Innovations in technology have made it easier for us to isolate ourselves. Because of how quickly things such as music and games can be accessed, it is so easy for us to get caught up in our own digital bubble. Several times, we miss out on “real life” moments because we are so engrossed with what is happening onscreen.
The Christmas season, especially, is when you should make a greater effort to put down the gadget and make memories with your loved ones. Here are Christmas traditions that you can start (or continue) to make your holidays merrier.
Go Christmas Caroling
In the digital age where kids and adults sit around after dinner with their phones or tablets in hand, Christmas caroling has become an uncommon activity. You can rekindle this old tradition and invite your family to walk around the neighborhood to spread the holiday spirit. Christmas caroling is the easiest way to spread Christmas cheer among neighbors and friends. After caroling, your family and your neighbors can share refreshments like hot cocoa for the kids and eggnog for the adults.
Caroling is a way to connect with our family in a non-technological way. Through singing and merry-making, you are creating lasting memories and a family tradition to be practiced in the years to come.
Take Family Portraits
Photos are the most traditional way of preserving memories. Family pictures aren’t just decorations, they are personal reminders of times in your life that you can always revisit. Here in Utah, it is easy to book a skilled family photographer who can capture your family’s expressions and emotions in an image.
You can mix up your family photos by doing themes each year. Fun, wacky motifs such as wearing “ugly” Christmas sweaters will make great photographs that bring joy every time you look at them. A family photographer can also document some of your merry-making to give your Christmas photos a more candid feel.
Take a Trip to The Park
Check out your town’s schedule of winter festivities and plan ahead for a visit to your local park. This is a great way to connect and socialize not only with your family but also with your community. Activities such as concerts, tree lighting, and plays are common Christmas festivities that you can do with the family. You can also take the kids to meet Santa Claus and take photos that they will always cherish.
Most parks even put up ice skating rinks where you can rent skates and have a great time gliding alongside loved ones. Skating on ice surrounded by Christmas lights will surely make you and your family feel the holiday spirit.
Bake and Decorate Christmas Goodies
Homemade cookies are a staple Christmas snack. Have as many people in the family help with the baking. You can never have too many cookies, anyway. Kids can even help mix, stir, and shape the dough with festive cookie cutters. Later, have them decorate and prepare a plate “for when Santa arrives.” It will be something they will look forward to and will most likely be a tradition they will pass down to their own families in the future. Additionally, homemade cookies make good gifts for neighbors and friends, too. Not only is it an inexpensive gift choice, but a thoughtful one as well.
Building and decorating a gingerbread house is likewise a classic Christmas activity. There are store-bought ones that need assembling, but you and your family can also bake the gingerbread from scratch. Turn the decorating into a competition by seeing who can make their side of the house more beautiful. You can even go far as building a village out of gingerbread houses and have the kids decorate specific areas for optimal fun.
You don’t have to spend big bucks to give your family a Christmas they will never forget. And you don’t need your gadgets to do it, either. No matter how much you have, what matters is that you spend the most wonderful time of the year with the people you love.
