5 Ways to Make Christmas Magical
This post is sponsored by Walmart
Any time I mention that my kids don’t believe in Santa Claus, I get a slew of questions all asking the same thing, “But how do you make Christmas magical?!”
I’ll admit, I’m always a little stumped by this question because . . . Christmas is super magical! To me, it doesn’t feel necessary to believe in Santa for it to be the most wonderful time of the year!
Here are some of the ways we make Christmas magic at our home.
5 Ways We Make Christmas Magical at Our House
- Christmas 1st Dinner. This is something we started doing last year on the spur of the moment and I loved it so much, we’re keeping it up! I pulled out our Christmas china (which Bart’s parents gave us a few years ago), broke out some sparkling cider, and set the girls’ wrapped LEGO Advent Calendars and Christmas PJs on their seats (this year, because we’re drowning in Christmas pajamas after all these years, I did these cute white jogger sets from Walmart instead that they can wear together or broken into pieces). It’s such a fun way to kick off the month as a family in a way that isn’t very time-consuming.
- Reading a Christmas chapter book during December. My mom did this for us growing up and there is something so extra magical about choosing a Christmas themed read aloud book to enjoy together during December. Last year we read The Christmas Pig and bonus points if you read it by the Christmas tree, all lit up and twinkling!
- Christmas Light Drive Through. This is one of my girls’ favorite things we do in December. On some weeknight in December, we have an early dinner, everyone gets into cozy pajamas (and a coat!) and we go to a community park that’s been filled with Christmas lights and displays. You drive slowly through with your radio tuned to a specific station that play Christmas music to go along with the displays and it’s just so fun and simple. Probably we could step it up by bringing along thermoses of hot chocolate, but we haven’t gotten that fancy yet.
- A Holiday Date. It’s not just kids who deserve some Christmas magic – adults should get in on the fun too! About five years ago, some friends in Arizona invited us to attend a Christmas concert with them and it was so magical to dress up and enjoy the downtown holiday lights with friends. Since then we’ve tried to schedule this in every year because it’s such a delight to have a little child-free time soaking in the sights and sounds of the season. (This sweater dress is perfect for dressing up with heels and some sparkly earrings for a date and it’s also just as easy to dress down with a pair of sneakers and a cardigan. This dress, which comes in a fun red option, plus black or blush is from Walmart’s Free Assembly line which has blown me away over the past couple of years. I bought a couple of Free Assembly pieces last year and wore them non-stop and they still look brand new).
- Christmas shopping for siblings. It’s really fun as our girls get older to watch them get more excited about the giving part of Christmas and picking out just the perfect present for their sisters has become one of their favorite parts of the holidays. Some time in December, Bart or I will take out one or two of them at a time for an hour or so to pick out gifts for their sisters. They’re SO excited about choosing JUST the right thing and they love coming home, carefully wrapping their gifts and putting them under the Christmas tree. It’s pretty much my favorite thing to hear them gleefully telling each other, “You are going to LOVE what I got for you!”. Loads of Christmas magic in one little sentence!
I’d love to hear what you do to add Christmas magic to your holidays! Let me know in the comments!
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Photos by Heather Mildenstein
I’m not familiar with the term Christmas 1st. Is it a dinner that happens on December 1st, or is it just whatever day your family decides to kick off the season?
Yep! We do it on December 1st because that is when our advent calendars start so it makes sense to kick it off that day.
Christmas Adam! We did a just for our little family party this last year. Played some games, watched a show, had a fun dinner. Kids loved it and want to do it again. So, there will be Christmas Adam.
Since all my kids “know” the big secret with Santa, this year we put one in charge of playing Santa. Finding all the fun things for stockings. I think it keeps the magic, but also teaches them about thinking about others and what they might want. We have also dialed back on the gifts, and try to do more things together throughout the year.
We spread our gifts throughout December sticking somewhat to the four things matrix. The kids get something to wear on St. Nicholas Day -often tights or hair accessories to wear to the Nutcracker as well as a new book. We go to The Nutcracker every year. Christmas Eve is when they get new pjs. And this year we’re adding Jolabokaflod on the 21 where everyone will get a new book and we’ll have a snacky supper by the tree.
Our kids exchange gifts and that often looks like a family date to a few thrift stores to find treasures, it’s my favourite!
I think the traditions make the magic and it’s easy to spread those out throughout the month.
We do a Christmas tree picnic that’s really fun. Also Christmas tree sleepover on December 23rd. Lots of fun things to do!