Now that Thanksgiving is over, we have Christmas coming up in about a month. Many of us are excited for this time of year where we all celebrate our Christmas traditions with family and friends. Some of these traditions have been in our families for many generations, while there are others that are new. Here are some of my favorite holiday traditions that I have shared with my family over the years.

1. Baking, Baking, and More Baking!

Every Christmas at my house it is a baking factory, where we make cookies, gingerbread houses, cakes, and pies. Baking at my house almost feels like my family and I are competing on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship. One of my favorite desserts that I have made over the years are basic sugar cookies that we decorate for Christmas morning. There are also new recipes that I was introduced to last year such as the Christmas Yule Log, which is a cake that resembles a yule log. When I made the dessert for my family last Christmas, they absolutely loved it! I love the idea of introducing new recipes to my family.

2. Christmas Time in the City

One of the best days to spend in New York City is during the Christmas season. There are different attractions that the Big Apple has to offer during the most wonderful time of year such as Radio City's Christmas Spectacular, Bryant Park's Winter Village, and Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree. The sights found at New York City are so magical that they are worth seeing.

3. Christmas Movie Night!

Another one of my favorite traditions that I love to spend at home with my family is watching Christmas movies and TV specials. There were the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials that I grew up with, which included Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. These cartoons brought a nostalgic feeling to me that I have had since I was a child, and it still does to this day.

4. Decorating All Around!

Preparing for Christmas may be a bit tedious, but when it comes to decorating the tree or house it is also fun. Whenever my family and I put our Christmas tree, we would become annoyed at times when trying to untangle the lights or position the tree's location. However once everything is put together, the outcome of the decorations is simply eye-catching. The tree standing by the window with its lights shining and its standout ornaments, some kept as memories from the past and some created by hand, leading to my last favorite Christmas tradition: Christmas DIY!

5. Christmas DIY

DIY aka Do It Yourself is an activity done for creative or home improvement purposes. DIY for Christmas is done for either decorating your household or as gifts when you are short on money for Christmas shopping. I have done a few Christmas DIY projects over the years such as Christmas lanterns and wreaths, where it has proved to be fun doing arts and crafts projects during this time of year. Another part of doing DIY projects is creating memories that would last a lifetime, plus we can always use the decorations we made for next Christmas as well!

These have been a few of my favorite Christmas traditions. Now tell me your favorite traditions in the comments below!