put up a Christmas tree, 65% planned to send cards, and 16% planned to go caroling (Pew, 2013). The trick is giving each one a detail that belongs to your family.

1. The tree, with one new ornament a year

A Christmas tree tradition gets better when every ornament has a story. Each year, every person picks or makes one new ornament that sums up their year: a tiny soccer ball, a felt dog, a plane for the year they moved. Write the year on the back with a marker. By the time the kids leave home, they each have a box of their own to take with them.

• Time needed: One evening
• Cost: One ornament per person

Best for: Every family, from first apartments to full houses.

Why it works: Decorating the tree turns into a walk through the family's years.

2. The Advent calendar

Twenty-four small doors, one a day, from December 1. Fill yours with tiny treats, or swap candy for a daily activity: bake cookies, call Grandma, watch a movie. Our guide to the Advent calendar tradition has fillers for every age and budget.

• Time needed: A minute a day
• Cost: Nothing for a homemade one, up to $40 for a filled one

Best for: Kids who ask "how many days left?" every morning.

Why it works: It turns waiting into the fun part.

3. The annual family video (a Tribute group video)

Each December, start a Tribute and ask every relative to record the same question, such as "What was the best part of your year?" Tribute is a group video maker that turns messages from friends and family into one surprise video. It works by inviting everyone to record a short clip from their phone; Tribute compiles the clips, music and photos into a finished video you share or play together.

Play it on Christmas morning, and keep each year's link in one place. Picture your kids at 16 watching their six-year-old selves explain the best part of their year was a lizard named Steve. Unlike a card everyone signs, it has everyone's voice and face, and it grows into a family archive one December at a time. Over 8 million videos have been sent on Tribute, and it holds 4.9 stars from 7,000+ reviews.

Add a Video Book and the year's video becomes a book that plays when it's opened, ready to sit on the shelf next to the ornament box.

• Time needed: 15 minutes to watch; open it 2 to 3 weeks before Christmas so people have time to record
• Cost: Free to start a draft; you pay from $35 when you publish and start collecting videos

Best for: Families spread across cities or time zones.

Why it works: The relatives who can't travel still show up every Christmas.

👉 Start your holiday Tribute

4. Caroling

Pick three songs everyone knows, print the words on cards and visit five houses on your street. Bring a thermos of cocoa for the singers and a plate of cookies for the neighbors who open the door. Our Christmas caroling guide covers songs, routes and what to do when nobody answers.

• Time needed: About an hour
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Neighbors, church groups and friends with kids.

Why it works: You meet the people on your street you only wave to the rest of the year.

5. Cards with a real note

Skip the printed signature. Write two lines in each card about something specific: "I still think about that lake weekend." It takes longer, so cut the list to the people who matter.

• Time needed: One evening
• Cost: Cards and stamps

Best for: Staying close to friends you don't see often.

Why it works: A real sentence stands out in a stack of photo cards.

6. Cookie baking day

Pick one Saturday in December and bake the family recipes, with a grandparent in charge. Kids get the sprinkles, adults get the oven. Box up half for neighbors and teachers.

• Time needed: An afternoon
• Cost: About $20 in ingredients

Best for: Kids and grandparents.

Why it works: Family recipes get passed down by hand, not just on index cards.

What new Christmas traditions can families start?

New Christmas traditions stick when they're easy to repeat and tied to a moment: the night before, the drive home, the morning. These family Christmas traditions take little planning and work with toddlers or teens.

7. Christmas Eve pajamas and a book

On Christmas Eve, each child opens one gift: new pajamas and a book. Everyone changes, piles onto one bed and reads before lights out. The photo in matching pajamas becomes a yearly record of how much they've grown.

• Time needed: 30 minutes
• Cost: $20 to $40 per child

Best for: Young families.

Why it works: It calms the house on the most exciting night of the year.

8. The ranked lights drive

Pile into the car in pajamas with cocoa and drive past the best-lit streets in town. Everyone scores each house from 1 to 10, and the winner gets a thank-you note in their mailbox the next day.

• Time needed: About an hour
• Cost: Gas and cocoa

Best for: All ages, and the best choice when it's too cold to walk.

Why it works: Scoring turns a drive into a game, and the note makes a stranger's night.

9. A giving tradition

Set a budget and let the kids choose where it goes: a food bank, an animal shelter, a toy drive. Shop or deliver together. Compared to writing a check in private, the kids see where the gift goes.

• Time needed: An afternoon
• Cost: What you decide to give

Best for: Kids old enough to choose a cause.

Why it works: It shifts the season from getting to giving, and they remember the choice.

10. The handmade ornament swap

Draw names across the extended family, and each person makes one ornament for the name they drew. Clay, felt, a painted pine cone: anything goes. Swap them at the family gathering.

• Time needed: An hour to make
• Cost: Craft supplies

Best for: Big extended families.

Why it works: Every tree gets a piece of someone else's house.

11. The good moments jar

Keep a jar on the kitchen counter all year. Whenever something good happens, someone writes it on a slip and drops it in. On Christmas Day, read the slips aloud after dinner.

• Time needed: A minute here and there, plus 20 minutes on Christmas
• Cost: A jar and paper

Best for: Families who like rituals.

Why it works: It reminds everyone the year had more good days than they remember.

What are Christmas traditions for couples and adults?

Traditions aren't only for families with kids. These three suit couples, roommates and friend groups.

12. The same-spot photo

Pick one spot, such as your front steps or a city tree, and take a photo there every Christmas. Frame the first one and add a new print each year. It's one of the simplest Christmas traditions for couples, and it grows with you.

• Time needed: 10 minutes
• Cost: Nothing

Best for: Couples and new households.

Why it works: The row of photos tells your story without a word.

13. Friendsmas dinner

Host the same friends on the same weekend every December. Each brings one dish and one story from the year. It's one of the fun Christmas traditions for adults that survives moves, new jobs and babies.

• Time needed: One evening
• Cost: A potluck

Best for: Adult friend groups.

Why it works: A fixed date beats "we should get together sometime."

14. Blended traditions

Many homes celebrate more than one set of holiday traditions. Light the menorah and decorate the tree, or bring one custom from each side of a new marriage. Our guide to Hanukkah traditions has ideas for interfaith families.

• Time needed: Varies
• Cost: Varies

Best for: Interfaith and blended families.

Why it works: Nobody has to give up their own childhood to build a new one.

How do you start a holiday tradition that sticks?

Start with one, not five. Do it the same way two years running and the kids will hold you to it by year three. Write it on the calendar the way you'd write a birthday.

The United States cut more than 14.5 million Christmas trees in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and each one became somebody's tree tradition. Pick a tradition that fits your real December, not a magazine's. For the rest of the season's planning, see our holiday season guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common Christmas traditions?

Putting up a tree, sending cards, exchanging gifts and gathering with family top the list in the United States. Caroling, Advent calendars and attending a Christmas service are also widespread.

What are good Christmas traditions to start with family?

Christmas Eve pajamas and a book, a ranked lights drive, an annual family video and a giving tradition are easy to start. Each one takes little planning and repeats well.

What are Christmas traditions for young families?

Young families do well with short, sensory traditions: an Advent calendar, cookie baking day, the pajamas and book night, and one new ornament a year. Keep each one under an hour so small kids stay with it.

How do you keep traditions when family lives far away?

Collect video messages from relatives each year and play them on Christmas morning, or mail the handmade ornament swap. A group video lets everyone take part on their own schedule.

How many Christmas traditions should a family have?

Three to five is plenty for most families. Too many turn December into a checklist; a few repeated every year matter more.

👉 Start your holiday Tribute and make the family video your newest tradition.