Ever since our oldest was a baby, we have set aside the weekend after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. As we’ve added more children to the family, our traditions have evolved into a party atmosphere full of amazing memories! Today, I want to invite you to create something similar in your home!
Note: I originally wrote this post in 2011 and then updated it in 2014, and again in 2025. It’s so fun to see how the kids have changed, but our traditions really haven’t!
I have so many wonderful childhood memories of Christmas, so when Ty and I got married, and my parents gave us their tree, I set out to create happy memories for my own family. That first year, I made my own ornaments, turned on Christmas music and trimmed the tree while Ty studied for finals.
From there, the traditions grew as our family grew!
And today, we have a full-blown Christmas Decorating Party! All of our children come home to participate, and wonderful memories abound!
This has been such an important part of our family’s holiday season, I’d love to share with you how you too can have a fun, low-stress Christmas Decorating Party!
First, let’s set the scene…
The Weekend After Thanksgiving
It’s always been important to us to celebrate Thanksgiving to its fullest, so we have always waited until right after Thanksgiving Day to begin decorating. Some of my kids see this is a “never to be questioned rule,” but most of us are just trying to get the goody out of all the seasons and holidays!
Use my Family Thanksgiving Worship Guide to celebrate Thanksgiving in Scripture and song!
Christmas Music
Of course, there must be Christmas music! When we first started our family decorating party, it was a stash of Christmas CDs I had collected over the years. Now, we use a Spotify playlist and Pandora Christmas stations throughout the season and on the day we decorate.
We have an Alexa in both the kitchen and the living room, so we stream from there and the music fills the whole house!
By the way, I had a favorite Christmas CD titled Peaceful Christmas from Time Life that we no longer play because we don’t have a CD player in the house. However, I used Spotify to recreate most of that CD as a playlist! It makes me so happy!
Christmas Treats
While we certainly have plenty of Thanksgiving Day leftovers (unless we’ve played CHOPPED as a family!), there are a few Christmas related treats that MUST be included in Decorating Day.
For me, it is my Mom’s Fudge (basically THIS RECIPE) and our Festive Hot Punch (also my mom’s recipe!).
Those things scream Christmas because they were ALWAYS made for Christmas Eve when I was child. And while I have carried on that tradition as well, I also like to kick off the Christmas season on Decorating Day with these 2 treats.
About 5 years ago, we started putting together a charcuterie board for Decorating Day – meats and cheeses, crackers and fruit and veggies, as well as dips and chips and meatballs made by my dear daughter in law. Our oldest daughter also likes to make Candy Cane Cookies with the little girls if she can find the time.
I know some families who make a couple of different soups and bread for the evening. Other families simply munch on Thanksgiving leftovers or make them into sandwiches. The name of the game is to keep things simple and festive!
Download our Family Christmas Eve Service:
Christmas Decorations
Every house we have ever lived in had a specific place where I kept the totes of Christmas decor. One house they were stashed in a storage shed in the back yard. Another house, they were in the basement. In the last 2 houses, they have been kept in the garage.
The afternoon of Decorating Day, all the kids pitch in to drag the totes to the staging area – otherwise known as the living room.
Often, in the weeks leading up to our Christmas Decorating Party, I have been arranging and rearranging the living room to make sure there is room for the Christmas tree to be placed in the front facing window. Whenever possible, I like to be able to see our tree as we pull into the driveway at night. I have incredibly fond memories of one particular home we lived in that had a beautiful bay window that featured our Christmas tree every year. *happy sigh*
Throughout the afternoon, the kids work on decorating the entire house with everything except our main Christmas tree. As our children have grown, they have each claimed certain decor as their domain. The littlest children are always in charge of the Playmobil Nativity we received from my sister when our 24 year old was a toddler. Our 19 year old still comes home and puts up his nutcrackers. Our 21 year old has always been in charge of the Christmas village. (However, she did take a majority of the village with her when she got married in October, so the little girls are working on building their own sets to someday take with them. *sniff sniff*). Even our daughters-in-law have latched on to certain projects – one works on the stockings (see the photo near the top of the post), and one works on the mantel.
The Christmas Tree
I mentioned earlier my Mom and Dad gave us their tree when Ty and I first married, so obviously, it’s a fake tree and almost as old as I am! For years and years, we limped that tree along with more and more needles falling off every year, and us saying, “Maybe next year we’ll buy a new tree,” but never doing it.
I mean look at it! (in the dark, that is…)
Last year, my mom moved in with us, and after Christmas she “put her foot down,” and bought us a new tree on an after Christmas sale. She begged us to throw the old one out, but the kids would have none of it! They want to pass the ancient thing around their own households!
Everyone pitches in the set the tree up, and then come the lights!
Ever since we were a family of 3, it was Blake and Daddy’s job to string the lights. Frustrating as this can be, it’s a tradition that the guys wouldn’t have any other way. And back to the fake tree thing…one of our qualifications for a new tree involved one that was NOT pre-lit. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find one of those?! Thankfully, we did find one, but it wasn’t easy!
Once the lights are strung (and we are confident they work!), out come the icicles!
Some of you probably just let out an audible gasp at the thought of icicles. Ty has such fond memories of hanging icicles on the tree with his Granny that he couldn’t imagine a tree any other way. And now, the children can’t imagine it any other way!
Back in the day, Ty and I would have to rearrange the icicles so they aren’t all at waist-height, but these days, almost every one of the children are taller than me, so they do a pretty good job scattering the silver threads evenly about the tree.
Next, is my job of passing out the ornaments. The ornaments are stored in plastic baggies with each child’s name on them. It takes 2 totes just to house all the ornaments from 10 children and 2 parents!
We have quite a few personalized ornaments, so to keep them stored neatly and to minimize the chaos that typically ensues at this point in the decorating, having them separated out by child makes mama’s life easier.
I usually sit on the floor with the ornament boxes and a small box of ornament hooks. The older kids take care of their own bags and hooks, but I hand the younger children their ornaments with the hook already in them, and Daddy or an older child will often guide them to a spot on the tree.
The final touch is the tree topper. We like to have a lit star as our tree topper to symbolize the star over Bethlehem. We turn off all the lights and everyone stands around the tree as Daddy lifts the star to the top and plugs it in. There are cheers and oohs and aahs as we gaze at our freshly-lit family Christmas tree!
Underneath the Tree
Years ago, I decided to put Christmas toys under the tree to keep little hands from touching the ornaments and presents. I refused to be the mom with the tree on a table or in a playpen (no offense to those of you who do this!). I wanted the children to learn (as best they can) to not touch the tree by giving them something they CAN play with instead. And now we use this same method for our grandchildren since our 9 and 10 year olds don’t really mess with the tree anymore. *wink*
Our current favorite is the Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set.
or the Melissa & Doug Nativity set
Speaking of Melissa and Doug and small children…we just purchased their wooden advent tree for the grands!
Every night, we do a Jesse Tree Devotional and take turns hanging rather delicate wooden ornaments on a small tree in the corner of the living room. I wanted to have something that our little grandbabies could “hang” when they are over in the evenings to count down to Christmas as well.
I was also recently made aware of a Melissa and Doug Advent Devotional written by a pastor in Washington. I am excited to use it with the little ones!
You can get a copy of this free devotional by emailing bethany.lutheran@wavecable.com
Of course, there is a lot of other decorating we do inside and outside the house, but this post isn’t really supposed to be about me! I wanted to show you how WE do Christmas Decorating Day, you can see how simple it can be for YOU to start your own family tradition that is low-stress and super fun for everyone!
Here are a few ideas for you to get started with your own
Family Christmas Decorating Party this year!
Choose a Day
The day you decorate is totally up to you. You could even do a party BEFORE Thanksgiving (I will try not to judge!). Just choose a day without a lot of extra things stashed into it so you can focus on decorating and enjoying time with family.
More than likely something will go wrong (tree topper not lighting up, anyone? Just us? ok then…), so make sure you prepare yourself ahead of time for things not being perfect, and possibly even including a quick run to the store!
Set the Mood with Music
Tis the season for Christmas music! Choose a playlist or CD and keep it going in the background while you decorate.
Set the Mood with Food
This is a time of celebration, so set the mood with some holiday food! Choose a few family holiday favorites and put them out on a tray to snack on during the festivities. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making them or the expense of buying them, lay out some Thanksgiving leftovers! Grab some hot cocoa or coffee and creamer or cider and get to decorating!
Start Your Own Family Christmas Traditions!
Our family’s traditions are a conglomeration of things Ty and I did as children and things that have become dear to us as we’ve had our own children. We also ask our children every year what part of Decorating Day they enjoy the most and try our hardest to incorporate those into the festivities.
Use my free Decorating Day Menu worksheet to help you plan!
and most important of all…
Don’t Stress
Stressing over making the party perfect will turn something fun into a disaster quickly! Remember, children are children and the decorating will be a little haphazard and a little chaotic, but if you remain low-key, the day will still feel festive to all involved – including you, Mama!
Other posts you might like:
Free Advent Devotionals for Children
Unique Christmas Gift Ideas for Large Families
Group Gifts for the Large Family
Themed Christmas Presents for the Large Family
Catherine says
It sounded like you kind of cringed at mentioning tinsel. I thought I would share how we get around the mess, and possible cat hazard. Years ago I found a cute little local shop that sold Victorian Christmas Tree Tinsel. They are made out of twisted tin with a built in hook to hang them up. They stay on ths tree and our cats can’t eat them. They really catch and reflect all the lights from the tree. The best part is they can be reused year to year and have their own starage tin. That little shop dosn’t exist anymore, but I did find them online. Just do a quick search for “Victorian Christmas Tree Tinsel” and you will find a bunch of sites that sell them. Maybe for next year?
Amy says
Neat idea! Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca says
We gave our Christmas tree away last year to someone who needed it and then went out the day after Christmas and bought an expensive tree for 75% off. We kept our own decorations and such though. It was the first tree we had bought in probably 20 years.
Amy says
I know that’s the way to do it, but those sales crowds stress me out!
Rebecca says
Maybe you could just send your husband and avoid it? If you’re like me, you’re not too picky anyway, it’s not like it’s something you have to see and deal with 365 and he knows what you like and want. We went to Home Depot and found this tree and it wasn’t crowded at all. I don’t think Home Depot is a hub of excitement the day after Christmas. 😉
Jillian says
I didn’t realize it’s so hard to find one that isn’t pre lit. We always had real trees up until a few years ago when we bought a bookcase that now sits where the tree used to go. So now we have this skinny little fake tree (slim shady) that definitely needs to be replaced, but the prices are ridiculous!
Amy says
They are ridiculous! Sounds like you have a “Charlie Brown tree”! 😉
Natalie says
Perfect timing! This is exactly how we’re planning to spend this Saturday (including buying all new decorations since we don’t have a collection yet). I remember something similar to what you described from my childhood. Cocoa, music, treats, tree, nativity, advent readings (though I didn’t know they were called that then). Thanksgiving has always been a full weekend celebration in my family, so the first weekend in December tends to be the Christmas kick-off.
Amy says
Enjoy!
Rhoda says
When we lived in TN trees were too expensive so we didn’t have a tree until a friend gave us her “old” artificial one when she upgraded. Now that we are in the NW and the trees are much cheaper, we gave our tree to someone moving to the Midsouth area so they wouldn’t have the high prices to worry about, and we get to enjoy a real tree. But the main thing I wanted to comment on is the icicles. I too grew up using them and can’t imagine a tree without them. But we put ours on at the end after everything else is on. My children love putting them on and picking them up and putting them on again. We manage to find strays throughout the year in the strangest of places–bedrooms, curtains, downstairs in the basement! So much fun. One more comment–traditions with trees are great–one is the putting on of a very old ornament my grandmother brought with her to the US after WW I. It is falling apart and every year I am amazed that it has survived another year. We haven’t put up our tree yet this year, probably this weekend, but I am hoping Grandmas’ ornament is still OK.
Amy says
Beautiful memories!
Linda says
That sounds like a wonderful way to make a party out of decorating the tree Amy! Thanks for sharing! I am sure your kiddos love it.
John puts the tree together and does the lights with me…then I decorate it. I am always tweaking it throughout the season it seems, to get it just right…and then it is time to take it down. 🙂
I hope you and yours will have a blessed Christmas and New Year!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits