For children and adults alike, family traditions bring joy and warmth to the holiday season. From picking out lights to putting the Lionel train around the tree, decorating for the holidays provides a wealth of opportunities and children activities to integrate new and contemporary touches to established traditions.

Traditions can be inherited, created as new or even made as a combination of both. Evette Rios, Lifestyle Expert, Designer and Stylist, offers the following tips for mixing the old and new to make your holidays even more memorable:

Infuse your family history into the Christmas Tree: View the tree as a blank canvas and go through old family photos and keepsakes to find decorations. A favorite family photo can be made into an ornament. Even your baby rattle or first pair of shoes can find a home on the Christmas tree.

Bring out vintage favorites to create new memories: For example, model trains are a classic element around a Christmas Tree. Holidays evoke nostalgic feelings so pull out your family’s Lionel Trains and bring multiple generations of families together to set it up around the tree. Help the younger members of your family pick out a new car to add to the set or even decorate their own. Lionel Trains have been shaping family memories for over 100 years and adding a car to the train each Christmas can strengthen a wonderful family tradition this holiday season.

Make the gift wrapping meaningful with new gift wrapping traditions: The act of opening presents can create as many memories as the present itself. While wrapping presents can be as difficult as finding the perfect present, a little creativity can make gift wrapping a fun and meaningful experience:
Adorn your gifts with little packs of seeds. Giving someone you love something new to grow in the New Year is a green and a symbolic gift.

Make gift tags out of the large Christmas lights - just use the bulb and write on it with a permanent marker and use wire to attach it to the gift. You can use the colorful, but burned out ones, instead of tossing them in the trash.

Get the kids involved in wrapping! Have your kids draw on scrap paper to make their own wrapping paper. Friends and family will love seeing your kids’ masterpieces.

Source Carsten’s Publications