By Heather Humrichouse

        I had no intention of starting a tradition. My children begged to leave the tree lights plugged in all night on Christmas Eve, but in the wee hours of the morning, the children found a letter from an elf citing the fire risks of leaving the lights on, as well as an apology for having to give our dog a special Christmas bone to calm down. I forgot all about it until the next Christmas, when the kids wondered if the elves would find anything wrong.

        In recent years, the elves have wrapped the living room entrance to keep us from peeking, wrapped the Christmas tree to keep the cat away, and wrote us a ticket for straying away from sugar cookies to gingerbread cookies. (Santa apparently liked our sugar cookies best.)

        Memorable moments like these aren’t the only reason to bring out old and new traditions this holiday season. The American Psychological Association published a study showing a correlation between religious holiday rituals and marital satisfaction. Recent research also shows that family traditions reflect the relationships among family members as well as how the family interacts with their community, culture, and religion.

        Before you decide on your family’s holiday traditions, check out some of these ideas:

Meaningful Traditions

        Turn 12 Days of Christmas into 12 Days of Serving! Alisha Smullin, mother of four, explains that what started as a way to get their children to think of Christmas as more than getting things turned into the realization that serving is a joy. Finding places to serve as a family can often be difficult, but Smullin presents these ideas:

        The Boise Rescue Mission caters to families serving together. While parents are busy helping with packaging, kids are usually busy coloring and decorating the boxes or placemats that will be used for holiday dinners.

        Find out what the food bank needs and set up an event via Facebook or Evite. Let your friends and families know what’s on the list, the day and time your family will be out collecting, and request they let you know if they plan to participate. Have participants leave the items on the doorstep. That way, the children can sneak up, collect the donations, and leave a handmade thank-you hanger on their door knob.

        Bake cookies for neighbors and deliver them secretly.

        Go on a trash scavenger hunt. Provide the kids with sturdy gloves and garbage bags, then pick up litter in parking lots, parks, and subdivision ditches.

        Offer a free babysitting night to friends or neighbors! Entertain children as a family while parents get a couple of hours to shop or do whatever they’d like.

        Amy Barnes, mother of three, shares, “Every Sunday during Advent, we give a gift to each child. The first Sunday is usually an ornament for the tree, the next Sunday is holiday pajamas, the following Sunday is a book, and on the last Sunday, we give something that is specific to the child. When we get to Christmas, we only give the kids a couple of presents. It started out as a way to reduce the number of gifts on Christmas, but we have incorporated it into our Advent discussions about anticipating the birth of Jesus.”

        Meaningful traditions can be as simple as attending a religious service followed by a hot cup of cider or cocoa and opening a gift.

Humorous Traditions

        A family of mixed faiths used bagels as Christmas tree ornaments as a cute nod to their Jewish and Christian faiths celebrated underneath one roof. Another family wrote a list of 12 Days of Christmas Movies and Activities to celebrate during holiday break. For instance, they watched The Christmas Story and then had a relay race where the player must put on layers upon layers of winter wear before running across the room to tag a family member.

Multi-Cultural Traditions

        Consider incorporating traditions from other cultures. My husband’s roots are in Germany, and in some German regions the head of the family hides a glass pickle ornament in the tree. Whoever finds the Christmas pickle on Christmas morning gets a small extra present! The Museum of Science and Industry has an online exhibit of holiday traditions from around the world (see www.MSIChicago.org).

Holiday Party Ideas

        Consider adding a holiday party to your family traditions, like a cookie exchange or Christmas sweater party. On the more unusual side, host a “bring your ugliest gingerbread house” party or a recycle gift party (also known as white elephant gift exchange). Christmas background songs abound for download or viewing on free sites like YouTube, making it easy to organize a holiday karaoke party!

The “Remember When” Game

        When things go wrong during the holidays, don’t sweat it! Often the best holiday tradition is regaling humorous tales of things going wrong. My family loves to play the Remember When Game, as in, “Remember when Mom dropped an oven mitt in the oven and it caught on fire?” or “Remember when Dad got us stuck in the snow when we went out to look at Christmas lights and we thought we were going to die before someone came to save us?” or “Remember when the garbage disposal got clogged with potato skins and Mom had to run to the store on Christmas Eve for a plunger and Drain-o and everyone at the store started laughing and insisting she go first at the checkout?” After all, laughter during the holidays is always a blessing.

Heather Humrichouse is a freelance writer in the Treasure Valley. Find the celebratory in the ordinary at www.creativefamilymoments.com.