Relive the yuletide memories of the past and make new ones for the present, because some Christmas family traditions like these can stand the test of time!
Ahh, our favourite time of year is upon us! Our little red dot dons a splash of holly green and is decked out to the nines in sparkling lights. The streets are bursting at the seams with shoppers, eateries working round the clock to offer festive treats, and carolers ringing in the Christmas spirit. Aren’t we all in a festive tizzy? Amid that hustle, each family in Singapore chalks out their own Christmas story true to them. A story etched with family traditions that they revisit once every year, spark the fondest memories and grow with the kiddos till they fly the nest. Don’t even mention the flood of memories that pour in when those adorable jumpers in the cubby don’t fit anymore…sniff! So we are here to celebrate each story and unravel some of our favourite family Christmas traditions from Christmas past and Christmas present, courtesy of our lovely crew at Honeycombers and HoneyKids HQ. Enjoy!
Fun family Christmas traditions
1. Elf on the Shelf and crafting an advent calendar
Every year we have a ‘magic elf on the shelf‘ that arrives at our house when our Christmas tree arrives, and he moves around each night and finds himself in a different spot each morning. The kids love it, and if, for some reason, the elf gets stuck in the same spot (maybe a forgetful parent!), it is very disappointing. Additionally, I have always loved crafting for Christmas, but the only craft that has continued with my kids is to hand make an advent calendar (usually out of decorated toilet rolls) – I think the candy is the incentive for the kids to keep this tradition alive.
Chris, CEO & Founder of Honeycombers, HoneyKids Asia and Launchpad
2. Festive crafts
Sometimes the most special gifts are those that have been created with love, with our very own hands. Get the little ones involved in creating their own Christmas magic with gifts they have made themselves!
Homemade crackers
Homemade crackers started when I was little as a craft activity with my Gran. We’d collect toilet rolls, paper, and leftover cards from the previous year to decorate them with. We’d create our own crackers to place on the Christmas tree as little decorations, as well as for the table come the big day. I’ve still got some of the original crackers 30 years on! I have fond memories of this activity, so I’ve started to do it with my kids. They are only little, but it’s the first year my eldest can really get into Christmas crafts, and she’s already so proud of her creations. It makes me reminisce about my own Christmas growing up, and how it’s really the little things like this that make this time of year so special.
Kate, former Editor, HoneyKids Asia
A letter to Santa and making Christmas cards for the fam
Making Christmas cards was an annual family tradition from my earliest Christmas celebration. We’d go the whole nine yards putting in a lot of love in each card, packing them up in envelopes, and slapping on postage stamps before making a bee-line for the post office. We had to reach before the Christmas crowd arrived. These cards travelled the world to relatives, and we loved when greeting cards arrived home too. Santa’s card was extra special and had some of our best crayon doodles, with ample space left for our ‘wishlist’. His card was packed too, in the same way, addressed to the North pole and diligently handed over to our parents. We continue the tradition of making cards with the kids today, which they gift to their friends. Santa’s card still gets extra love, of course.
Rohini, former Junior Lifestyle Writer
3. Christmas Feasts
As a kid, we had LOTS of little family traditions, from baking my grandma’s famous ‘Chocolate Biscuit Cake’, to stockings at the end of our bed (stealthily delivered by my mum in a bright red gown, just in case I was still awake!), and of course, a big family Christmas roast dinner. Now that I live in Bali where it doesn’t feel Christmassy at all, I still try to keep up a few traditions to make it feel festive. I’ve perfected the art of a perfectly roasted potato, I can almost make a Chocolate Biscuit Cake that my Gran would approve of, and my dogs have their own stockings to open on Christmas morning!
Louise, Editor of Honeycombers Bali
4. Secret Santa
We always have a head elf who is in charge of the day’s activities, including Secret Santa. We began implementing this when I was around 9 or 10, and we’d set a budget and get to pick out a gift, what I truly enjoyed was the whole process of buying something, wrapping it carefully and watching the person unbox their present. It’s gotten more convenient now with online name generators, which definitely helps, but I do miss the old-school analogue style of picking out papers in a hat.
Natasha, Head of Sales and Fulfilment
5. Festive fun, feasting and games!
We play Christmas games like trivia and True or False (questions like ‘Santa originated in Finland – True or False?’). We also play charades and tell the jokes that fall out of our Christmas crackers. All this while listening to the same Christmas playlist every year. And we always try and watch the Aussie Carols in the Domain every year with the kiddos.
For dinner, my husband cooks an English roast and turkey with all the trimmings, accompanied by roast potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips, broccoli and carrots, with the most delicious gravy – it’s a full-on feast, and we come back for seconds!
Amanda, Senior Lifestyle Writer
6. Family gatherings and fun sleepovers
My family would host a Christmas party every year for the extended family – both paternal and maternal relatives invited – so we would usually have 50 people altogether. The last time we did this was probably 15 years ago. My cousins and I would have a sleepover on Christmas Eve, wake up on Christmas morning to play with the leftover dough in mum’s kitchen, play board games, spend half a day at the swimming pool, and then get ready for the big party.
Esther, Branded Content Associate Editor
7. Seeing Christmas lights on Orchard Road
A family tradition we follow every year is a visit to Orchard Road to look at the Christmas lights. It could be just a drive or even a walk down the street. My girls enjoy looking at the lights and love to take photos.
May, former Finance Services assistant
8. Decking the Christmas tree and sneakily eating Santa’s snacks
My boys love putting up the tree and collecting presents underneath it. They are surprisingly patient about not opening them before Christmas. We reuse the same artificial tree every year and pretty much the same decorations, so the kids have a loving bond with these items. We also take out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer every Christmas Eve. And then I get up in the middle of the night to eat everything before the kids wake up!
Megha, former Community Manager, Launchpad
9. Dishing out fancy snacks for Santa and his reindeer
From what we gather, the crew at our HQ gets very creative with the snacks they dish out for good ol’ Clause on Christmas Eve. We are talking TimTams in place of cookies and a cheeky glass of scotch or a mug of beer in place of milk. Yep, that ought to keep Saint Nick’s spirits up with the massive task ahead of him. As for his reindeer, carrots will do just fine!
10. What’s inside the box? A pressie tradition
When I was much younger, my mom would shop for my Christmas presents every year (usually from Toys’R’Us) at the start of December. Every day leading up to Christmas, I would get one chance to guess what was inside. If I got it right, I got to open the present before Christmas Day. If not, I would have to wait until 25 December to open it. Most times, I guessed right near Christmas Day. This tradition was just a way for her to prevent me from opening the present too early by making it into a guessing game.
Marcus, Digital Manager, Marketing and Content
11. Christmas eve bedtime routine in matching pj’s, family movies and more
We love to don Santa hats and matching pj’s on Christmas Eve, sporting all those festive colours. The brighter and more colourful, the better! We go on a fam-movie marathon, watching all-time Christmas classics like Home Alone and The Grinch. The stories continue in bed, where we all cuddle together and read some of our favourite story books, like The Nutcracker. We never miss indulging in a cup of hot cocoa, of course, topped with extra marshmallows for the kiddos. The experience is more enjoyable with the aircon amped up.
Rohini, former Junior Lifestyle Writer
And there you have it! Our list of fun family Christmas traditions from past and present. We hope you enjoyed stepping into our Christmas stories – get in touch and let us know yours!
This article was originally written by Rohini Gomez in 2022 and updated by Amanda Broad in 2024.
