10 Christmas Traditions for Grandparents

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Whether your grandparents live close or far away, these special Christmas traditions are perfect for celebrating with your special loved ones.

A Grandma sits on a couch dressed for Christmas with her two granddaughters.

After a long and crazy year, our family is heading into the holiday season with the plan to intentionally make small moments special.

I want my girls to know that Christmas is more than the moment they open the presents, I want them to experience the joy of spreading cheer over the course of the whole season.

A big portion of that for us is spending special time with my mom who recently moved to our area earlier this fall. Having a grandparent so close by has been a wonderful opportunity for the girls to focus on brightening someone else's holiday.

The Peanut has been working hard on a few new Christmas songs on the piano. So we invited Grandma over for an impromptu concert to show off her newest talents.

Making special time for grandparents during the holidays

We turned on our newly decorated Christmas tree lights and everyone got dressed up in festive outfits for church on Sunday so that we could come home to our little living room performance.

While the Peanut played, Little Pea showed off her favorite ornaments to Grandma and twirled to the music.

Making special time for grandparents during the holidays

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It's been one of our big happy moments for the last couple years to have the Peanut play a concert on Christmas morning before we open any of our gifts. She is so proud of her moment in the spotlight on that special day and works hard all month long to perfect some new tunes.

She loved being able to share a preview with Grandma so early in the month. It is such a treat to have her live in our town and be able to join us for such a simple thing.

5 Traditions For In-Town Grandparents

If you're lucky enough to have a grandparent living close by, here are 5 of our favorite traditions to do with Grandma:

  1. Have an annual tree ornament shopping day with lunch out at a restaurant
  2. Help grandma bake your favorite holiday treats
  3. Host a holiday music concert for Grandma: the kids can sing, dance, lip sync, or play an instrument!
  4. Pop a big bowl of popcorn and watch Grandma's favorite classic Christmas movie
  5. Make homemade ornaments as a special surprise gift for Grandma's tree

5 Traditions for Long-Distance Grandparents

If you're not lucky enough to have a grandparent living close by, try one of these 5 ideas instead:

  1. Find a local independent living center that might host holiday events for residents. Grandma's apartment has local piano students come play concerts. The residents there are less intimidating to small kids than nursing homes because everyone is in relatively excellent health making it a better option for young families.
  2. Have the kids draw special pictures for grandparents that live out of town and mail them with your holiday cards.
  3. Call grandparents and have a virtual caroling session with the kids over the phone.
  4. Make homemade photo ornaments of the kids for your grandparents' tree.
  5. Call grandma and ask her to tell the kids her favorite memory of Christmas from when she was their age in lieu of a bedtime story.

More Fun Family Christmas Traditions

22 Comments

  1. I want to dress up my son for our yearly family pictures!

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  2. I love Gymboree and with 2 children who are tiny, I find Gymboree clothes with their adjustable waists perfect for my kids. And they keep them looking little! A big happy event that I would love new outfits for is a new family picture.

  3. My little guy really needs some new PJ's and I love the quality and look of Gymboree, would love these for Christmas morning.

  4. FAMILY PICTURES!! We always put the kids in Gymboree clothes for our family pictures and they turn out the best. The kids are stylish and comfortable. Thanks for the great giveaway!!

  5. I would dress my son up to meet his baby brother for the first time! He is very excited to meet him this month! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. We take my daughter and some of her friends caroling at a local nursing home for Girl Scouts. Of course I want her to look her best and super festive. Therefore, Gymboree will be what she is wearing this year.

  7. I would love this it would help us out so much, We have a 4th Birthday coming up before christmas any help would be truly appreciated!

  8. Christmas Day photos would be so much cuter in nice. sorta matching dresses/shirts for my kids!! Or some new pj's for Christmas Eve!!

  9. Christmas Day photos with our new clothes from usually Gymboree is a tradition in our family by the pine tree that keeps growing taller in taller in our yard each year.

  10. We are looking forward to our #OneBigHappy Christmas morning in Gymboree jammies (aren't those gnomes the cutest?) Love the idea of Christmas caroling over the phone. Grammi will LOVE doing that with the kids. Perhaps FaceTime!

  11. I always have my son draw pictures to send to Grandpa and Grandma. He loves seeing his artwork on the fridge when we go visit!

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