Here's another family Advent tradition for those with little ones. Build a simple (think popsicle stick) "crib". Get a large bag of cotton balls. Each evening, reflect on the day with your little ones and see if they had a good behavior day. If so, they get to add a cotton ball to the crib, and make it a little softer for Baby Jesus. (Sometimes it helps with the daytime behavior if you remind them during the day that unless they shape up, they won't get to put in a cotton ball that night.) Then on Christmas, you can put Baby Jesus in the soft crib that they helped to make.  shared by Marabelle2
 

A tradition that I like comes from Eastern Europe. Every Christmas Eve, Christmas Day evening and New Year's Eve my family did the following:
1) Take a pan and put a bit of burning cinder from the Christmas tree in it. [burn a branch of the tree and let it smolder.](incense)
2) Take a branch of the christmas tree and dip it in holy water scattering it about.
3) Do 1 and 2 while praying the rosary and entering every room in the house.
In this way you bless the house for Christmas and the New Year!  submitted by Ash

My mom and dad also had us sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we opened the presents--and a Hail Mary, too. Some of my favorite Christmas pictures are of all us kids, our faces shining with anticipation (the tree and packages are just over our shoulders, after all), our hands folded, our rumpled robes, the girl's pin curls, in front of our rather shabby manger.
We do that here. In addition, as I said before, Delia picks one of her dolls to honor as the Christ Child and all through Advent she adds "straw" for good deeds to the "manger" (a clemetine box; her choice!).   On Christmas morning, we find the baby wrapped in Brightly colored tissue paper (usually royal purple, but whatever's still left over LOL), with a gold halo from gold wrapping paper. The dolls are transformed by this. She has told me that she thinks St. Nick/Santa dresses the baby to honor Jesus. That's as good an explanation as I can come up with. There is always one gift tucked near this manger; this year it will be Tomie dePaola's The Night of Las Posadas. The Christ Child leaves a note talking about her growth over the past year and hopes for the next.

We also always make "potato Stars" for Christmas breakfast or brunch, for after Mass. She loves this use for leftover mashed potatoes. (add flour to mashed potatoes, and then fry in a little butter. We use cookie cutter stars for the season; shamrocks on St. Patrick's day, etc.) 
submitted by Mary




In addition to mass, of course, we always make a special birthday cake for Jesus. We put a candle on & sing "Happy Birthday" and everything. Also, we always read from the bible the story of Christmas. It helps us to make sure Maggie knows what Christmas is really about.   submitted by Lori



A couple of traditions that we as a family have enjoyed...the first is that when we awake on Christmas morning, the first thing that my daughter does as we all gather around the nativity is put the baby Jesus in his crib. As she does this, we all say together, Happy Birthday, Jesus. Then we all hold hands and each of us individually tells Jesus why we are thankful that we know him. It is a very special time with my children--truly a blessing to hear those little voices telling Jesus how much they love him--I am getting tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

The second one is that as we open our gifts, we each have to say why we are thankful for the person who has given us the gift. It really teaches the children about the spirit of giving and being appreciative of the people in our lives.

This is a great topic--it helps us think about those little things we do as families year after year that just become a habit. I have remembered now just how much I love these things and cherish this time with my family--Thanks for thinking of it.  submitted by Michele