How do you make Christmas memories with your family and friends? See some of our unique Christmas traditions and mini events to give your ideas a boost this year.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Christmas? Your answer will probably include some of the wonderful ways to embrace the festive season and how you make Christmas memories with your family and friends. From getting Santa-ready, to baking, and preparing the nest for the swarm of people who will visit over the festive season; making Christmas memories that last a lifetime is what the end-of-year holiday season is all about.
Celebrating Christmas is not just about Christmas Day either. Although they play a major role in most households as two favourite Christmas traditions, we believe that there is more to the spirit of Christmas than decorating and gifting. For our team at The Christmas Cart, the weeks leading up to the official shindig are a great time to make Christmas memories with our family and friends.
Following are some of our teams’ favourite fun, family-friendly Christmas traditions, entertainment ideas and mini-events that make Christmas memories with magical outcomes.
#1 Craft in the Kitchen
Aside from Christmas craft with paper, scissors and glue, we love taking our crafty efforts to the kitchen to make Christmas memories as it is so easy to get the kids involved with a couple of very popular activities – cooking and craft! Here are a few ideas for some “kitchen craft” that make wonderful Christmas memories.
Gingerbread House
Gingerbread is the perfect ingredient for kitchen craft at Christmastime. And we love making Christmas memories by creating our very own traditional gingerbread house.
This can be a simple as buying a gingerbread house kit and creating a masterpiece ready for devouring over the holidays. Be sure to include plenty of lollies and candy canes on your work of art, along with Christmas ribbons and bows.
Constructing a gingerbread house is a fun way to make Christmas memories that can be turned into an annual family Christmas tradition.
* Tip: for a non-edible version that lasts a little longer, see ‘how to make and create our peppermint candy gingerbread house’.
Bake Biscuits for Santa
When the kids appreciate that leaving a bikkie for Santa and his friends is nice gesture of thanks, they will also love to make Christmas memories with their family by creating their own tasty treats for Santa’s visit.
Bake up a biscuit storm then let the kids go crazy with decorating the biscuits however they please. Just arm them with an array of decorative goodies like chocolate smarties, sprinkles, edible glitter, nuts and icing.
For some simple Christmas biscuit recipes, including traditional Christmas gingerbread cookies, check out these top 100 cookie recipes from Taste.
#2 Get Festively Pampered
Did someone say pamper sessions? Yes please! We love the idea of making Christmas memories with a stint of self-care. Some of these ideas can be just as great for mid-year mini princess parties or girls catch-ups too.
Deck Your Nails in Christmas Spirit
Show off your fingertips with nail designs that look just as impressive as Santa in his red getup. Make Christmas memories with your kids or besties with matching Christmas nail art. You can use traditional nail polish, opt for a semi-permanent option such as gel, or use some nail art stickers or stencils that make it very easy to achieve a professional-looking finish.
Image source: Luulla’s Blog, Oprah Daily, The Wonder Forest
Movie Night Pamper Party
Gather your group of family or friends and make Christmas memories with a movie night pamper party. Set the scene perfectly with:
- a couple of foot spa stations
- some pedicure foot soaks and scrubs with plenty of towels to dry those tootsies
- face masks or eye mask treatments
- a collection of nail polish (for those Christmas nails)
- prepare some tasty nibbles, like cheese, snack platters and popcorn
Then all that is left is to select a fan favourite Christmas (or chick) flick with plenty of comfortable seats to kick back and relax in.
* Tip: for some Christmas snack inspiration, take a look at our tasty array of ‘Christmas cooking’ articles.
Pamper Your Christmas Outfit
Whether it is as simple as investing in a pair of new Christmas earrings, a festive headband or Christmas hat, or buying or making a new Christmas shirt, you can make Christmas memories fun and spirited by adding a little spruce to your Christmas outfit – the ideal way to make Christmas memories in photos as well.
#3 Festive Food Stations
Food is always popular when it comes to making Christmas memories, but it is usually the main affair that most people focus on. Rather than concentrate your efforts on a single day, make these Christmas memories of wonderful food and fun that extend a little further than a day by setting up festive food stations. Here are a few ideas.
Dasher’s Drinks Bar
We happen to know that Dasher is the party animal amongst Santa’s reindeer gang, and he loves making Christmas memories that compel tastebuds to dance.
Create some mocktail and cocktail recipes to advertise at a station/area that can be enjoyed by your family and invitees to your home. Whether it is a dedicated space festively decorated at the end of your kitchen bench, or a mobile drinks cart to create and serve your concoctions from, we love making Christmas memories with spritzers to share!
* Tip: if you have some special guests stopping by, personalise the experience for them with one of our personalised “it’s beginning to look a lot like cocktails” wine glasses.
Don’t forget to add a few cute reindeer ornaments to Dasher’s Drinks Bar too.
Mrs Claus’s Christmas Café
Similar to the festive cocktail bar, how about making Christmas memories that can help curb hunger cravings and provide an all-important daily caffeine fix. Just set up a tea and coffee station with some Christmas serveware stacked with healthier-style snacks, like freshly made protein balls, nuts, fresh whole fruit, or muesli slices. For those sweet tooth’s about, we think that flavoured popcorn varieties would be Mrs Claus-approved.
Complete Mrs Claus’s Christmas Café with an ornamental ceramic milk bottle vase and a few festive Christmas mugs.
#4 Make Mini Christmas Fun
We know that it is not always possible to catch-up with everyone that you really want to over the festive season, for whatever reason that may be. But you can still provide opportunity to make Christmas memories with your entire tribe by creating and hosting mini-Christmas events for guests to enjoy.
Some ideas could include:
- host a Christmas trivia night for family and friends with bragging rights (or a prize) up for grabs. This can be run in-person or online
- create an Amazing Race, Christmas-style for dedicated players using areas such as a local shopping centre (go into store to purchase something particular), a community park or sporting ground (make and sail a Christmas kite), a nature trial (locate a specific tree and take a photo with it), and maybe even your own backyard where you can set up some other challenges
- organise a Christmas “fashions on the field” for the most ridiculous, or the best, Christmas outfit. Have players add their entries onto a private Facebook events page to be judged
- host a secret Santa for your network with gifts to be sent in the post instead of in-person
You don’t have to see everyone in-person or on Christmas Day to make Christmas memories. Just create some fun opportunities that provide the option for everyone to get involved.
Making Christmas memories is a wonderful combination of time together and the experiences you enjoy with those nearest and dearest during the festive season. Our team at The Christmas Cart hope you have plenty of opportunity to make Christmas memories with your family and friends this year as well.
The Christmas Cart has a wonderful range of Christmas gifts, serveware and décor to help make Christmas memories that last a lifetime. Visit our online store to view our entire range that is delivered straight to your door.