Kickass holiday traditions you should start this year

The holidays are that special time of year where it is totally acceptable to do nothing but eat endless amounts of cookies, lay on your couch in your Christmas pajamas until 2pm, and binge watch your favorite movies. It’s also the time when the family traditions come out. Whether you realize it or not, your family has probably developed a holiday routine that finds its way on repeat like a bad pop song on the radio. So this year, how about making up some new traditions? Here are some awesome ideas to get you started:

Read Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

If you haven’t read David Sedaris, you are sorely missing out. Holidays on Ice combines humor, love, Christmas, and awkward family fun, all based on Sedaris’ Christmas past. It will become a serious guilty pleasure reading how Sedaris became a Macy’s Christmas Elf and it will make your next venture into a department store during the holiday season that much more enjoyable. If you’re looking for a hilarious, easy, relaxing read for the holidays, this should be your go-to collection. After reading these 6 stories, you’ll find yourself coming back to them every December.

Have a Cookie Baking Competition

This time of year is full of holiday cheer, happiness, and giving. But why not add a little competition with family and friends to the mix? Come up with some crazy rules for each round like your cookie must have hot sauce or eggnog. This event will truly bring Food Network to your own kitchen, and you’ll have lots of tasty treats to eat in the end.

Volunteer in the Community

Giving back to the community is one of the most rewarding, humbling experiences. Start a new tradition with your friends and family by taking time to volunteer. Gather a group and go sing carols and donate any money you receive to your favorite charity. Volunteer on Christmas morning at your city’s soup kitchen. If you want to get real crazy, get a group of friends to raise money together and make a competition out of it. That will motivate you to work extra hard and you’ll raise even more money for great causes.

Adopt a holiday tradition from a different culture

Americans have a lot of holiday traditions, but you’d be surprised how other cultures around the world celebrate the holidays. One fun holiday tradition is the German Pickle. Get a pickle ornament and have someone hide it on your Christmas tree. The first person to find the pickle on the tree (trust me it’s harder than it sounds) gets a prize.

Commemorate each year with a new ornament

Ornaments are great keepsakes that last forever. Buy yourself or others an ornament that signifies a memory or event from that year. It’ll help you remember the fun stuff that can sometimes be forgotten. Better yet, make ornaments like these with your family! When setting up the tree the following years, you can tell those stories and relive the memories all over again.

Drop a present off at a strangers house

This is by far the best holiday tradition yet! Make someone’s day without them even knowing it. Consider this the nice version of ding-dong-ditch where you pick a random house in your neighborhood and leave a wrapped present with a nice note outside their front door. You may never meet this person, see their reaction, or know how much they appreciate this random act of kindness, but it’s one of the coolest ways to give back.

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