19 Holiday Traditions You Can Do in 2020 (Quarantine Edition)

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Some would say that 2020 has turned out to be quite an interesting leap year. There were 29 days in February, 200 days in March, and roughly 4 years in April/May. But hey! We made it to the holidays anyway!

All jokes aside, this holiday season is probably going to be a bit different for people this year as we will most likely continue to have quarantine restrictions in place from that one virus… So, in the spirit of an unprecedented holiday season, here are a few (and some new) fun holiday traditions you can do in 2020.

As you read through the list, keep thinking of the traditions that you do each year that aren’t on this list to share at the end!

1. Make holiday treats with your immediate family

Making cookies, gingerbread houses, and pies with the family is something we love to do. It’s a great way to get the kids involved so that they feel like a part of the process while also creating fun memories. We love making a mess in the kitchen together while listening to holiday music. To help with keeping the mess to a minimum, we like to use the 7” Chinet® Cut Crystal® plates since they hold treats well and are easy to dispose of once we are done! They also make great plates to hold cookies for a while (as long as the cookies aren’t gone on the first day!).

Here's a quick list of 9 Awesome Holiday Recipes you can make this season!

2. Create a DIY advent calendar

Everyone loves counting down the days to their favorite holiday! We love counting down the days till Christmas in our family. Sometimes it’s fun to buy your own advent calendars, but making one of your own that will last a long time is a great way to get the whole family involved! Plus, setting it up each year will be a great new holiday tradition for the family!

3. Have a less formal “special” dinner on the same night each year

Pick a random night during the month of November or December (the 15th every year, the 2nd Tuesday, Winter Solstice, etc.) and have the same meal each year to look forward to! I always loved doing pizza each year for Christmas eve growing up. Keep it simple and easy. Using a couple of Chinet® Cut Crystal® makes the clean up even easier.

4. Have a family jam session

If a couple of members in your immediate family play instruments, do a holiday song jam session! Here are some Thanksgiving song ideas and here are some Christmas song ideas.

5. Celebrate random holidays instead of the usual ones!

Here are just a few of the random national holidays you can celebrate:

• November 1: National Calzone Day

• November 5: American Football Day

• November 13: Hug a Musician Day

• November 17: National Hiking Day

• December 1: National Christmas Lights Day

• December 7: National Letter Writing Day

• December 8: Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day

• December 12: Gingerbread House Day

• December 13: National Ice Cream Day

6. Drive around to look at holiday lights on houses

This is a great holiday tradition you can do with the family in 2020 since you stay in your car the whole time! It’s also refreshing to get out of the house every once in a while.

7. Have a board game night (include family in other households via online board games or video chats)

There are a lot of online board games that you can play virtually now so that you can enjoy playing the games you love with the people you love (even if they can’t be with you). Be sure to put them on a video chat or regular phone call so you can talk as well!

8. Watch your favorite holiday shows and movies (i.e. Charlie Brown specials, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Christmas episodes of The Office, etc.)

When we run out of regular holiday movies to watch, we love revisiting our favorite TV shows and picking out the Christmas or other Holiday episodes.

9. Paint in the snow! (if it snows where you live)

Getting out of the house when you’re stuck inside most of the time is a must when you have little kids. Having them play outside with some food coloring in the snow is a great way to do something unique that they will love! Simply put water and food coloring into a spray bottle and let them paint fun pictures in the snow!

10. Celebrate Winter Solstice (i.e. light candles and enjoy a fun dinner)

This is a great family holiday tradition to start in 2020! I’ve been seeing more and more people celebrate this as time goes on. Winter Solstice is simply the astronomical moment when the sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn and it’s the shortest day (and longest night) of the year. This moment is special as it signifies light overcoming darkness as the days become longer from that day. On this day people usually: decorate a Yule Tree, have a meal by candlelight only, give back to nature, or simply focus on gratitude.

11. Do a video chat Christmas carol or record singing Christmas Carols and send them to your family text or Marco Polo chats

This year we sang some goofy Halloween songs and sent them around to our whole family! Everyone had a laugh and even joined in on a few songs.

12. Have a video game night on your phone or console (include family quarantined in other households via online play… like a Holiday Among Us tournament!)

It’s always fun when you can find out who is good and bad at lying with a simple Among Us tournament in the family… Your uncle is always looking a little “sus” not doing any tasks...

13. Build a gingerbread house

We love building a gingerbread house every year! They haven’t been as pretty in recent years with young kids wanting to join in… (we don’t plan on hiring out our construction skills anytime soon) But, it’s still a great Holiday tradition you can do this year in 2020.

14. Record a funny holiday-themed skit (or TikTok type video) to send to family or post online

We love making funny videos in our house! We post them all the time on @papaperspective on Instagram. If you have a funny idea, through it on your socials and tag me so we can have a laugh and share it!

15. Take some funny Christmas card Family photos to send out in a DIY Christmas Card

Since we are all stuck at home anyway and can’t leave the house for much… it’s a good year to create some funny 2020 Christmas cards that capture the essence of the weird year we’ve had to make the whole family laugh!

16. Read Christmas books with your kids such as The Polar Express or A Christmas Carol

A classic holiday tradition that never gets old. We will definitely be reading these as our bedtime stories for the boys this year.

17. Make your own DIY tree ornaments with family photos and items from around the house

Yet another great opportunity to capture the essence of the full year past in one activity! You can create an ornament together as a family with the items you have around the house that capture what your whole year was about!

18. Donate to a local or national cause (Toy Drives, Hospitals, etc.)

Make sure you call ahead as well to see if there is something special they need this year or new regulations with the conditions in 2020

19. Do a family gift exchange or a virtual White Elephant over video chat

I’m not sure if you’ve ever done a White Elephant gift exchange before… but it’s absolutely a hoot. People bring the goofiest and most random of presents (along with regifted gifts of years past) and take turns unwrapping, trading, and passing them around to each other. Since we are all stuck at home, this would be interesting to try via video call this year!

Well, I hope that you were able to find some new traditions that you don’t normally do and could possibly add to your regime during the holiday! This has been a crazy year, but we can all find holiday traditions we can do in 2020 with a little bit of creativity.

What are some of your family traditions that you do that didn’t make it onto this list?? Share with us down below!

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Author: Andrew McFarlane

Andrew McFarlane is a full-time dad and a parenting blogger. He shares advice for new parents, experienced parents, and any parent in-between at PapaPerspective.com. He does this through positive parenting methods, the best parenting gear, and lots of laughter. When he's not blogging about the best parenting practices, he'll be out taking photos, playing hockey, or spending time with his wife and 2 boys.