Best Christmas Traditions For Families On A Budget

Frugal Christmas Activities To Do This Year.

Are you looking for the best Christmas traditions for families on a budget?  I’ve got you covered in this article!

Christmas is just my very very favorite season.  I love the lights, the snow, planning that perfect gift for a loved one, and the joy I feel from everyone around me.  It truly is the most magical time of the year!  

This fun holiday makes December the perfect month for establishing frugal family christmas traditions.  My hope is that one day my little family will look back on their childhood and remember the sweet memories and traditions we made together year after year.

The best part about traditions is that you do not have to spend a lot of money to make these memories with your family.  A lot of activities can be done completely FREE!  Here are 20 of the best frugal Christmas traditions for families.

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Frugal Christmas Activities For Families

I hope you find one, or many traditions to start with your family this year!  Time passes fast, we have to enjoy every single moment while we can!

1.  Decorate the Christmas Tree

Each year our family hikes through the forest to cut down our very own fresh Christmas tree.  This is one of my favorite things to do all year!

After we find that “perfect” tree we bring it home, turn on some Christmas music and spend a fun evening decorating it together.  Our Christmas tree is decorated with salt dough ornaments, candy canes, and all the things that bring sentimentality and love to my life.  The ornaments made by the hands of my sweet children are ones I will cherish forever!

2.  Read Christmas Stories By The Christmas Tree

Another frugal Christmas tradition that I love is reading a Christmas story by the Christmas tree each night.  It’s such a sweet and magical time as a family.

Every night for the entire month of December we turn off the lights in our house, sit in front of the lit up Christmas tree, and read a Christmas Story.  I’ve been collecting sweet holiday short stories from the internet and Christmas picture books from thrift stores.  I try to buy one or two used Christmas books each year and have slowly increased my collection over the years.

3.  Look At Christmas Lights

One of the best family Christmas traditions for families on a budget is to drive around looking at Christmas lights.  We love during this activity each year and have found a few favorite neighborhoods that we like to visit.

I always pop some popcorn for the kids (and me!) to snack on during the drive and the kids bring a blanket and wear their pajamas.  Of course, we have our favorite holiday music on in the background.  It is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to enjoy the holidays together as a family.

• Related:  Easily Forgotten Christmas Budget Categories

4.  Bake Holiday Goodies

I mean really, does it get any better than holiday baking??  I think NOT!  With hundreds of different recipes and treats to choose from, we could be baking all month long!

Holiday baking is a great frugal Christmas tradition to do with kids.  My kids love to help in the kitchen, ESPECIALLY if they know treats are involved!  A few of our holiday favorites are gingerbread men, cinnamon candy, pretzels dipped in chocolate, Christmas tree cookies, and homemade toffee.

5.  Deliver Neighbor Gifts

After all the holiday baking it’s so fun to deliver those yummy homemade goodies to friends and neighbors.  This is a great activity to get the kids involved with.

Package the goodies onto a cute plate, add a homemade card and spend an evening bringing some joy to your neighborhood.  I love this tradition and the way it brings a community together.

• Related:  Cheap Christmas Gifts for Neighbors, Teachers, and Friends

6.  Christmas Countdown With An Advent Calendar

My kids love counting down for Christmas each day with our homemade advent calendar.  We have one very similar to this Christmas Tree Calendar.  Each day they get to put a new ornament on the tree.  I love watching their faces light up as the tree fills with ornaments.  When the tree is full, Christmas is here.  It makes the long wait a little bit easier for the excited kids!

7.  Watch A Christmas Movie

Plan an evening and have a Christmas movie night together as a family.  I love snuggling up with my family and watching a feel good holiday movie together.  We enjoy classics like; It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas; or a newer family favorite like Elf.  It really is one of the best Christmas traditions for families on a budget.

Netflix has a lot of great Christmas movie options, or check out a few from your local library.

8.  Make A Christmas Craft

There are hundreds of darling Christmas Craft ideas all over Pinterest.  These are so fun to do with the kids during a school holiday break.  Be creative and try making a new craft every year.  It will be so fun to look back on crafts made over the years.

• Related:  Best Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

9.  Make Paper Snowflakes

Homemade paper snowflakes can add a fun and whimsical look to your home, plus they are free!.  Spend an afternoon cutting out paper snowflakes with your family and hang them all around your house. 

Here is an easy paper snowflake tutorial to follow.  It’s such a joy to see every snowflake, each with a different unique design.

10.  Host A Christmas Eve Dinner

I love hosting my families annual Christmas Eve dinner.  It’s a fun way to get together with friends or family and celebrate the holiday.  We always eat a big dinner (potluck to spread out the work and cost) and play a few Christmas games.  It’s simple and basic, but one of my favorite traditions.

11.  Write Letters To Santa

Another fun Christmas tradition for families on a budget is to write letters to Santa Clause.  I am personally not a huge fan of the traditional letters to Santa, where the kids ask for all the things they want to be brought to them. 

Instead, I have my kids write to tell Santa about all of the good and nice things they have done throughout the year.  My hope is this will encourage them to focus more on being kind and less on materialistic things.

12.  Light the World

We have been participating in Light the World for the past few years.  Light the World is a campaign sponsored by my church.  It encourages families to look for ways to serve within their family, community and in the world.  It is absolutely open to EVERYONE!  The focus is less about religion, and more on giving others service and love.

There are so many different ways to serve and love others.  Bake cookies for your local fire department, participate in Operation Shoe box, volunteer at a local soup kitchen, or become “Secret Santa” for a family in need.  I love having my kids participate in this and have found it really brings the true spirit of Christmas into our home.

• Related:  11 Acts of Kindness This Christmas (without spending a lot of money)

13.  Act out the Nativity

Every Christmas Eve my kids act out the nativity as an adult reads the story out of Luke 2.  The kids dress up as Mary, Joseph, The Wise Men, etc. 

I love this tradition and how it helps us focus on the reason for the season.  It really is one of the best Christmas traditions for families on a budget.

14.  Make a Ginger Bread House

Spend an afternoon making a ginger bread house with your family.  You can usually find fairly cheap gingerbread kits at your local grocery store.  One year we just used graham crackers and homemade frosting.  For decorations we used items we already had in my pantry, like chocolate chips, marshmallows and almonds. 

It really doesn’t matter how fancy of a house you build, all that matters is that you’re spending time with your loved ones and participating in family friendly Christmas activities.

15.  Have A Christmas Cookie Exchange

Invite some friends over for an annual Christmas Cookie Exchange!  It’s an easy party to throw, just ask everyone to bring a dozen cookies and enjoy socializing and taste testing all of the different holiday cookies. 

You might even find a new favorite recipe!  One of my favorite Christmas cookie are these Christmas Tree Cookies.

16.  Send Out A Christmas Email

Instead of following the traditional tradition of sending out Christmas cards, try sending out a Christmas email instead.  This is a much cheaper option (hello free!) and still a fun way to reach out to friends and family.  You can include a few pictures and a short update of what your family has been up to over the past year.  I have even seen some free email card services you could look into!

17.  Host A White Elephant Party

Host a White Elephant Party at your home.  Ask everyone to bring a wrapped gift (something they already have around their house) and then play a fun gift exchange game.  

This is a fun way to exchange gifts with friends, without having to spend a lot of money on everyone.  It’s also sure to bring a lot of laughs!!

• Related:  How To Play Fish Bowl

18.  Make A Hot Chocolate Bar

Set up a hot chocolate bar on Christmas Day.  Keep it simple to prevent overspending.  A few peppermint sticks, some marshmallows and whipped cream are all budget friendly ideas.  Try out my easy homemade hot chocolate mix recipe for something quick and delicious you can make at home.

19.  Attend A Christmas Concert Or Event

Look around your community for free Christmas Concerts and Events happening around town.  Does your city put on a free nativity, light parade or other special concerts?  You can usually find at least a few Christmas Concerts at the local high school this time of year.

Pick one or a few of these activities you can attend as a family.  Many of them will be free, or maybe just a few dollars.  It’s a fun way to spend a night out of the house and support your community.

20.  Cookies for Santa and Reindeer Food

My kids love setting out milk and cookies for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. It’s such a sweet and fun Christmas tradition for families.

Consider going one step further and make some Reindeer Food.  This is so easy to do by mixing oats and glitter together.  Sprinkle the magic reindeer food out in your yard to help the reindeer find your house.

Spend Time Together

I hope you enjoyed these ideas for some of the best Christmas traditions for families on a budget.

The most important part of family traditions is that you focus on spending time together.  It doesn’t always matter what you do, as long as you are focused on each other.

Related Articles:

Best Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

How to Save Money For Christmas

Easily Forgotten Christmas Budget Categories

Pin For Next Christmas:

What are some other fun Christmas traditions for families on a budget?