Taking part in family traditions during the holiday season is a special way to celebrate your past, your ancestors, and the importance of family. A lot of people get so caught up in trying to reenact the past, they forget about the present. Creating your own new family tradition celebrates the here and now, the people who love and surround us, and those we wish to remember in the future.

When my daughter celebrated her first Christmas I decided to create a new family tradition, one that would remind her of the most important people in her life. A tradition to honor the loved ones that took part in making her first Christmas, and each one to follow, extra special. We created a Christmas family tree. Making your own Christmas family tree is easy and inexpensive but the memories it will provide are priceless.

To create a Christmas family tree you will need:

A sheet of white Bristol board

A sheet of dark green Bristol board

Construction paper of various colors

A glue stick or clear drying glue

A black Sharpie marker

Scissors

An assortment of small decorative stickers, glitter, and beads

On the back of the sheet of green Bristol board draw the shape you want your tree to be. Follow the lines and cut out the tree shape. Lay your white Bristol board on a clean flat surface. Stick your green cut out tree on top of the white Bristol board firmly. Next, use your colored construction paper to make some circle cutouts. Trace around the end of an object, such as a soup can, to make the circles uniform. Place the circles in a decorative container. In another container place your stickers, glitter and beads.

Display your Christmas family tree in a prominent and easy to access place. The front of the refrigerator is always a popular place. Keep your containers of circles and decorating bits close by.

Now this is the most important part. A Christmas family tree does not have to include only family members. When guests and visitors drop by over the holidays, have them transform a circle into a Christmas ball for the tree. Get out the Sharpie marker and make sure they autograph their creation before they place it on the Christmas family tree. By the end of the holiday season your tree will be filled with unique and colorful Christmas balls.

Each year a new baby comes into the family, create a Christmas family tree just for them. When these children are grown and celebrate Christmas in their own homes, they can proudly display their one of a kind, homemade, autographed, Christmas family trees. Reading over the names your children can reflect on who shared that first special Christmas with them. They will remember those that are gone from their lives, how important they were, and think back on all the holidays they spent together. Perhaps, as a family tradition, the children of this generation will make Christmas family trees with the next generation.

How to draw a Christmas tree

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