Merry Christmas

1. Pajama game. 

In more than a few families we talked to, each family member is allowed to open just one gift on Christmas Eve. Several of these same families know exactly what they’re opening: snuggly Christmas pajamas. This traditional kickoff to the giving and receiving of gifts gets everyone set for bed and looking cute for Christmas morning photos.

2. Christmas Eve hot chocolate and Christmas stories. 

Before your little elves head off to bed, spend part of the evening drinking hot chocolate and sharing Christmas stories.

3. Sibling slumber party. 

The anticipation of Christmas morning can bring together a group of siblings like little else. Some maximize the fun by sleeping together

4. Stuffer scramble. 

One family reported a hilarious tradition that started on the parents’ first Christmas together: Having just married 6 days earlier, they realized they had no “stocking stuffers” for one another. In a panic, they set out for Kmart and had only 15 minutes until closing to come up with unique, funny gifts for one another. It was so much fun, they’ve done it every year since—on purpose!

in one room. It’s fun to have someone to whisper to while listening for reindeer hooves on the roof!

5. Light ‘em up. 

Light up another family’s Christmas Eve by playing elf. One family we polled does this on their Waffle House stop by secretly paying someone else’s check. Then they leave the restaurant and watch from the car. They love seeing the joy and surprise on the face of the unsuspecting diners when they learn it’s “on the house.”  You can also light up the night for someone who has to work on Christmas Eve, such as a pharmacist at a 24-hour drugstore or a gas station attendant.