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Life Without Pink

A mom's guide to raising boys

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40 Mom and Son Christmas Traditions

My family loves creating special family traditions especially around the holidays. This is something my boys look forward to every year. It’s a busy time but I try and sneak a little one-on-one time in with them both. There are certain things my 9 year-old likes to do, while my 7 year-old chooses totally different activities.

It’s fun to spend that individual time with them and it has really helped keep the bond strong with my boys. Then there’s things we love doing all together like baking cookies and having a camp out under the Christmas tree, so fun! Below are a few mom and son Christmas tradition ideas. Maybe this will inspire you to start a new tradition this year with your son.

40 Mom and Son Christmas Traditions

  1. Read holiday stories before bedtime; Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Jack Frost and more
  2. Pick out a special holiday ornament
  3. Make a DIY Star Wars holiday wreath
  4. Bakes cookies
  5. Volunteer at a local shelter or soup kitchen
  6. Leave a “golden ticket” under their pillow to ride the “Polar Express” (aka family vehicle) to drive around and look at Christmas lights
  7. Make tinkering trees
  8. Create a DIY LEGO Advent Calendar
  9. Hold a book drive and ask family, friends, coworkers, and classmates to stop by and donate books
  10. Make LEGO Christmas ornaments
  11. Write a letter to each other and collect them throughout the years
  12. Make a Christmas lights scavenger hunt
  13. Go holiday shopping together
  14. Cook dinner together
  15. Have fun creating a paper village
  16. Go to a Christmas play
  17. Surprise your son with Christmas lunchbox notes and jokes
  18. Make homemade dog treats and take to a local animal shelter
  19. Put together a care package for a missionary or member of the military
  20. Go Christmas caroling
  21. Make Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ornaments
  22. Go ice-skating
  23. Write a Christmas story together and share it with the family
  24. Do a yearly mom and son photo session
  25. Wrap up 25 Christmas books, put them under the tree, and each night in December unwrap one and read it together
  26. Have a camp out under the Christmas tree
  27. Create a Christmas giving jar and collect spare change throughout the year and give it to a family who needs it during the Christmas season
  28. Write down your favorite memories from the year and make it into a keepsake
  29. Turn off all of the lights (except the Christmas tree lights), crank up the music, and have a dance party
  30. Dress up and go out to a special dinner
  31. Spend a day sledding
  32. Surprise your son with a photo book filled with photos of just the two of you
  33. Visit a live nativity
  34. Teach him something new like the science of sledding
  35. Make smores in the fireplace and sip on hot chocolate
  36. Take a carriage ride (don’t forget to bring extra blankets to keep warm!)
  37. Decorate a gingerbread house
  38. Make a fun video from the entire year
  39. Start a Christmas diary and each take a turn writing down a short summary of the year, favorite moments, and your hopes for the new year
  40. Make a list of people to surprise (think sick children, teachers, local fire department) and bring them homemade cookies

Do you have any special traditions you like to do your with your son during the holiday season?

Bonus Ideas!

Looking for more traditions to start with your son(s)? Check out the below ideas:

How to Plan a Memorable Holiday Family Movie Night

11 Holiday Traditions to Start With Your Family

15 Creative Countdown to Christmas Ideas

How to Create a Magical Christmas on a Small Budget

24 Days of Togetherness

10 Christmas Traditions to Start This Year

Beyond the Holidays!

Fun Date Ideas for Moms and Sons

Date Ideas for Moms and Teenage Sons

Mom and Son Bucket List Ideas

New App for Super Parents from PBS KIDS #SuperVisionPBS

I have some exciting news!

PBS KIDS launched a new revolutionary app designed specifically for parents that will give them the “super power” to engage with their kids in the digital medium as never before: PBS KIDS Super Vision.

pbskidapp

The new, free app is a first-of-its-kind tool that parents can access conveniently from their mobile phones anytime, anywhere, to see what their kids are watching, playing and learning on pbskids.org, and help them make the most of their children’s PBS KIDS screen time.

With the PBS KIDS Super Vision App, now available on iPhone and iPod Touch, parents enter a simple code on their mobile device to start receiving:

  • Real-time information on what their child is playing, watching and learning on pbskids.org;
  • The ability to remotely set a Play Timer from their mobile device that will put pbskids.org to sleep on their child’s screen, easing the transition from playing online to another activity, such as dinner time or bed time;
  • Related activities that they can do with their child off-screen to extend the fun and learning goals of the games or videos their child plays on pbskids.org;
  • An Activity Summary to view the top educational skills, shows, videos and games their child used on pbskids.org.

icon_supervision

The PBS KIDS Super Vision App will mean peace of mind for parents, while their kids build key skills in the safe and educational environment that pbskids.org provides. The app works anytime, anywhere – the connection doesn’t require physical proximity – making it easy for busy parents to check in on their kids’ online activities while they are on the go.

Join Me and PBS for a #SuperVisionPBS Kids Twitter Party

  • May 21, 9-10 pm ET
  • Twitter party with PBS KIDS to discuss the new PBS KIDS Super Vision app!
  • Hashtag: #SuperVisionPBSKIDS

 Disclosure: I am a PBS Kids VIP ambassador.

Eucerin’s Skin First Movement

By the end of the day after the kids are in bed and I’ve worked for a few hours, I literally just want to crash. I can barely keep my eyes open and I dream about snuggling under the covers.

The days seem very long.

I’ll admit, some nights I am so tired I will forget to wash my face – I know that will definitely catch up to me one day!

Lately, I’ve been really thinking about how I have been putting myself last and not taking care of myself like I should.

So when I got an email inviting me to attend Eucerin’s Skin First Movement last week, I was thrilled!

On March 11, 2011, Eucerin began a year-long movement across America to create a skin savvy nation, encouraging people to start treating skin care more like healthcare.

Eucerin, along with its first-ever Skin First Ambassador, Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan, founding editor of Apartment Therapy‘s TheKitchn.com, stopped in 10+ states to spread the importance of putting the health of your skin first.

This bus is no ordinary bus;

It has a dermatologist office, kiosks to take the Skin First pledge, product that you can test and lots of ‘experts’ to talk skin care.

I got the chance to meet Sara Kate and chat with her for a bit;


One of the questions I asked Sara Kate was what are some tips she had learned from being the Eucerin Ambassador?

Here is a summary of what she told me:

  • Always use a daily face lotion with SPF. In particular she uses Eucerin’s Everyday Protection with SPF 30. It is a great way to protect your skin and moisture at the same time.
  • Sara Kate keeps small bottles of Eucerin’s Everyday Protection Body Lotion everywhere; in her bag, car, in all of her bathrooms and in the kitchen. This way she can grab lotion and moisture no matter where she is.
  • Use a hat to help shield your face and from the harmful UV rays.
  • Set an example for your children. If they see you taking care of your skin, they’ll want to do the same thing.
  • Sara Kate always puts sunscreen on before she leaves the house. Now her daughter {who is only 4} has gotten into the routine of doing the same thing. Sara Kate plays a game with her. She puts dots of sunscreen on her and her daughter’s face and body. Then they have a race to see who can rub in the sunscreen dots the quickest. Sara Kate said her daughter absolutely loves this and it has become a daily routine for them.

Sara Kate has beautiful skin. The type that is super healthy and simply glows. I learned a lot from my chat with her and the Eucerin team.

What really drove it home for me was when they said, ‘Your skin is your largest organ so why not treat it like healthcare?’

Wow I never thought of it that way.

Today is when I am making a change. I took the pledge to make skincare a priority for me and my family. Will you?

For more information on Eucerin’s Skin First Movement, to take the pledge or learn about new skin care tips, check out their the Eucerin Facebook Page.

Now I want to know, what does your daily skincare routine look like? What products do you use?

Disclosure: I was compensated for my time and received free product to try.

Brands LWP Has Worked With

Brands LWP Has Worked With