‘Have you done your Santa photos yet?’
Redefining Christmas: Intentional Traditions for a First-Time Aussie Mum
I was at a work Christmas party last week when a colleague asked me if I’d done Santa photos yet. I took a sip of my drink thinking ‘ah sh*t, Santa photos… I’m a mum now, so this is something I’m supposed to do’. She could see me hesitate, so quickly followed with ‘you HAVE to do Santa photos!’. I felt my head nod in agreement whilst trying to work out why I HAD to do Santa photos.
This got me thinking about Christmas and all the things we ‘HAVE to’ do as mums. Don’t get me wrong, I love this time of year. But the thought of dressing my toddler up and taking him to Westfields whilst forcing him to sit and smile next to a stranger, just wasn’t sitting right with me. What else was I supposed to do that I didn’t really feel like doing?
Christmas to me is more than the glittery decorations, obligatory gift-giving and forced Santa photos; it’s a time to connect with family and friends, commemorate another lap around the sun and bask in the warm summer air/ aircon. As a first-time mum, I recently started thinking about what traditions I wanted to curate, aligning them with my values and beliefs around this time of year.
So here are five of my intentional Christmas traditions (that don’t include Santa photos)…
1. Christmas morning at the beach
For the past few years, even before our son was born, we’ve made it a tradition to wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning and head to the beach. Often, we’re the only ones there, allowing us to fully embrace the warmth of the season. This peaceful start sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.
2. Intentional gift-giving
In a world saturated with materialism, this one tradition is really hard to shake. I personally love giving thoughtful and meaningful gifts. You can check out my intentional gift guide in this article here. However, in this current climate, I really don’t want to spend my hard earned cash on a gift that my partner may or may not like. So, we have decided to not do presents this year and share a nice meal together at our local Italian restaurant.
Christmas is synonymous with gift-giving which means it’s an incredibly hard time for many families living below the poverty line in Australia. So, we are donating a thoughtfully designed hamper with toys, toiletries and food to St. Vincent De Paul. I just think this will be an awesome tradition to do each year to not only make others feel good but us too.
3. Personalised decorations
I love seeing the magic of Christmas come to life with the colourful lights on houses, glittering tinsel on buses and bright coloured baubles on Christmas trees. However, there really isn’t much in our small city town house. I’m lucky I have another year or so on my side before my toddler grasps that it’s Christmas time, so I plan on getting a simple tree that we can reuse each year. I would love to hand paint some baubles which will be a fun activity with my toddler and also a nice keepsake to hold on to. Plus, they’re only $5 from Kmart to paint three of them!
4. DIY family photo
Similar to the obligatory Santa photo, I’d much prefer a Christmas themed family photo on Christmas day. I love looking on Pinterest for inspiration of cute photo ideas for babies and toddlers too. It feels more creative and fun to me, rather than paying other people to take them.
5. Connect with loved ones
Christmas has always been, and will continue to be, a time for me to reunite with family and reconnect with friends. This aspect of Christmas holds the utmost importance for me, as it has given rise to some of my most cherished memories. One quirky tradition that my cousins and I did growing up, involves eating a cherry and then spending the next ten minutes diligently washing the seed with soap and water until it was as clean as possible. Afterwards, we would compare our seeds and judge which one was the cleanest. The tradition concluded with us bidding farewell to our treasured seeds by flushing them down the toilet. This silly ritual is one of reasons why I cherry-sh Christmas so much (see what I did there).
To me, this is what Christmas is all about. Creating unique traditions that align with our values and making conscious choices that bring us genuine joy and connection.
Rather than succumbing to external pressures and societal expectations, embracing intentionality allows us to delve deeper into the essence of the season. It's an opportunity to silence the external noise, listen to our internal voice, and make choices that resonate with our authentic selves.
Looking for a last minute gift idea? Give the gift of connection with my Connection Cards.
These conversation cards are the departure point for cultivating meaningful connections, guiding us on the path to discovering our common humanity.
100 question cards with 3 levels of progression so you can playfully match the questions to the flow of the conversations
Ethically designed and produced in Australia prioritising quality and sustainability
Luxury soft-touch box with gold-foil finish to elevate your gifting experience
Whether for intimate one-on-one conversations or lively group chats, these Connection Cards are the perfect gift to deepen authentic connections.
