One of the best things about having a growing family is being able to set new family holiday traditions. Some families will carry on traditions from their childhood ... others are eager to set their own traditions. Here are a few ideas of activities to share with your family during this special season.

1) Choose a day to officially mark the beginning of your family's holiday season. Pick a day such as the day after Thanksgiving or the first Saturday in December. On this particular day, begin taking out your holiday decorations, checking for damage, and preparing to put them up. If purchasing a Christmas tree is part of your tradition, select a day to do this also.

In our household, we begin taking out the decorations the day after Thanksgiving. We then purchase our tree and decorate it the first weekend in December.

2) Take your children to pick out and purchase a new ornament each year. If the ornament does not include the year, mark the bottom or back of it with white-out or a marker.

3) Create ornaments and decorations together throughout the holiday season. Add a few to your holiday decorations each year and use the rest as gifts! Friends and relatives love ornaments handmade with love from the little ones!

4) It doesn't feel like the holidays until the aroma of freshly baked goodies floats from the kitchen! Children love to help bake, so let them! Not only is it fun for them, but can be very educational. Let them help you count the number of ingredients, or for the older ones, measure them. They can pour the ingredients in the bowl, mix the batter, and help decorate the finished product.

5) Let the children help you wrap gifts! The smaller ones may make a mess, but again, friends and relatives will find it adorable that their package is adorned with far too many pieces of tape and several mismatched bows. Most importantly, your child will be proud of their accomplishment!

6) Have a family portrait taken each year during the holiday season. The changes from year to year are amazing, and you can document them through pictures. It is not necessary to have one made professionally -- simply dress everyone up and ask a friend to snap a few shots!

7) Write a family newsletter to send to friends and relatives. Be sure to include the new family portrait and update everyone on all of your family's accomplishments during the past year. Allow the children to choose a few of their favorite events for inclusion.

8) Sit down together with your children and look through magazines and catalogues to choose gifts they'd like to receive or give to others. Help your child write to Santa or create a collage to send to him. Take your child shopping and have them pick out a toy for a needy child. The Toys For Tots program, sponsored by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, is an excellent program which distributes new toys to children that might not otherwise receive Christmas gifts.

9) Replace the nightly bedtime story with holiday stories. Watch classic holiday movies. Play and sing holiday music.

10) Make your own traditions. Whether it's Christmas caroling, church services, or visiting Santa Claus, the important thing is that you do it together as a family!