Christmas is hands down my favorite holiday of the year. In addition to celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is a time to give gifts to my friends and family, spend time together, travel, and celebrate fun Christmas traditions.
After a year full of mistakes, disappointments, regrets, wins, losses, changes, and uncertainty, there is no better way to end the year than celebrating Christmas. Here are a few ways, simple and effective, to help you celebrate as well as make some fun Christmas traditions.
Christmas Traditions To Start With Your Family
Host a Virtual Family Gathering
Sometimes you just can’t travel to see all the people you want to see. Autism can make travel problematic but no need to fear.
Host a virtual gathering.
If you miss the bustle of a full house, consider hosting a virtual event on Zoom, Facetime, Echo Show, or even Facebook Messenger. You can decorate a tree, bake, wrap gifts, and keep the holiday spirit alive even from far away. It’s also a great way to introduce faces to your autistic child without
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Visit a Local Light Show
Look for details on local light shows and take the children to see one. . With some light shows, you can even walk through them. There are other light shows that require visitors to drive through in their vehicles with music playing through your speakers. Stop and get some hot chocolate or coffee from Starbucks to make it extra special. This is a great time to do a manger hunt.
Get Matching Christmas Pajamas
Buy matching Christmas pajamas for each person in the household. Everyone can make sure to wear their pajamas on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Be sure to snap a picture together every year. It’s fun to see the children grow over the years.
The only caveat to this Christmas tradition is that you have to buy the jammies early in the season. The best selection would be in late September to mid October. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving or your Christmas tradition will be mismatched pajamas.
Make Holiday Decorations Together
Get crafty and buy supplies to make holiday decorations together. Have the kids make a Jesus fork manager set to mail to grandparents. Make some seasoning jars to pass out to neighbors and therapists.
Watch a Christmas Movie on Christmas Eve
Sign up to get my free Disney Christmas movie list. Watch as many as you can on Christmas Eve while munching on snacks and other special Christmas treats.
Open One Gift on Christmas Eve
We did this in my family when I was a young girl. it was super fun and made Christmas Eve special. Now that I have my own family, we do it as well but the kids present their gifts to each other and to the parents. It gives each child time in the spotlight which makes their gift giving special.
Do Cookie Decorating For Service People
Bake delicious Christmas-themed cookies to swap to pass out to people who will be working on Christmas Eve and/or Day. In Florida, we brought it to the local fire, police, and EMT stations. In Arizona, we added Border Patrol to the list.
It’s lots of fun to make these cookies together. Get friends and family together to decorate while Christmas movies play. It’s one of our favorite Christmas traditions by far.
Decorate the Tree While Listening to Christmas Music
Put on some Christmas music and start decorating the tree. Add decorations, tinsel, garland, and any other items you like to put on the tree. I make crockpot hot chocolate and have some favorite snacks that everyone loves.
Now we have a tree in every room. I only require everyone to show up for the main tree. All the others get decorated by me or someone else or a combo of the two.
Go Caroling
Consider going caroling! It’s a tradition that has been around for centuries. You don’t hear about it often. We have never done it because no one wants to hear me sing.
Hal and Melanie Young of Raising Real Men do it with their family every year. I’m so jealous.
Have a Christmas Eve Potluck
Think about having a Christmas Eve potluck. Each person in the family can bring something over to your house then you sit for a meal. Make note of any food allergies. I would never go to or have a potluck that had peanuts. I have a highly allergic child.
Make Homemade Hot Chocolate
Make some crockpot hot chocolate then set out a hot chocolate bar. The kids can get creative by adding extras including sprinkles, syrups, and marshmallows. Who doesn’t love a delicious cup of hot chocolate on a cold day?
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Prepare Christmas-Themed Cinnamon Rolls
You can prepare some Christmas-themed cinnamon rolls easily if you’re not gluten free. Pop open a can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls and place them in the shape of a tree. If you’re gluten free, you will have to make them from scratch.
You can use red or green food coloring to the glaze when you prepare it before drizzling it over your cinnamon rolls.
Decorate Stockings for the Tree
Decorate mini stockings that you can hang on the tree or near the tree. You can buy blank stockings and decorate them with glitter, sequins, paint, and more. Set up all the items on a table and invite some friends over! You can get all the needed items cheap at Dollar Tree.
Play Nativity Bingo
Go on a manger hunt and see who wins nativity bingo first. Riding around looking for mangers helps solidify the reason we celebrate Christmas. The birth of Jesus.
Make a Gingerbread House
Buy a gingerbread house kit and put it together one afternoon while playing Christmas music. If I think we’re going to do this, I will trade The Great Pumpkin for his candy.
Visit an Ice Skating Rink
Check out a local ice skating rink for a night of fun on the ice. Even Florida had a limited time ice skating at the holidays. Be careful that your autistic child doesn’t get hurt due to poor gross motor skills or gets overwhelmed by the cold, lights, or loud noises.
Go to Church on Christmas Eve
As the kids have gotten older, we have been able to do this as a family. For years, I took Leslie, my niece, to midnight mass since her family is Catholic. This tradition helps us to slow down and remember what the following day is all about.
Visit a Christmas Tree Farm to Chop a Tree
If you can, go to a local Christmas tree farm and pick out your tree before chopping it down to bring home. Let the kids help with the selection process and chopping process.
Make Care Packages for the Homeless
We always travel around on Christmas and Thanksgiving with to go plates for the homeless. You could also make care packages for the homeless.
It reminds all of us that we are truly blessed to live in a house with central heat/air, running water, food in the pantry & fridge, and Christmas decorations.
Bake Christmas Dessert Together
Pick a dessert that you don’t normally have to add to your menu. Have your child make the grocery list, help you shop, and prepare the new dessert. They will be so proud to serve it at Christmas dinner.
Create a Holiday Guess Who Game
Get an old Guess Who game. Print pics of relatives your child will see over the holidays that they don’t normally see. Then play using Guess Who rules. This helps familiarize your child with obscure relatives.
Do a Secret Santa
Consider doing a Secret Santa with friends or family. It’s an interesting way to get to know people with little pressure.
Make Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Buy sweaters from a thrift store to decorate as ugly Christmas sweaters together. You can add all kinds of things to make the sweaters ugly, including Christmas balls, glitter, sequins, lights, and more. The gaudier the better.
Decorate the Windows with Clings Together
Get some holiday clings for the windows. Have the children hang them wherever they want. It’s a great way to give them responsibility for a decoration.
Walk Through Your Neighborhood to Look at Holiday Lights
Take a walk through the neighborhood to look at all the holiday lights. It’s so peaceful and relaxing to see the neat and colorful decorations that neighbors put up for the season. Decide who put up the best display,
Collect Logs for the Fireplace.
if possible, go out together to collect logs for the fireplace. If not, have firewood delivered then stack it as a family. Everyone will be cozier with the satisfaction of a job well done.
Give Back to the Community
There is no better way to celebrate the festive season this year than to give back to the community. So, if you know of any close person who lost their job to the pandemic, you can donate what you think would be valuable to them.
Buy Gifts
Selecting the right gift for your loved one can be draining. You may not know where to begin, as you want to ensure you get the right gift. One brilliant way to get the right gift is getting something on a bucket list, or what the person continuously mentions.
For instance, if you notice your child continually wishing they had DC Direct figures, then this is the perfect gift for them this Christmas! You just need to listen to hear what someone likes!
You can start plenty of fun Christmas traditions with your loved ones. If you take the time to start new traditions, you can make countless memories while giving your children the best childhood ever.
