If you grew up in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, you’ll remember when Christmas wasn’t just a season but a collection of quirky, hands-on traditions that shaped how we celebrated. While today’s Christmas may sparkle with LED lights and digital wishlists, there’s something nostalgic about those bygone traditions that made the holidays feel extra special. Let’s unwrap 17 forgotten Christmas traditions that Boomers remember fondly—some charmingly outdated, others slightly hazardous, but all part of what made Christmas magical back in the day.
1. The Tinsel Takeover
Remember when every Christmas tree looked like it had been caught in a silver rainstorm? Boomers didn’t just hang tinsel—they turned it into an art form, meticulously placing each strand one at a time until the tree practically disappeared under a metallic waterfall. Kids would spend hours helping (or more likely, throwing handfuls when Mom wasn’t looking), and the vacuum cleaner would be finding stray pieces until July. The cleanup was a nightmare, and those innocent-looking strands were probably loaded with lead, but nothing else captured that magical sparkle quite like it.
2. Christmas Catalog Dreaming
Long before Amazon wishlists, the Sears or JCPenney Christmas catalog was every kid’s ticket to holiday fantasyland. These hefty tomes would arrive in early fall, and children would spend weeks dog-earing pages and circling toys with military precision. Parents would find these catalogs worn thin by December, with every page crinkled from constant flipping and aggressive circling. The anticipation of its arrival was almost as exciting as Christmas itself.
3. Shopping Downtown Magic
Before malls took over, Christmas shopping meant bundling up and heading to the decorated downtown streets. Every department store window told a different holiday story with elaborate mechanical displays that had kids pressing their noses against the glass. The streets would be lined with twinkling lights, and the sounds of bell ringers and carolers filled the air. Getting to visit Santa meant dressing in your Sunday best and standing in line at the big department store, not a quick stop at the mall.
4. Door-to-Door Caroling
Neighborhood caroling wasn’t just something you saw in movies—it was a real tradition that brought entire communities together. Groups would brave the cold, going house to house with songbooks in hand, and most homes would actually welcome these surprise musical visitors. You’d end the night with frozen toes, a hoarse voice, and enough hot cocoa and cookies to fuel a small army. The tradition even had its own special songbooks that families would dust off each December.
5. The Christmas Card Command Center
Writing and sending Christmas cards wasn’t just a casual task—it was a full-scale operation that took weeks of planning. Every family had their master list of recipients, complete with addresses and notes about who sent cards the previous year. The dining room table would transform into a card-writing station for days, and kids would get enlisted to lick envelopes (before they switched to self-adhesive). A good Christmas card display could take over an entire doorway, strung up with pride.
6. Making Popcorn Garlands
Long before pre-made decorations dominated, families would gather around the TV to string popcorn and cranberries into garlands. This wasn’t just crafting—it was an endurance test that involved pricked fingers, broken strings, and countless pieces of popcorn that mysteriously disappeared. The whole family would work assembly-line style, with Dad popping the corn, Mom threading the needles, and kids trying their best not to eat more than they strung. These garlands would stay up until they started attracting unwanted wildlife visitors.
7. The Aluminum Tree Revolution
For a brief, shining moment in the ’60s, aluminum trees were the height of modern Christmas chic. These space-age decorations came with a rotating color wheel that would transform them into shifting rainbows of holiday glory. You couldn’t put lights on them (unless you wanted a festive electrical fire), but that rotating color wheel made up for it with its hypnotic display. Many families still kept a box of these silver branches tucked away in their attics, a reminder of when Christmas went mod.
8. Christmas Eve Gift Exchange Cheating
Kids would become amateur detectives in the weeks leading up to Christmas, searching for hidden presents and carefully peeling back tape to peek at their contents. Parents would resort to increasingly creative hiding spots, like in the trunk of the car or at the neighbor’s house. The real art was in re-wrapping the gifts so perfectly that no one would notice—though Mom always knew. Some families even started using coded gift tags to maintain the surprise.
9. Making Real Eggnog
Before the days of store-bought cartons, making eggnog was a holiday ritual that required raw eggs, heavy cream, and a strong arm for whisking. Every family had their own closely guarded recipe, passed down through generations like a secret handshake. The grown-ups would spike theirs with various spirits, while kids would get the virgin version, though both were equally rich and likely to induce a dairy coma. Food safety wasn’t really a concern, either—if it didn’t kill Grandpa, it wouldn’t kill you.
10. The Church Christmas Pageant
Every kid had their moment in the Christmas pageant spotlight, whether as a shepherd in a bathrobe or an angel with tinfoil wings. These productions were Broadway-level events in parents’ eyes, complete with forgotten lines, costume malfunctions, and at least one crying preschooler. The competition for the role of Mary was fierce, and being cast as a sheep was considered a personal failure. The entire congregation would pack the church to watch these endearingly amateur performances.
11. Christmas Cookie Exchanges
Before Pinterest made cookie exchanges trendy, they were serious business among neighborhood moms. Each participant would make dozens of their signature cookies, and everyone would gather to swap treats and recipes. These weren’t just casual get-togethers—they were competitive baking Olympics where reputations were made or broken. You’d come home with an assortment of cookies that would last until Valentine’s Day (if you hid them well enough from the kids).
12. The Christmas Eve Midnight Mass Trek
Bundling up the entire family for midnight mass was a tradition that tested everyone’s patience and ability to stay awake. Kids would struggle to keep their eyes open, secretly hoping that Santa was visiting while they were out. Parents would wrestle with fancy clothes, winter coats, and children who suddenly forgot how to whisper. The service always seemed to last forever, but there was something magical about walking out into the silent night afterward.
13. Department Store Santas
Meeting Santa wasn’t a quick photo op—it was an event that required careful planning and your best clothes. Department store Santas had elaborate thrones in magical winter wonderlands, and the lines would stretch for what felt like miles. Each child got quality time with Santa, not just a rushed whisper and a candy cane. The photos might have been awkward, but they were authentic moments of childhood wonder (or terror, depending on the kid).
14. The Glass Ornament Obsession
Before shatterproof ornaments existed, decorating the tree was like handling precious artifacts. Each glass ball and delicate figurine came wrapped in tissue paper and stored in special divided boxes. Families would collect these fragile treasures year after year, each with its own story and significance. Breaking one was a holiday tragedy that could bring tears to Mom’s eyes, and the sound of shattering glass would make everyone freeze in horror.
15. The Christmas Morning Photo Ritual
Before smartphones made every moment instantly documented, Dad would insist on taking pictures with his fancy camera before anyone could open presents. This meant endless adjusting of lights, positioning of children, and waiting for the flash to recharge. Kids would have to pose in their pajamas, trying not to look at the pile of presents just out of reach. These photos always turned out slightly blurry or with someone’s eyes closed, but they captured genuine moments of anticipation.
16. Making Snow Ice Cream
When fresh snow fell, families would rush outside with bowls to collect the cleanest snow they could find (avoiding the yellow patches). This would be mixed with vanilla, sugar, and milk to create a unique winter treat that probably contained more dirt than anyone wanted to think about. Every kid believed their family invented this tradition, and the debate over the perfect recipe was fierce. The result was always a bit gritty, but it tasted like pure winter magic.
17. The Christmas Light Drive
Before synchronized light shows and inflatable decorations, families would pile into the station wagon to drive around looking at Christmas lights. This wasn’t just a quick trip—it was an evening-long expedition with thermoses of hot chocolate and maps of the best-decorated neighborhoods. Dad would slow down for the good displays while Mom would judge the color combinations and creativity. These tours would often end with frozen toes and fogged-up windows, but they were an essential part of getting into the holiday spirit.
