What Christmas traditions do you have with your grandchildren?

[Frwinkley]

New grandparents here to a 9 month old baby girl. I would love to establish some traditions! My own grandparents were deceased before I was young, and my parents/inlaws didn't really have traditions.

What things have you done for holidays (even birthdays) that you hope (or even know) have made a lasting impression?

 

[nw6675]

Just some ideas - a special inscribed book each year, Gingerbread house/cookie decorating, going to a Christmas show if available, if Christian, a special nativity set up together or read Luke 2 as a family before presents...

We also have a young granddaughter. She lives 500 miles away so our traditions are more present based.

 

[Dan Murphy]

If Christian, maybe an Advent calendar with the Christmas story and little chocolates. I get this one every year, the same one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RCVXPXD?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[TCRAIG]

I buy them an Advent calendar each year (this year it was a Lego one) and the oldest gets a nutcracker and the little one gets an ornament.

 

[chrissy92972]

Every year my parents would buy my kids a dated Hallmark Christmas Ornament.

 

[BethID]

My mom did a theme Christmas decoration each year for her grandkids. Oldest 3 boys got nutcrackers, younger 3 got Santas and the girl got snowmen. They got one through their senior year of high school. And all the kids love them. They were always excited to see what was being added to their collections. We have to display all of them each year. They range in age from 19-31. One day when they establish their own households, they can take them with them.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I don’t have grandkids (and didn’t have any traditions with my grandparents) but I do some things with my kids that could be adapted to a grandparent/grandchild relationship.

1) We have white ball ornaments on our tree and every year my kids each paint one.
2) We have a Treemendous ornament maker and every year I add their new creations to a swag of garland hanging on the banister.
3) We celebrate/learn about a different culture every year. Among other things, we always do a Christmas activity together from that culture’s traditions and the kids also get a couple of gifts on Christmas Eve from whatever place we’re learning about.
4) We go to a holiday light display at the botanical gardens.
5) We put on cozy clothes/pajamas, pack thermoses of hot cocoa, and drive around to look at lights.
6) We have a photo album that lives under the tree and every year we add a picture of the kids on Christmas morning sitting in front of the tree after they’ve opened their presents.
7) We add a photo ornament to the tree every year for each kid with our favorite picture of them from the season.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Every year my grandmother took me to a fancy lunch and to see the nutcracker. We would get dressed up and I felt so grown up. I looked forward to that day for months and this time of year I remember spending that day with her and it brings back the best memories.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Santa leaves a stocking at our house for all of the adults and kids, too. Everyone leaves those stockings here when they go home that way they can be put out next year to be filled again.

We started doing this originally for the adult children who lived alone, so they’d still get a stocking… but it felt kinda weird to only have a stocking for one kid and not for the others, so we just did them for everyone. And the grandkids are a natural extension of that.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I don't have grandkids yet, but am following along for good ideas!

A couple that were done for DS -

One grandma gave him a special ornament every year (each of her grandkids had a theme) until 18, so they would have those to carry forward to their own trees someday.

The other set (more local) did a "Christmas Eve Eve" sleepover with all the grandkids on the 23rd. They had cocoa and time with their cousins, and it gave the parents a break to wrap/assemble presents or go out to dinner or whatever.

 

[Meriweather]

I give them fun Advent calendars (not religious....fun) every year.
Also an ornament. Did the same for my kids growing up. They had plenty of ornaments for their own trees when they got them.

 

[Kitty 34]

They decorate my house and tree.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

We have 3 granddaughters, 12, 10, and 8. They have been decorating our Christmas tree for the past few years.

 

[disneyseniors]

New grandparents here to a 9 month old baby girl. I would love to establish some traditions! My own grandparents were deceased before I was young, and my parents/inlaws didn't really have traditions.

What things have you done for holidays (even birthdays) that you hope (or even know) have made a lasting impression?

Our whole family, including all the kids old enough to play, have a dice game. We all buy a 5 dollar gift and don't wrap it. We put them into the middle of the table, and start rolling the dice. Whoever gets doubles gets to pick a prize until all the gifts are emptied out of the middle of the table. Then if you get doubles, you get to take a gift from someone else. There is a set time limit too. It's a crazy, fast, fun game that the grandkids especially love

I meant to add to this: If someone doesn't get lucky and get a gift, we always give one away so everyone ends up with a gift

 

[NYCgrrl]

Pretty much the usual: making holiday cookies together. I’ll admit that in a short time I lost my patience over the mess and starting making cookie dough in advance and just getting help with decorating them. I also allowed DGD to choose one Christmas Day dessert that I made solo most years.

When she was a true little I’d recite Moore’s poem and all would join in for the well known stanzas. She also played holiday standards on a family member’s piano which was a nice change of pace from her electric keyboard.

Walks to view the holiday displays were another fav. By the time she reached 8 years we took her to see the Nutcracker live or on TV for some years. The crèche display at the Metropolitan was always fun.

 

[antmaril]

I am reading all of these posts with great interest - I am 72 years old and I am going to be a grandmother for the first time!!!! Baby girl due in May. I am beyond excited. Of course, by the time I can do some of these things with my granddaughter, I will be pretty old. Hopefully, I will live long enough for her to remember me. My grandparents were all deceased by the time I was five years old. I told my cardiologist that I have a lot to live for!

 

[jo-jo]

When my grandkids were younger, every season/holiday, they would color a picture and I'd put it on the front door. We have a porch and a screen door so they were fairly protected. Might not have been ready for House and Gardens, but I didn't care.

Not really a tradition since we only did it once, but for my DH 75th birthday. All the grandkids wrote out a memory of them and grandpa.

Again under the not ready for House and Garden listing, the grandkids put the window clings all over my white kitchen cabinets. It's a big deal when they get old enough to use the ladder and do the upper cabinets.

 

[Frwinkley]

I am reading all of these posts with great interest - I am 72 years old and I am going to be a grandmother for the first time!!!! Baby girl due in May. I am beyond excited. Of course, by the time I can do some of these things with my granddaughter, I will be pretty old. Hopefully, I will live long enough for her to remember me. My grandparents were all deceased by the time I was five years old. I told my cardiologist that I have a lot to live for!

I am so excited for you! A few of my closest friends have been grandmas for many years and often told me how wonderful it was. I really couldn't relate...until 9 months ago. This baby girl makes me feel so young and alive! There is truly nothing like it! Many blessings for a healthy baby andcontinued good health you!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I am reading all of these posts with great interest - I am 72 years old and I am going to be a grandmother for the first time!!!! Baby girl due in May. I am beyond excited. Of course, by the time I can do some of these things with my granddaughter, I will be pretty old. Hopefully, I will live long enough for her to remember me. My grandparents were all deceased by the time I was five years old. I told my cardiologist that I have a lot to live for!

I am so excited for you! A few of my closest friends have been grandmas for many years and often told me how wonderful it was. I really couldn't relate...until 9 months ago. This baby girl makes me feel so young and alive! There is truly nothing like it! Many blessings for a healthy baby andcontinued good health you!

Congratulations to you both. You'll love it.

 

[maxaroni]

H]I am reading all of these posts with great interest - I am 72 years old and I am going to be a grandmother for the first time!!!! Baby girl due in May. I am beyond excited. Of course, by the time I can do some of these things with my granddaughter, I will be pretty old. Hopefully, I will live long enough for her to remember me. My grandparents were all deceased by the time I was five years old. I told my cardiologist that I have a lot to live for!

We are expecting our first grandchild in May also. Our son and daughter in law are expecting a baby boy!