Wichita Moms Blog Team Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions… Why do we return to them over and over, year after year? Quite simply, due to nostalgia and building bonds with those whom we love most. Often times, these traditions are passed down from generation to generation, while others are new ones we create once we find our mate and begin a family of our own.  From the customary things like baking cookies and gingerbread houses, to jarred pickles, dried cod, and eating 12 grapes, we here at the Wichita Moms Blog would like to share some of our favorite holiday traditions with all of you. 

Stacy: “On Thanksgiving, I give each kid in the family matching pjs and a Christmas book, and we make gingerbread houses together.  Also, each holiday season our boys get a nutcracker from their grandma.”

Adrienne: “My mom started the tradition of giving us each our own jar of pickles when we were little, and it wasn’t Christmas without them! I started the same thing for my kiddos, and my littlest was SO excited. It’s the little things!”

Jessica: “Every year we sleep under the Christmas tree and watch Christmas movies, eat a special movie mix, drink hot chocolate, and play games. Wearing brand new Christmas pajamas that they open, it’s by far our most favorite family tradition.”

Jessica: “My granny always made delicious sugar cookies, and I’ve started that with my kids! We pass them out to our neighbors!”

Nicole: “We have done gingerbread houses each year with the kids. It’s fun to watch days go by and candy disappearing as they sneak pieces off. They love to help decorate the tree and get to choose an ornament at the store to add. With the family on Christmas Eve, we have soups, appetizers, and treats. My birthday is Christmas Eve, so there’s always a birthday dessert there as well.” 

Chelsi: Other than the obvious Christmas lights tour and Christmas movie nights, on Christmas Day after opening gifts, my husband and I make a big breakfast complete with snowman shaped pancakes. We then have a family game time. We make sure to get each of our kids a fun game or two, and we learn how to play all together! That’s probably my favorite one as it allows us all to slow down and connect.”

Jenna: “I think I love the holidays a little too much and have way too many traditions! From Advent calendars for each person in the house (wine, cheese, or chocolate ones), to cousin gift making and ornament exchange parties, lights at Botanica with the grandparents and more. My favorite is making iced sugar cookies with my husband and the boys, going to Christmas Eve extended family dinner and then coming home to open a present. We open pajamas and a book, then read them together by the tree! I hope our boys never get too old for this!”

Kim: “We are all ready for holiday fun in my house! The countdown is on. We do Christmas jammies and advent calendars on Dec. 1st when the Elf arrives. Then, they can wear them all month. Illuminations at Botanica is always a tradition as well as decorating sugar cookies with friends. In honor of my husband’s heritage, for New Years, we do Spanish traditions such a as eating 12 grapes at midnight.

Tomi: “We made a Santa plate at Color Me Mine a few years ago and use it for homemade cookies. Santa always delivers a game while we are at church on Christmas Eve that we open and play when we get home. We also do Santa pet photos at Kansas Humane Society!”

Lauren: “In early December, we have a family tree decorating night and exchange ornaments we have chosen for each other. My husband and I started exchanging them the first year we were married and now we include the boys. If the boys made a special one at school or daycare we include those too. It’s fun to unpack them each year and talk about what they mean!

Kristina: “Christmas baking with new recipes every year and a weekend in Kansas City are our biggest holiday traditions. We’ve also added a special advent calendar where each day is an act of service for others.”

Laura: “We bring pjs with us to Christmas Eve service and change afterward before we get hot chocolate and drive around looking at lights! Once home, we read the Nativity Story, and take a picture in our pjs in front of the tree before bedtime.”

Jenna: “My family has made Peppernut Cookies for years/generations — as in 25 batches of these little goodies!”

Angela: “We sleep by the Christmas Tree as a family every year the week leading up to Christmas. Our family looks forward to it each year because we drink cocoa, wear our holiday jammies, and watch our favorite Christmas movies!”

Amy: “My boys decorate a Gumdrop Tree with my mom each year. I always did it with my grandma, too. How could I forget matching family pajamas?! We take turns each year picking them out!”

Jillian: “On Christmas Eve we make Norwegian Lefse and Lutefisk as well as a traditional Americanized meal. The “kids” do dishes, we eat cookies, and then we open all the presents! Santa comes Christmas Day and brings more gifts.”

Ginny: “We celebrate Christmas Eve with just our immediate family. For dinner everyone gets to pick one favorite food. Last year we feasted on queso, King’s Hawaiian Rolls, lobster tail (the 6 yo’s pick!), and brownies while playing board games and watching Christmas movies.”

Courtney: “The  kids and I make about 4 or 5 different kins of cookies and take them to all of our parents and siblings. We also love to go get hot chocolate and popcorn to enjoy while we drive around and look at the Christmas lights.”  

Erin: “I have gone to see the Nutcracker with my mom every year since I was 5  and now we take all the kids. She buys the kids matching outfits and a new Nutcracker every year, and then we go to the ballet. Growing up, my mom made chocolate chip cookies for the first snow of the season. We would go outside to play and come in to hot cookies from the oven. Now every year in October I make sure I have all the ingredients on hand so we’re ready. You never know in Kansas!”

Samantha:We exchange ornaments yearly. Each child gets a new one from us and my husband and I exchange as well. Also, we buy a new ornament on each trip we go on. This was a tradition we started back when we were dating. It is my very favorite tree.”

From all of our team, Happy Holidays to you and yours!

What are your family’s holiday traditions? Please comment and share!

Nicole Nickel
Hi, I’m Nicole! I’m a mommy to two young kids: Scarlet and Easton, and wife to Justin. We also have 2 furbaby Labs. I am an Oklahoma girl, born and raised. I’ve been here in Wichita since October 2016. Moving from my home of Norman has been tough, but what a great community to relocate! We love to get out explore the area, finding fun family activities! In addition to mom and wife, I am speech-language pathologist. Some of my favorite things-being an OK girl, I am a die-hard OU football fan (Boomer!), being outdoors, traveling, friends and family, wine and coffee!