Christmas has always been a very special holiday for me because of what it represents and now that I have a Child I get to teach him about Christ and the essence of his birth which is very special to me.

Growing up, our Christmas tradition was just like most Nigerian families, decorate your home at the beginning of December, wake up to my Mum frying puff puff and cooking up a storm - fried rice, Jollof rice, chicken - then going to Church and coming back to feast on all the food till you can no longer move. Now thinking about it, it sounds like the feasting that takes place during Thanksgiving in some other parts of the world.


Since I got married - 2 years ago - my husband is always busy during the Christmas holiday and we’ve not really had a tradition as it’s always a quiet day. Now, we have a child and I won't want him to think that Christmas is not worth celebrating because he has an hardworking Daddy, I would love him to grow up with a tradition that he can appreciate and enjoy even if we have to do it right before his father gets busy.


Here are a few Christmas family traditions you can start


  • Tree Setup; Pick a night, whenever is convenient for the family, we set up our tree mid-november because of our Christmas-themed photo session, and depending on the age of your baby, let them hang the ornaments or pull it off as the case may be.
  • Family Photo session; This will be good for the people that still give out Christmas Cards or just for your e-cards. The photo session will be a family bonding time especially when the child/ren are older and can understand
  • Watch Christmas Movies; Growing up, I watched some really lovely Christmas movies which would count as “vintage” for my child but it would be a lovely tradition to start and if you have a large family you can let each child choose the movie to watch. Find a list here!
  • Recreate the Birth of Jesus: It doesn’t have to be anything theatrical but anything that can make an impression. This tradition can be appreciated more when you have older children. If you still have little children, you can just do a reading and explaining it in a cozy space with dim lights, hot cocoa and cookies. You get the picture
  • Gift giving/Thanksgiving: As against the parents just giving gifts to the children, you can encourage the habit of giving and thinking of the next person other than yourself and since we don’t actually celebrate Thanksgiving in Nigeria, you can do this during the Christmas holiday. Everyone can say what they are thankful for.



What do you think of these traditions? Do you have any Christmas traditions in your family? Share with us!