Welcome to Hey Mom and Dad—a weekly feature in which we ask our Facebook fans to share their views on parenting. Every week, we get the conversation started by taking a look back at a question we asked parents the week before on Patch Facebook pages from around the area.
Each family has their own special and unique holiday traditions—some have been passed down for generations, others have started in recent years.
What new holiday family traditions have you started with your kids?
Take a look at what people had to say and join the conversation in the comments section.
Kari G. One of the gifts I get my kids are Christmas PJ's. That is the one gift they get to open on Christmas Eve and wear to bed that night :) Oswego Patch Facebook
Melissa T. I had started an ornament tradition with my son when my husband was working midnights. It was a way to get my son out of the house for a bit and get him a little more in the holiday spirit so he wouldn't focus so much on the time he was missing his daddy. The last 2 years we have included my husband now that he works a normal shift, who looks forward to ornament picking just as much as my son and I. Joliet Patch Facebook
Jerry W. We let the kids open one gift on christmas eve. But it's always a gag gift! Last year one got a roll of toilet paper and the other got a half burned candle. Thank you Jimmy Kimmel for that idea. The kids love it and are already wondering what it'll be be this year! Montgomery Patch Facebook
Tracy S. Every year I have my kids pick an ornament. When they grow up and move out on their own, their first Xmas tree will have a bit of home. Bolingbrook Patch Facebook
Andrea C. We put together and decorate ginger bread houses on Christmas Eve then post pics of them on facebook to have our family and friends be the judges of the best one! This is a new tradition we started just a few years ago and look forward to every year. Yorkville Patch Facebook