Christmas traditions in Germany and the USA - how we celebrate christmas as a german - american family

My husband was born and raised in the US, I was born and raised in Germany and we are currently living in Germany. If you want to learn more about my story check out the about me section. Being from completely different countries, we grew up with different Christmas traditions. While it was just the two of us, having different traditions was not an issue at all, we just celebrated both ways. However, when our daughter was born we knew we needed to come up with a plan on how we wanted to celebrate Christmas and create our own traditions. Read below how each of us celebrated Christmas growing up and what we did to combine our different cultural backgrounds to create our own family Christmas tradition.

Celebrating Christmas in Germany

Beginning of December is around when we started to decorate for Christmas, baking Christmas cookies and doing Christmas crafts. We also visited lots of Christmas markets, which are very common in Germany during the holiday season. Sankt Nikolaus would visit us on December 6th and bring bag filled with candy and traditional Christmas items. And of course had our 'Adventskalender’ (advent calendar). From December first until Christmas Eve kids (and sometimes adults) open a 'door’ on their calendar. You can get calendars filled with chocolate, small gifts, vouchers for activities and more. I’ll be posting an advent calendar guide soon, if you’re interested in starting this sweet tradition with your kids.

Growing up we put up and decorated our real Christmas tree, my dad had picked up a few days prior, on the 23rd of December. On Christmas Eve we would all go to church in the late afternoon. When we got home the ‘Christkind’ (Christ Child) had brought all our presents and set them under the tree. We would then have a festive dinner with family. For dinner we would have a stuffed turkey or veal. After dinner we opened all our gifts.

Christmas Day, the 25th of December as well as the 26th are both public holidays, we call the 26th ‘the second Christmas Day’ and most people will be off work. The 25th and 26th we would spend with my grandparents, cousins and extended family for more Christmas dinners and celebrations.

Celebrating Christmas in the USA

Growing up in the USA my husband’s family put out all their Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving. They would also go to the woods to chop down a real Christmas tree and set it up around 2 weeks before Christmas. During the holiday season they would decorate ginger bread houses and bake Christmas cookies.

On Christmas Eve they had a festive dinner, usually a ham with various side dishes, and each kid got to open one present, which was always Christmas pajamas. On Christmas Day they would wake up to filled stockings and presents from Santa under the tree. Christmas Day was spend celebrating with family.

Celebrating a German-american Christmas

First of all, I cannot believe this is already my 4th Christmas season as a mom! It is truly crazy how time flies when you have kids. So for the past 4 years we have celebrated the holiday season with our own mixed together German-american traditions. We usually wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating our house. Our kids each have their advent calendar that we fill with small candy, little toys and books. During the month of December we will do Christmas crafts, decorate gingerbread houses, visit Christmas markets, write a letter to Santa and bake german Christmas cookies. The night before December 6th our kids will put out a boot and Sankt Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas) will fill it with a small gift and chocolate. We also get our kids Christmas pajamas and let them wear them all through the season, not just on Christmas Eve and on Christmas.

Last year we also started the ‘Wichtel’ tradition. I know many American families are doing ‘Elf on the shelf’ and this is similar but also different. The little ‘Wichtel’ moves into your house beginning of December, where he will come and go through a magical door and spread Christmas cheer. He does all kinds of shenanigans. He is only active at night and we can’t ever see him or touch any of his things or they will lose their magic. Starting this tradition was a big hit and our 4 year old was so fascinated and enchanted by it last year, I cannot wait to do it again this year.

As for the Christmas tree, we decided to get a real tree and put it up early December, just because I love having the tree up and so do the kids. Setting it up early in the season lets us enjoy the tree longer and sparks even more excitement for Christmas Eve.

On the day before Christmas Eve we will then bake and decorate american Christmas cookies that we will set out for Santa, together with some milk and a carrot for the reindeer. We have decided on Santa instead of the German ‘Christkind’. I, personally, prefer celebrating a Christmas where Santa brings the presents. There are so many adorable books and movies about Santa and I just love the magic it brings. Our oldest daughter is well aware of other german kids believing in the Christkind. She knows that some families get a visit from Santa while others receive their gifts from the Chrsitkind. She hasn’t questioned that so far and it has been working out just fine. We also do not go to church like I used to as a kid, since we are not religious people.

As for presents, we open those on Christmas Eve. The kids know that the gifts we exchange on Christmas Eve are from family and friends. We do not do any stockings. Having an advent calendar the kids get little things all through December already and together with all the gifts they receive on Christmas Eve, it would just be too much. On Christmas Day then they will wake up to one gift from Santa under the Christmas tree.

What to keep in mind when celebrating Christmas as a Mulit-National Family

Be consistent and have a plan. When you’re kids are still young it is easy to keep the magic and mystery surrounding Christmas alive. Once they get older tho you have to have a plan, especially when your way of celebrating Christmas may differ a bit from the way people around you celebrate. Be prepared for questions about why other kids may celebrate Christmas differently, why the Christkind brings gifts to some and not Santa and make sure you and your partner are on the same page and give the same answers.
Keep extended family and close friends in the loop. My kids are very close to my parents and other family members, so I made sure to let them know how we approach Christmas. They are all aware that Santa brings our gifts on Christmas Day and presents on Christmas Eve are from family and friends. They also know about our little Wichtel.
Create traditions that not only work for your children but also for your partner and yourself. There are things I did when I was a kid during Christmas season, like having and advent calendar, that I could never not pass on to my kids. It is important to me so I knew its something I wanted to do with my kids. Other things, like celebrating the Christkind bringing gifts or going to church are not important to me personally, so I was happy to part with those. Just make sure you keep Christmas magic alive for you and your partner as well so the entire family can enjoy a fun filled and cheerful holiday season.

Let me know in the comments how your family celebrates Christmas and if you have any fun traditions.