12 Christmas Traditions to Record Every Year (So You Never Forget Them)
12 Christmas traditions to record every year
The Santa photo. The wish list in wobbly handwriting. Nan's pavlova. The things that make your family's Christmas yours are exactly the things that slip away first.
See the Christmas memory book
The short answer: each Christmas, record who was there, the Santa photo, every child's wish list, the menu and family recipe, the best present, the funniest moment and a gratitude note. Ten minutes a year, kept in one book, becomes a record of your family growing up.
We all think we'll remember. Then one December you're looking at an old photo and realise you can't recall which Christmas it was, what they asked Santa for, or who made the trifle that year.
Here are the 12 traditions worth writing down, each with the one question to ask so it only takes a minute.
The 12 traditions
The Christmas Eve photo
Same spot, same time, every year. Under the tree, on the front step, in matching pyjamas. Line them up years later and you'll watch your family grow in one glance.
Ask: Where did we take this year's photo, and who was in it?
The Santa photo
Tears, grins or total confusion, every Santa photo is a little time capsule. Write down the story behind it before you forget.
Ask: What did they ask Santa for, and how did they react on his knee?
Their Christmas wish list
The handwriting, the spelling and the wildly specific requests are pure gold. Keep the list itself, not just the presents.
Ask: What was at the top of the list this year?
The menu
Prawns or a roast? Pavlova or trifle? The food you share says so much about who your family is, and it changes more than you think.
Ask: What did we eat, and who cooked what?
The family recipe
Every family has the one dish someone always brings. Get it written down while the person who makes it is still at the table.
Ask: Whose recipe is it, and where did it come from?
Who was there
Some years the table is overflowing. Some years someone is missing. Both are worth remembering.
Ask: Who did we spend Christmas with this year?
Every prompt, already written for you
- 12 Christmases in one book
- Guided prompts for traditions, menus, wish lists and more
- Generous photo spaces for every year
- Linen hardcover with gold foil and a ribbon marker
Burgundy or forest green. Designed in Melbourne.
The tradition you invented
Backyard cricket after lunch, a Boxing Day swim, the elf that gets into mischief. Small rituals become the things kids remember most.
Ask: What did we do this year that we want to do again?
The best present
Not necessarily the most expensive one. Ask each person which gift they loved most and why.
Ask: Which present meant the most, and who was it from?
The funny moment
The pudding that caught fire, the dog that ate the ham. These are the stories that get retold for decades.
Ask: What made everyone laugh this year?
How old everyone was
It sounds obvious, but in ten years you won't remember whether this was the Christmas they were five or seven.
Ask: How old was everyone, and what were they into?
A gratitude note
Before the year closes, have each person write one thing they're grateful for. Their answers will change as they grow.
Ask: What are you most grateful for this Christmas?
A letter to next Christmas
A few lines to your family one year from now. What do you hope will be different? What do you hope stays the same?
Ask: What do we wish for our family by next Christmas?
“Most Christmas journals hand you empty pages. Ours asks the questions you'd never think to ask.”
How to make it stick
Pick a moment that already happens every year: Boxing Day morning, the drive home from Nan's, or the night you pack the decorations away. Pour a cuppa, open the book, and answer the prompts together. Kids love being asked, and their answers are the best part.
Keep everything in one place. Photos on a phone get lost in thousands of others. A shoebox gets shoved in the garage. One book, filled a little each year, is what gets passed down.
I lost both my parents by the time I was 35. What I miss most isn't their things. It's the little details: what Christmas was like when they were young, the dishes they always made, the stories no one thought to write down.
I made Our Christmas Memories so my own kids will have those details, written in our handwriting, one Christmas at a time.
Sarah, founder and mum of three
Questions parents ask
What is a Christmas memory book?
A Christmas memory book is a keepsake journal your family fills in each Christmas, recording the year's traditions, photos, menu, wish lists and stories in one place. A guided one gives you prompts for each year, so it's quick to fill in and doesn't end up half empty.
When should you start a Christmas memory book?
This Christmas. There's no perfect age to start. Babies, toddlers and teenagers all make the first year special, and every year you add becomes more precious the longer you keep going.
What do you write in a family Christmas journal?
Who was there, what you ate, the Santa photo story, each child's wish list, the presents that meant the most, any new traditions and one or two funny moments. Prompts like the 12 above make it easy to fill in a page in ten minutes.
How many years does a Christmas memory book last?
Our Christmas Memories holds 12 Christmases, each with its own guided section, photo spaces and keepsake pages. That takes a toddler through to their teens in one book.
Is a Christmas memory book a good gift?
Yes, especially for new parents, grandparents or a family's first Christmas in a new home. It's a gift that gets more meaningful every year it's used, rather than one that's forgotten by January.
Twelve Christmases. One book.
The photos, the recipes, the wish lists and the little moments, kept together so you never lose them.
Shop Our Christmas MemoriesHome in time for Christmas.
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