Family Christmas Traditions That Make Food Allergy Kids Feel Special

Updated November, 2024

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As moms, we all want to build traditions that aren’t just rituals we follow every year—but ones that truly create lasting memories, right? It’s those magical moments that bring real joy and deep connection to our families.

But here’s the challenge—so many Christmas traditions revolve around food! From decorating cookies to building gingerbread houses or sipping hot chocolate by the fire, it can feel like a challenge for us food allergy moms. We work hard to keep our kids safe, but let’s be real—it’s exhausting trying to find safe alternatives for everything. 

Not only that, but missing out on all the goodies can exclude our food allergy kids from SO MANY activities.

But don’t worry, I’ve got your back! Today, I’m sharing some amazing non-food Christmas traditions that will fill your holidays with joy and help create memories your kids will cherish for years to come—without exclusion or stress! Ready to dive in? Grab your favorite drink, and, 

Let’s get to it!

Family Christmas Traditions To Start This Year

It was December 1, and we were reading one of our favorite Christmas stories, The First Christmas Stocking By Elizabeth Winthrop as part of a family tradition we had done since my kids were very little. In the beginning, it was my hubby and I reading short books, but as my girls got older, the books got longer, and they would help read.  

Unfortunately for me, the story involved a young girl who lost her mama in the 1800s and was fighting to survive by selling knitted Christmas stockings. 

Of course, when it came to my turn to read, I started as a strong and enthusiastic reader. But as the story progressed, and it turned tragic, my voice started to quiver. And not long after a tear would fall down my face. And then one or two more, until, finally the tears would be streaming! At this point, I would have to pass the book to the next person in line because I just wasn’t able to read anymore.  

Now, don’t worry, the story has a very happy and hopeful ending, which is why it’s one of our favorites, BUT getting there proved to be a big challenge for me and my mama heart. And this happens every year when we read that book. So this day, my kids and hubby tease me good-naturedly about my softheartedness and we all laugh.  And I’m happy about it. I mean, not only has this tradition become a long-lasting memory, BUT we have also created a personal FAMILY story BECAUSE of this tradition.

I think that’s what we want when it comes to Christmas traditions, family memories and stories that creat a unique bond. 

So here are 9 ideas that have the potential to create memories and bonds. Now, I just want to clarify that not every tradition, will be perfect every year. So maybe people aren’t in the mood, and it doesn’t turn out as happy and exciting as you thought it would. That IS OK. And it doesn’t mean that the tradition won’t work for the next year. OR maybe you’ll take part in a certain tradition once or twice, but then it doesn’t seem to work for you as a family anymore.  That is OK! I want to give you the freedom to make changes at any time!  Just go with whatever works for your family here.

Ok, so with that, here are 9 Family Christmas Traditions that will help you create the memories and family stories that last.

1. Gift Wrapping Party.  

You can do this as a family holiday tradition or with friends. Find several colours & styles of gift wrap, bows, and ribbons so little minds can be as creative as possible.  If the kids are still too young to wrap, you could get them to draw and create cards to go on each of the gifts.  If you decide to invite friends to the party, have them bring interesting wrap and ribbons to share instead of food.  You can go as simple or extravagant as you want with this, but I suggest you keep it simple and serve one or two easy, safe snacks and one signature, safe drink.

2. Christmas Lights.  

Christmas lights are magical for any age (especially the littles).  In our family, this has become a slightly “botched” tradition.  It seems that (almost) every year we’ve tried to look at Christmas lights, we’ve been derailed.  

Honestly, now it’s become a funny story and a memory we share every year:  “Remember when we tried to see the Holiday Train but when we tried to avoid traffic we got so lost that we missed it?”  Or most recently, "Remember when we went to look at Christmas lights but we went the day before they got turned on?"  We bond just from the funny stories we have, as much as the actual act of looking at the lights.

3. Random Acts of Kindness As A Meaningful Family Holiday Tradition. 

You just can’t go wrong with this one.  Not only will you be creating memories, but you’ll also be teaching your child to give and help others.  It can be as simple as wrapping a gift and giving it to someone in need or even “secretly” shoveling someone’s walk or driveway.  Now there’s a little parenting tips in general.  If you want to make doing anything good more exciting, make it into a challenge where you’re trying to “surprise” the person. Kids LOVE hiding and doing things to surprise people without them finding out. So adding that element to your traditions is super fun!

You can be spontaneous and watch for something you can do together, or you can be more intentional and actually plan out an act of kindness for a neighbor or friend in need. 

4. Holiday Ornament Making and Giving.  

This can be done a few ways: 

• If you’re a crafty type, you might want to choose an ornament that the family makes together every year, and take some time each year to make it. OR, if you don’t want to actually make ornaments, you can 

• Buy an ornament for each child that relates to them personally (like a hobby or something important in their lives that year, or a trip you took, or something else that highlights the year. After a few years, you’ll have a tree filled with memories and heirlooms. OR,

• Have each child draw a picture or write a little about themselves on a small piece of paper (it doesn’t matter if it's just scribbled). Insert each paper into a jar or clear Christmas ornament ball (make sure the opening is wide enough to get the paper out again). Each year, look at the previous year’s creation. After a few years, the tree will be filled with precious memories!

5. Kindness Advent Calendar.  

There are many kindness advent calendars available now that don’t involve food.  You can even make this as simple as writing a note to your child every day in December and leaving it in the same place every day where they’ll find it. This is a great way to spread holiday cheer and teach your kids about loving one another and others. 

6. Twelve Days of Christmas Books.  

This is the tradition that evoked my emotions in the story I told you a few minutes ago. 

To do this, you just wrap 12 holiday books.  Starting 12 days before Christmas, unwrap a book each night and read it with your child/kids.  These don’t have to be new books, you can re-wrap the same ones every year.

This can take so many different formats. You can do an length of time, you can choose different books every year, based on your kid’s reading level,  and you can choose emotional books, classics, funny books or a mix.  So you can and you can really taylor this to your family. 

7. Get Matching Family PJs. 

Don’t forget to take a funny pic together every year by the Christmas tree!  The creativity of the picture is where you get the “activity” part of this tradition. Although we don’t do pjs, we do a version of this every Christmas Eve in our "Sunday best" beside the tree before church.  We chose this because we get dressed up ANYWAY, so it wasn’t adding an extra thing “to do”, but again, you can do whatever works for your family, and matching PJs is super fun!

8. Family Holiday Camp Out Near The Christmas Tree

You know all those gorgeous lights on the Christmas tree?  Why not sleep in the glow of them one night with the kids?  How much fun would it be to grab those sleeping bags and a blow-up mattress and spend the night talking and telling Christmas stories?  Your family will talk about this tradition and the memories for months to come and years after.

9. Prediction Jar

Everyone who can write will make a prediction about what might happen in the next year.  If the kids can’t write, just ask them and write it for them.  Put all the predictions in a clear Christmas tree ornament, or a decorated jar.  Next year you can go over the predictions and see if any came true or have a laugh, then do it over again.  Keep the predictions in a special place so you can see them years later!

Conclusion

You can start family holiday traditions that make your food-allergy kid feel extra special! Non-food traditions are awesome for family bonding and take the stress out of finding allergy-friendly foods and alternatives.   These 9 fun and easy family holiday traditions will make Christmas extra special for any food allergy kiddo and family.

How about you?  What family holiday traditions will you start?  Share in the comments below!

You may also like these posts:

The Best Gifts for Food Allergy Kids

How To Manage Family During The Holidays When Your Child Has Food Allergies

How To Plan Your Allergy-Friendly Holiday Menu With These Time-Saving Tips

Feed Your Food Allergy Kids Fast Without Stress

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