We asked our contributors what their favorite unusual family rituals are, to get them in the mood for the festive season.

It’s the family traditions that make Christmas. We all have the rituals we grow up with – the day you put up the tree – whether it’s December 1, December 23 – or even mid-November. Wearing your pajamas all Christmas Day or donning your best for the big lunch. Midnight mass, Christmas Eve drinks in the local, circling your favorites in the Radio Times. But as our families grow, there are opportunities to change our traditions, embrace new ones and try something different. These are some that our friends and contributors love to do.
   
“When night falls on Christmas Eve, my family fill travel mugs with hot chocolate and walk around the neighborhood to admire the festive lights. We never manage to make it into London to see the official display but there’s something so cozy and comforting about seeing the local streets and homes lit up. It’s wonderful to take a moment to breathe, pause and appreciate living in a place where we feel truly at home.”
   
Lynne Hyland, health and beauty editor

“We always collect our Christmas tree as a family from Oxenford Farm in Surrey during the first week of December – it’s a magical, historic place and their inner courtyard is home to reindeer, sheep, piglets and geese. I have collected decorations since the children were little, so our boxes are full of precious memories and each year they both have a new decoration tied to their stocking.”
   
Ali Heath, interiors expert and author

“As the childless couple of the family, we always trail to other people’s houses on Christmas Day, so my husband and I decided December 23 is our Christmas Date Day. We go for the most elaborate afternoon tea at the swankiest London hotel, then to the Carols by Candlelight service at Westminster Abbey. I’m not religious, but it’s an incredible building and standing there, lit by candles, singing carols with hundreds of other voices feels so Christmassy. Afterwards, we walk down to the river under the fairy lights, stopping in a cozy pub for mulled wine on the way.”
   
Octavia Lillywhite, The White Company’s Fashion and Lifestyle Editor

“A few years ago, I started making advent calendars for my partner, filled with silly wee gifts and chocolate coins, and normally cobbled together with some branches, envelopes and whatever ribbon we have. When we got our dog, I started making one for her, too – filled with small dog treats. This year, I’ll have three to make between the baby, the dog and himself! I love doing them, but really should try and start them before the evening of November 30…”
   
Flora Shedden, baker and cookery writer

“Our post-dinner games are a beloved adopted tradition. My brother-in-law’s annual quiz is a labor of love, that he compiles throughout the year. Fiendishly hard and fiercely contested. I am responsible for MC-ing ‘Celebrity’ – our own madcap team version of the Post-It-note-on-the-forehead game. It always delivers a good snapshot of the zeitgeist (I expect lots of Barbenheimer entries this year), with moments of absolute hilarity as half the room dissolves in shrieks of outrage/frustration/disbelief at their teammate’s attempts to mime the syllables of, say, Novak Djokovic.”
   
Sarah Bailey, International Editor-At-Large for Vogue Greece

“We always play the ‘Present Game’. Everyone donates gifts they don’t have a use for, they’re wrapped up and then whoever rolls a six gets to choose one without knowing what it is. When the pile of presents has disappeared, you set the clock for a fixed period and whenever anyone rolls a six, they can steal a present from someone else’s pile. Once time is up, you get to open and keep the presents in front of you.”
   
Jane Knight, travel editor

“A week before Christmas, my husband, daughter and I go to look at the lights on Piccadilly, before having an indulgent lunch at a lovely restaurant nearby (this year it will be The Wolseley) and then we head to Fortnum & Mason to buy food treats for Christmas. It’s a wonderful afternoon and really brings home the Christmas spirit.”
   
Busola Evans, interiors writer

“Champagne and smoked salmon mid-morning was always something I loved in my twenties, but it fell by the wayside when the children were little. Now I love the fact that they are so grown-up they enjoy it, too.”
   
Rosie Green, journalist and author

“We always have a Christmas Eve movie and there is a big argument about what we will watch. To prevent the argument, we now have the Annual Christmas Hot Chocolate Competition. The aim is to get your swirl of whipped cream topping the highest, without it flopping over, and the prize is that you get to pick the movie. Argument settled. Last year Dad won. He picked Die Hard, but now I wonder if he was just trying to start another argument about whether that is a Christmas movie or not…”
   
Jenny Blake, The White Company’s Content Writer
   
*Our opening quote is from American author Garrison Keillor