For most families, Christmas time is the season when we engage in many traditions with our families. My family and I have traditions that we started back when I could barely remember Christmas, and we still keep up with them today. I want to share some of my favorite traditions with you.

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Every Christmas Eve, we host my dad’s side of the family at our house. In the background of dinner and presents, my dad always puts the movie It’s a Wonderful Life on mute on the television. He puts it on repeat so the movie is playing the whole night. We’ve done this for years and still continue watching it every year (except when my five-year-old cousin wants us to put Spider-Man on instead). Once everyone leaves and it is just our immediate family left, the four of us curl up on the couch and watch the It’s a Wonderful Life until we decide to go to bed. This is probably my favorite Christmas tradition with my family and it has become my favorite Christmas movie.

It’s no question that Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas album is hands down one of THE BEST Christmas albums of all time. This includes songs like “Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child,” “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” “O Holy Night,” “Joy to the World,” and her infamous jam, “All I Want for Christmas is You.” This album is usually the first Christmas album my family and I listen to. We, of course, have to wait until Thanksgiving to play it, but that car ride to my aunts gets lit. A favorite while listening to this album is my mom, sister, and I try to out sing each other on Mariah’s high note.

Since before I can remember, we as a family have always had a different themed Christmas tree. My mom is amazing at picking a theme and decorating our tree. She usually does her shopping for decorations at the after Christmas sales and saves them for the following year. We’ve had trees with basic color schemes, a winter wonderland tree, and even a candy themed tree. In honor of our recent trip to Ireland this summer, my mom put together an Ireland themed tree. My favorite part of this tradition is cranking up Christmas tunes with my family and spending the night decorating our tree. Here’s a collage of a few of our trees. The quality of the pictures got better as we upgraded our iPhones.

Another favorite tradition is every year, my mom buys my sister and I new Christmas jammies. We usually pick them out while shopping on Black Friday and we get them on Christmas Eve to wear. Usually, my jammies consist of onesies/foot pajamas; however, sometimes I switch it up. Here’s a picture of me in a few of my Christmas jammies. I also have a tradition where every year I take a picture asleep in all my presents (don’t judge me, I’m a weirdo).

Christmas jammies are such a fun part of the Christmas season. If you don't believe, check out this video by The Holderness Family.

I'm sure my final favorite tradition is one for many families. 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! This 25-day television program is loved by many. Whenever you’re in the Christmas spirit, just turn on FreeForm (formally known as ABC Family) and you’ll find yourself a Christmas movie to watch.

I'm sure my final favorite tradition is one for many families. 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! This 25-day television program is loved by many. Whenever you’re in the Christmas spirit, just turn on FreeForm (formally known as ABC Family) and you’ll find yourself a Christmas movie to watch. They show well-known movies like Elf, The Grinch, and even Frozen. They also show their own holiday movies that are strictly made by FreeForm. My favorite movies they show, however, are the claymation films, especially The Year Without a Santa Claus which features the Heat Miser and Snow Miser. Usually, throughout the Christmas, my family and I will try to watch as many Christmas movies on 25 Days of Christmas as we can.

I’ll always cherish and remember these traditions even as the years go on. Christmas is my favorite time of year because of all the fun and merriness we engage in. I hope that you and your families practice many holiday traditions as well. Have a great holiday season!