How to Create Holiday Traditions

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot

Growing up, I have the best holiday memories! My family celebrated through the month and created amazing traditions. Don is finally old enough to incorporate more of those- so I’m adding them in this year. Can I tell you how fun this has been?! Since its getting too cold to spend our afternoons outside, creating memories inside has been great.

I thought I’d share some tips on how to create holiday traditions with your family! When Don was 1 and 2 at Christmas time, we started with easy traditions for a baby- visiting Santa, doing an advent calendar, and Christmas pajamas. Now that he’s three, and more mature, we’re ready to add a few more into the mix. Here’s what’s on the agenda-

Decorating a tree for Don’s room

When I was little, we always had a tree we decorated in our living room as a family. We turned on music and had a big party putting the ornaments on it. One year, my parents picked up a live tree on Christmas Eve and decorated it in our family room with all of the presents. It was so fun to wake up to this big surprise!

Me at 3 in 1988 pointing out my favorite ornament

Now, the tree in our living room is my grown-up, color coordinated tree. I wanted a space for Don’s kiddie ornaments that he could decorate as he wanted. I thought it would be fun for Don to pick out exactly what he wanted. We headed to Home Depot and grabbed a tree, some ornaments, a topper, and a few Glade® candles.  Don LOVED it- he sang Jingle Bells as he picked out a few things. It was pretty fun!

For me, Christmas is all about good music and great smells. The Glade® candles are perfect for that! They are available in stores at The Home Depot from now until the end of December. They retail for $4.88 (so affordable!). Two holiday scents are available- Enchanted Evergreen and Nutcracker Delight. For these Holiday limited edition fragrances from Glade® at The Home Depot, you can select a 2-wick candle or plug-in refill.

We brought everything home and had our own party setting up the little tree in his room.There’s something so magical about having that little tree in there! The twinkle lights, the sweet ornaments, its really fun for both of us!

tree / red ornaments / Santa ornaments / tree topper

In future years, I’m looking forward to putting up this tree again. And maybe decorating an ornament together so he has a new special one each year.

baking holiday cookies

When I was little, my mom started the tradition of baking a bunch of treats and then we’d bundle up and deliver them to our neighbors. It was fun to bake together with my sisters and my mom in the kitchen. We’d make a big variety of snacks and wrap them up pretty before bringing them to our friends in the neighborhood.

Don is finally old enough to help with baking more! And I LOVE to bake, so I’ve definitely been taking advantage! My speciality is chocolate chip cookies. I pulled out that recipe so Don and I could make a batch together.

I think that memories and good smells go hand in hand. Have you ever smelt something and it totally brought you back to a special time? I totally have! I like to light a candle when we do activities like this together- it adds to the ambiance and I hope these scents are memorable to Don when he’s older.

For this activity, I thought the Glade® Nutcracker Delight would be perfect. Here’s the description of the scent- “Warm. Indulgent. Swirls of roasted hazelnuts and sweet pralines. Dusted with notes of creamy vanilla bean upon dollops of almond butter. Delight in the sweetness of the season.” Perfect for baking, right?!

With baking, I like to have Don help in a few ways. First, I hand him ingredients and him him put them on the counter. I’ll measure the ingredients and have him put them in the bowl. Then we wash hands and he helps me mold the cookies. And, of course, he’s a great taste tester!

I’ll be honest, sometimes parts of baking together can be a little stressful (like when he wants to help crack eggs). But I do my best to be patient with the mess because I know the memories are more important.

write a letter to Santa

I have three sisters and we would spend hours together writing letters to Santa when we were little! We’d get a toy catalog and circle what we wanted and then make a nice long list for Santa.

Don started preschool and has been learning to write his name. Now that he has more patience drawing and coloring, I thought it’d be fun to write a letter to Santa. I made a letter writing station with paper, markers, and holiday stickers. Don colored while he told me what he wanted and I transcribed it.

While we were writing, I asked if he’d been nice. He said “I don’t need a lot of presents so I can be a little naughty, right?” Umm, that’s not how it works buddy!

For my first year of writing a letter to Santa- what do you do with these? Put them in the mail and then hide them later? #firsttimemom

Glade® plug-in

I am a candle lover! But Glade® also offers a plug-in option in their limited edition holiday scents- Enchanted Evergreens and Nutcracker Delight! They are infused with essential oils and each plug-in air freshener refill lasts up to 30 days on the low setting.

I have the Enchanted Evergreens Glade® plug-in right by my Christmas tree and it smells divine! Here’s the description- “Sparkle. Wonder. Elegant and glistening pine needles. A touch of festive spices with notes of cinnamon bark and nutmeg. Enjoy the magic of the moment.” Perfect for the holidays, right?!

video

I thought it’d be fun to create a video with these new holiday traditions that we are incorporating this year. I’m sure that when Don’s older this is something I can look back fondly on. I hope you enjoy it too!

I am so, so excited to be included in The Home Depot’s Set the Stage with Glade® Roundup post. I’d love for you to check out The Home Depot’s blog and see how other bloggers used Glade® products in their home for the holidays!

I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the promotional program described above (the “Program”). As part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experience are my own words. My post complies with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

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