We live in an incredible time where regional boundaries mean very little, and cultural exchange occurs on a mass scale. Holidays are not as much about the religion behind them but more about the opportunity to bring people together, a necessity in today’s fast-paced world. Even a decade ago, holidays like Halloween and Christmas were not as widely acknowledged in Chennai as they are now. But these days, parents of all backgrounds are eager for their children to engage in fun, wholesome activities, and to adopt traditions that will end up being cherished memories.

December is a favourite month for many Chennaites because of the cool weather, the mass influx of NRIs that reunites us with old friends, the increased emphasis on merrymaking and decreased emphasis on working. If you did not grow up celebrating Christmas but grew to love the culture around it, perhaps from time spent living abroad or from watching popular Christmas movies, you have every right to join the fun and adopt some new traditions for your family. Life is about making your own joy and merriment, and having themed activities that make your children squeal with glee is the ultimate satisfaction for parents.

So if you want to try out some classic Christmas activities, consider any of these:

Tree trimming party
I use the word “party” here lightly because this isn’t a formal event with food and drinks, but it can be fun to invite others to join (especially other children in the extended family) and should feel more like an event than just simply decorating. Purchase a Christmas tree that is appropriately sized for your house; you can shop online or visit one of the pop-up Christmas decoration stores that appear this time of year. Get ornaments and string lights as well. You can make it a two-part event by first having an ornament making session: order kits on Amazon or look up DIY ornaments on YouTube, and have a crafting session with the kids. Store their creations carefully, because they will become a treasured family keepsake as the years go by.

For the tree-trimming party, the most important thing is to set the mood with Christmas music! There is no shortage of playlists on Spotify and YouTube. You’ll only have to decide the genre/mood: nostalgic tunes crooned by Bing Crosby, classic carols sung by a choir, or pop tunes like Mariah Carey’s iconic number “All I want for Christmas is You”. If there is a smart TV in the room, search for crackling fire or snowfall videos on YouTube to further establish a cosy winter ambience. Then, trim the tree! Little ones can hang ornaments while adults drape the lights. Allow for some light competition over who gets to place the tree topper. Upon completion, sit back with a cup of hot cocoa, admiring your collective work while the music plays.

Cookie decorating
Now that we have had our fill of Indian sweets from Deepavali season, we can move onto Christmas goodies like sugar cookies decorated with royal icing. Many of you already love to bake with your kids. Introduce the holiday theme by getting cookie cutters shaped like Christmas trees, bells, snowmen, snowflakes, etc. Mix up royal icing in red, green, and white, and get silver and gold sprinkles. If you don’t have piping bags, a plastic pouch with a small hole cut in the corner works just as well, and other tools like toothpicks can be used for making designs in the icing – there are countless videos on YouTube that will instruct you on the process from baking to decorating, with incredibly creative ideas for the latter. If your family does the Santa Claus thing, tell your kids to keep their favourite cookie aside for leaving out for Santa on the 24th night. The smell from the sugar cookies baking and the prettiness of the final result will fill everyone with the holiday spirit!

Carolling
Traditional carolling involves a group going from door to door, surprising people at home with a rousing performance, who can then invite them in for a quick hot drink before the group moves on to the next house. This could work beautifully in an apartment building, with a little pre-planning conducted on your WhatsApp group. Otherwise, if your neighbourhood isn’t conducive to this, have a small carol singing party at home. Bonus points if there is someone who can accompany the group on a keyboard or piano! Make it a potluck so that you can be relaxed, have a list of carols ready and the playlist queued up. I prefer printouts with lyrics rather than reading from a phone–we spend plenty of time clutching those darn things anyway, the idea is to put them away for an hour or two and spend meaningful time with people! Just how so many love karaoke, you’ll see how friends love any occasion to sing some joyful songs with their near and dear.

Paper Bag Luminaries
This is a less common but personally beloved tradition I grew up with in my hometown of Tampa, Florida (another tropical place where we had to make extra effort to feel wintery!). Our neighbourhood committee would distribute white paper bags, sand, and candles to each household. On Christmas eve, we would assemble the luminaries and line our driveway with them. Just pour enough sand into the bag to weigh it down and provide a base for the candle, insert the candle, then roll down the paper bag a little if required so that more light is visible once the candle is lit. Everyone would light their luminaries at dusk, and you can imagine how beautiful it looked to have the entire neighbourhood lit up with this warm, soft glow. It was like lighting up the runway so that Santa knew exactly where to land his sleigh.

If your apartment building has an association, you can propose this as a building-wide festive thing to do, because the materials are inexpensive. Residents can keep the luminaries on their balconies, making your building glimmer with Christmas cheer!

Festive Films
Living in South India makes it very hard to imagine what a proper winter season feels like. Why not transport yourself through holiday themed movies? The imagery of blankets of white snow, houses strung up with lights, bundled-up kids making snowmen, and harried Christmas shopping give us tropic dwellers a clear idea of what it feels like to be in the thick of the holiday season. Plan a movie night every weekend with your family where you watch one of the many classic Christmas movies; you could browse the holiday category on Netflix, but I suggest you research online to find a list of the best festive films from the last few decades and track those down. My personal favourites are A Christmas Story and Home Alone, while many love the romantic comedy The Holiday, and the family dramedy with an all star cast, The Family Stone. Be sure to keep some instant hot chocolate mix ready because you’ll be craving some after soaking up all that cosy imagery!

Secret Santa Gift Exchange
If you want a cheerful activity to do with your coworkers or friend group, Secret Santa is perfect. First, you have to inform everyone ahead of time how it works: write the participants’ names on individual slips of paper and keep them all in a bowl. Have each person pick a name out of the bowl and keep it a secret. Most importantly, a budget has to be established for the gift and clearly communicated to everyone. Pick a day closer to Christmas where everyone receives the gift from their Secret Santa; most companies in the West have a holiday party where they do this. Secret Santa is a friendly and affordable way to extend the Christmas cheer to more and more people in your life, and it can be fun to shop for someone new.

As you can see, there are so many ways to introduce seasonal cheer into your life this December. Speak to your Christian friends and ask them about their traditions; they might invite you to take part after seeing your interest. Ultimately it is about bringing family and friends together to make memories that carry us through the more boring seasons! Merry Christmas, dear readers!