Although it is a widely celebrated holiday, Christmas can look vastly different for each person who participates in the festivities. Depending on things like culture and ethnicity, it can affect the way people decorate their homes, the gifts they give and even the days they choose to honor the season.   

While traditions are usually made within individuals’ households, there are a few popular practices that are great for bringing loved ones together for quality time.  

Here are some things you can do to up your Christmas game if they are not a part of your routine already, even better if you can find ways to tweak these suggestions to fit your style.  

Making food together  

This may seem like a basic tradition but preparing a meal with loved ones is a tried-and-true bonding method which extends across multiple cultures. The act of making food with others encourages people to spend quality time with those around them and challenges individuals to practice patience when tasked with working together to create the dish.  

Certain cultures can also have specific food items that are made during the holidays. For example, in many Mexican households a popular food that is prepared for the winter is tamales. The way it is made varies from person to person, but it is a long-standing tradition that remains significant for millions of families. There is even a book called “Too Many Tamales,” by Gary Soto that speaks to this.  

Making meals with the important people in your life can be a major connecting experience and act as a way to pass down practices that have gone through generations. Even if you are not cooking or baking something that has been within your family for decades, it can still serve as a good way to have fun with those special to you and allow for you to experiment with food.  

Buying family ornaments  

Some traditions may present as more materialistic, such as buying family ornaments and growing a collection over the years. Much like the last idea, there is not a specific science to this practice. The objective is to pick out Christmas ornaments with those close to you so that if you put up a tree for the season, you will have a tangible memory to tie it to.    

Whether you buy the ornaments separately or pick out a joint decoration to commemorate an anniversary, the year or some type of personal achievement, this tradition is a great experience for loved ones to share.  

If you would like to personalize the practice even further, making ornaments and decorating the tree with those works just as well.   

If you have any ornaments that you made during school from your childhood or if there are children in your life that do, making a habit of keeping them will work especially well for this tradition.  

Making a Santa list  

Even if you do not believe in Ol’ Saint Nick, making a Christmas wish list is a tradition that stands the test of time and alleviates loads of gift anxiety.  

This is a practice that most people grow out of once they reach a certain age since it usually comes with the truth about Santa’s existence.   

However, writing or typing up a quick list of all the things you would like for the holidays can be a big help for your loved ones who do not quite know where to start with their shopping.  

This tradition can also be crafted to fit your budget by making smaller columns for different price ranges.  

Having something like a “big gift” section and a “little gift” section can also help people make estimates based on budgets.  

All in all, there is no “right” way to do Christmas. Traditions are born from the groups that nurture them and are shaped to fit those standards. The ideas listed are just suggestions to possibly make the season more special.  

Meagan Garcia is the arts & culture editor and may be reached at [email protected].