There is something magical about Christmas – and we count down all year to the month of December and the Christmas celebrations. Since having children, we find great joy in our annual Christmas traditions. Even this year was a little crazy and things looked quite different, we were able to enjoy many of our favourite traditions.

Christmas tree and decorations. This year we decided on an all-pink theme – it was bound to happen with three daughters in the house. Poor MC! We kept our decorations simple with our real tree covered in pink ornaments and baubles, our staircase garland and dried front door wreath by the talented Nicky from Buttons & Blooms and a few extra decorations on our island and coffee table.

Advent calendar. Each year, our advent calendar looks a little different. This year, we bought the most incredible hanging calendars filled with the most delicious mini Christmas biscuits from Artful Biscuit . I am constantly in awe of Gen and her talent, and this was the greatest idea and our girls loved their morning cookie treats each day.

Elf on the Shelf. The little critters that most parents love to hate but will run round their homes at midnight with their family elf, for the sake of their darling children. I have to be honest, I love this tradition and the girls simply adore our elf, Pinochhio. Sometimes he brings treats or gifts and sometimes he gets up to naughty tricks but every morning, he is the first thing the girls think about when they open their eyes and they have so much fun finding him and his latest antics around our home. Thank goodness for Pinterest. See this post for all our 2020 elf antics.

Christmas lights. We were lucky enough to have booked one of the first nights of the magical Trail of Lights, before it was shut down due to stricter Covid-19 regulations. And as always, we were blown away by the magic and sparkle of the lights, beautiful displays and fun activities. We went with two other families and were so happy with their strict protocols, everyone in masks and because we went early, we missed any big crowds.

Photos with Santa. We didn’t think we would be able to have any Santa photos this year for two reasons: the sweet Santa that we visit every year passed away earlier this year and even with a new Santa, we didn’t think we could get close due to social distancing protocols. But we were so happy when we arrived at the Trail of Lights and saw their Santa photos set up with strict social distancing.

Gingerbread house baking. Every year, we get our own gingerbread house kit and get backing and decorating at home but this year, we were invited to a gingerbread house class with Nifty Kids with a few special friends. The girls each got to decorate their own houses (with some assistance) and we were so impressed! And little ZB loved eating hers!

Letters to Santa. This is always a fun activity for our girls to write out their secret lists, and always helpful for mom and dad to read too! This year, we used our cute Christmas stationery from The Arty Party and the girls had such fun. We had to get our elf on the shelf, Pinocchio to post them off as we couldn’t find a postbox. And some very interesting gifts on this years lists.

Christmas Eve boxes. Every year, our Elf on the Shelf, Pinocchio brings our girls Christmas Eve boxes filled with Christmas goodies and treats. This years boxes were filled with a Christmas dress to wear on Christmas Day, Christmas pjs, Christmas cups, Christmas kinder egg treats and our Christmas movie boxes from The Arty Party .

Christmas Eve. Without a doubt, one of our favourite days of the year. This year, we spent the morning driving back from our annual Drakensberg escape, and then spent the afternoon together, an early bath with our Christmas bath bombs, putting out treats for Father Christmas and his reindeer, matching Christmas pjs and a Christmas movie – this year we watched Christmas Chronicles for the very first time and we loved it! And then off to bed waiting for the sound of his jingle bells…

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year.

What are your favourite Christmas traditions?

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