Christmas Eve Traditions

One of my favorite nights of the year is Christmas Eve.

While I try to maintain various traditions during the holidays, our Christmas Eve moments have the most history since my husband and I began doing some of these things before we even had children.

On Christmas Eve, we eat an early dinner at home. I try to make a meal that is somewhat special (while making sure that there is at least one dish on the table that each family member likes – not always an easy feat!) Then we clean up the kitchen and get ready to go out for dessert. Just before we leave the house, I always take a picture of my husband and our daughters in front of the Christmas tree or the fireplace.

We drive downtown to our favorite dessert restaurant, which conveniently stays open a bit later than many other places on Christmas Eve. That area would normally be quite crowded in the evening, but on this night there is plenty of parking and it’s easy to get a table. This particular cafe is one of those places that has a large case full of desserts, so we always spend a few moments perusing the choices. Often the girls end up just ordering an ice cream sundae as they prefer simple desserts!

Afterwards, we walk around the streets for a few moments, viewing the decorated store windows. We end up at a large, very nice hotel that always has a beautifully decorated lobby with an enormous train display set up in the middle. Once we’ve seen enough there, we head home and the girls get ready for bed.

We gather in the living room and my husband reads aloud the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2, followed by my reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Of course our girls know that there isn’t really a Santa Claus, but it’s a fun read nonetheless.

Once the children go to bed, it’s time to set all the presents up for the next morning. This year there are no last minute items to be put together, for which my husband will be grateful!

If you would like more ideas for creating Christmas Eve traditions, check out this article. Does your family spend time together in a special way on Christmas Eve? I’d love to hear about it!!

Find more holiday posts at The Inspired Room’s Holiday Linky Friday and the Holly Bloggy Christmas Bash hosted on Friday by Tidy Mom.

photo courtesy public domain pictures