Christmas Traditions Tier List: Ranked Best to Worst
Christmas comes with a whole bag of traditions, some of them centuries old, some of them invented by a toy company in the 2000s. We put all 28 of the big ones head to head: the tree, the lights, the weird gift exchange games, the food everyone fights about at the table.
Rankings here are built from what fans and critics actually say across forums, roundups and reviews, mixed with our own judgment where people clearly disagree (looking at you, Elf on the Shelf). Think we got one wrong? Build your own list and argue with ours.
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SS Tier: The heart of Christmas
Decorating the Christmas Tree
Hard to beat the actual centerpiece of the holiday. Pulling out ornaments that are older than you are, fighting with string lights, arguing over tinsel: it's a whole evening of ritual that somehow never gets old.
About Decorating the Christmas Tree
A centuries-old tradition of bringing an evergreen tree indoors and covering it in lights and ornaments. Believed to have roots in 16th century Germany before spreading worldwide.
- Origin
- Germany, 16th century
- Common materials
- Lights, ornaments, tinsel, tree topper
Christmas Dinner
The one tradition that crosses every culture's version of Christmas, even if the menu changes completely. Turkey, ham, tamales, whatever's on your table, it's the gathering that the rest of the day revolves around.
About Christmas Dinner
The main festive meal of the holiday, with dishes varying widely by country and culture but centered on gathering family together.
- Common dishes
- Turkey, ham, roast dinners, regional specialties
Christmas Lights
Turn a dark December street into something worth driving around for. Whether it's one tasteful string on the porch or a full synchronized display blasting out of someone's front yard, lights do more for Christmas mood than almost anything else on this list.
About Christmas Lights
Decorative electric lights used on trees, homes and streets during the holiday season. Grew from early candle-lit trees into elaborate modern displays.
- Early version
- Candles on trees
Christmas Ornaments
Every ornament is basically a tiny time capsule: the one from a kid's first grade class, the ugly ceramic Santa from a grandparent, the glass ball that's survived fifteen moves. Few traditions carry this much actual memory in such a small object.
About Christmas Ornaments
Decorative objects hung on the Christmas tree, ranging from glass baubles to handmade and sentimental keepsakes.
- Common materials
- Glass, ceramic, plastic, wood
AA Tier: Genuinely great stuff
Christmas Markets
Mulled wine, wooden stalls, the smell of roasted chestnuts, it's basically Christmas as an event you can walk through. Started in German-speaking Europe and now copied by cities everywhere, and for good reason.
About Christmas Markets
Outdoor markets selling food, crafts and festive goods during the Christmas season, with roots in German-speaking Europe.
- Origin
- Germany and Austria
Advent Calendar
Twenty-four tiny doors of anticipation, now often stuffed with chocolate, whisky or tiny Lego sets depending on your budget. The daily countdown ritual is genuinely one of the better ways to build Christmas excitement without it being exhausting.
About Advent Calendar
A calendar counting down the days of Advent to Christmas, traditionally with small doors or windows to open each day. Modern versions often include chocolate, toys or beauty products.
- Typical span
- December 1 to 24
- Origin
- Germany, 19th century
Gingerbread Houses
Part baking project, part structural engineering failure, all fun. Nobody's gingerbread house actually looks like the picture on the kit, and that's half the charm.
About Gingerbread Houses
Edible houses built from gingerbread and decorated with icing and candy, popularized in Germany and tied to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel."
- Origin
- Germany
Secret Santa
Takes the financial pressure off group gifting and usually produces at least one genuinely great surprise gift. Works best with an actual budget and a deadline, otherwise it turns into a last-minute gift card scramble.
About Secret Santa
A gift exchange game where participants are randomly assigned one person to buy a gift for, usually kept anonymous until the reveal.
- Also known as
- Kris Kringle in some countries
Christmas Stockings
Small gifts, big payoff. There's something about unloading a stocking stuffed with candy, socks and one weirdly specific gadget that still feels like its own event separate from the main presents.
About Christmas Stockings
Stockings hung by the fireplace or elsewhere in the home, filled with small gifts and treats on Christmas morning. Tied to the legend of Saint Nicholas.
- Linked figure
- Saint Nicholas
Gift Wrapping
The ritual before the ritual. A well-wrapped gift under the tree adds to the whole buildup, even if most of that paper is getting torn apart in about four seconds flat.
About Gift Wrapping
The practice of wrapping presents in decorative paper before placing them under the tree, part of the buildup to gift-opening on Christmas Day.
- Common materials
- Wrapping paper, ribbon, bows
BB Tier: Solid, dependable traditions
Candy Canes
Peppermint, red and white stripes, and somehow still a tree ornament as much as a snack. Nobody's mad about candy canes, but nobody's planning their Christmas around them either.
About Candy Canes
Striped peppermint-flavored candy shaped like a cane, often hung on Christmas trees as a decorative treat.
- Classic flavor
- Peppermint
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Chaotic in the best way: stealing gifts, petty alliances, someone always ends up with the one terrible present on purpose. Needs the right group of people willing to actually play dirty, or it falls flat.
About White Elephant Gift Exchange
A party gift exchange game where participants can steal gifts from one another, usually involving wrapped, often humorous gifts.
- Also known as
- Yankee Swap in some regions
Christmas Caroling
Lovely in theory, a little awkward in practice unless your neighborhood is actually into it. Survives mostly inside churches, malls and old movies, less so door to door anymore.
About Christmas Caroling
The practice of singing Christmas songs door to door or in public spaces, with roots in medieval European wassailing traditions.
- Related tradition
- Wassailing
Advent Wreath
Quietly lighting a candle each Sunday of Advent is one of the more peaceful traditions on this list. Mostly a church and household ritual rather than a cultural-wide one, but meaningful to the people who keep it.
About Advent Wreath
A circular wreath with four candles, one lit each Sunday of Advent, used in Christian households and churches leading up to Christmas.
- Candles
- Typically four, sometimes five
Nativity Scene
The actual reason-for-the-season display, still set up on mantels and church lawns everywhere. Some families have the same chipped ceramic figures that have been through decades of Decembers.
About Nativity Scene
A display depicting the birth of Jesus, using figurines, often set up in homes, churches and public spaces. Credited to Saint Francis of Assisi.
- Credited origin
- Saint Francis of Assisi, 13th century
Christmas Crackers
A paper snap, a terrible joke, a tissue paper crown, a tiny plastic toy nobody wanted. Huge in the UK and Commonwealth countries, barely known in the US, and genuinely fun at a table full of people willing to wear the crown.
About Christmas Crackers
Cardboard tubes wrapped in decorative paper that make a snapping sound when pulled apart, revealing a small toy, joke and paper crown. A staple of UK and Commonwealth Christmas tables.
- Origin
- United Kingdom
Poinsettias
The default Christmas plant, red and green and everywhere in December. Nice to look at, mildly toxic to pets if you're not careful, otherwise pretty low-maintenance as traditions go.
About Poinsettias
A red and green plant native to Mexico that has become a standard decorative plant for Christmas in many countries.
- Native to
- Mexico
Visiting Santa
Magical when you're a kid sitting on his lap at the mall, mildly terrifying in a good chunk of childhood photos. Still one of the few traditions that actually delivers wonder, at least until the kid is old enough to ask questions.
About Visiting Santa
The tradition of children visiting a person dressed as Santa Claus, often at a shopping mall, to share their Christmas wish list and take a photo.
- Common location
- Shopping malls
Cookies for Santa
Milk, a few cookies, left out by the fireplace, gone by morning. Simple, sweet, and a nice bit of theater for parents to keep the magic going one more year.
About Cookies for Santa
The custom of leaving cookies and milk out on Christmas Eve as a treat for Santa Claus, popular in the US and a few other countries.
- Common pairing
- Cookies and milk
CC Tier: Fine, but take it or leave it
Yule Log
Originally an actual burning log tradition from pre-Christian Europe, now mostly known as a TV channel of a fire burning for hours. Pleasant background ambiance, but it's drifted pretty far from its roots.
About Yule Log
Originally a large log burned in the hearth over the winter solstice period in pre-Christian European tradition, now better known as the dessert and the TV broadcast of a crackling fire.
- Origin
- Pre-Christian Europe
Eggnog
People either love this thing or can't get past the texture. Rich, boozy (or not), and divisive enough that most parties end up with half a carton left in the fridge come New Year's.
About Eggnog
A rich, creamy drink made from milk, cream, sugar and eggs, often spiced and sometimes spiked with alcohol, popular during the Christmas season in the US and UK.
- Common additions
- Rum, brandy, nutmeg
Christmas Pudding
A British staple that's more ceremony than dessert at this point: the flaming brandy, the hidden coin, the months of aging beforehand. Respect to anyone who still actually enjoys eating it rather than just doing the ritual.
About Christmas Pudding
A dense, steamed British dessert made with dried fruit and spices, traditionally set alight with brandy before serving.
- Origin
- United Kingdom
Christmas Cards
Nice to receive, a genuine chore to send. The family photo card has mostly replaced the handwritten note, and plenty of people have quietly switched to a group text instead.
About Christmas Cards
Greeting cards sent to friends and family around Christmas, a tradition dating back to Victorian England.
- First commercial card
- United Kingdom, 1840s
Midnight Mass
Beautiful if you're actually religious and awake for it, a real test of willpower if you're not a night person. The once-a-year churchgoers crowd makes this one of the most packed services of the calendar.
About Midnight Mass
A Christian church service held late on Christmas Eve or early Christmas Day, marking the celebration of Christ's birth.
- Typical timing
- Christmas Eve, late evening
Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Started as a genuine joke, now it's an entire retail category with light-up reindeer and sound effects built in. Fun for one party, exhausting as a whole aesthetic people lean on every single year.
About Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Deliberately gaudy, novelty Christmas sweaters worn ironically or for parties, which grew from a joke trend into a major seasonal retail category.
- Peak popularity
- 2010s onward
Feast of the Seven Fishes
A fantastic Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition if your family actually does it right, and completely unknown to anyone outside that circle. Deserves more recognition than it gets, but it's niche enough to land mid-pack here.
About Feast of the Seven Fishes
An Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition featuring a meal of seven different seafood dishes, tied to Catholic customs of abstaining from meat.
- Origin
- Southern Italy, popularized in Italian-American communities
DD Tier: More awkward than festive
Kissing Under the Mistletoe
Cute as a concept, deeply awkward in actual practice. Most people these days just avoid standing under it rather than risk the moment.
About Kissing Under the Mistletoe
A custom of kissing anyone standing under a sprig of hanging mistletoe, with roots in European folklore.
- Plant type
- Mistletoe, a parasitic evergreen
FF Tier: Please retire this one
Elf on the Shelf
A nightly parental chore disguised as a tradition. Forgetting to move the thing becomes more stressful than anything it was supposed to add, and the surveillance-elf premise gets weirder the longer you think about it.
About Elf on the Shelf
A children's book and accompanying elf doll, first published in 2005, where the elf reportedly watches children and reports to Santa, moving to a new spot each night.
- First published
- 2005
How we ranked them
We weighed how widely loved each tradition is, how much it actually adds to the day versus how much it's just obligation, and how well it's aged. Traditions that bring people together and still feel special score highest. Ones that are mostly stress, chores or guilt (sending 80 cards, hunting for a weird elf pose) score lower, even if they're common. Where opinion is split, we say so and explain which side we land on.
Think we got it wrong?
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What's the most universally loved Christmas tradition?
Decorating the Christmas tree and sharing a Christmas dinner come up again and again as the two traditions almost everyone agrees on, regardless of culture or country.
Is Elf on the Shelf actually disliked by parents?
A lot of parents online admit it's become more of a nightly chore than a fun tradition, mostly because forgetting to move the elf causes more stress than the game is worth.
Where did Christmas crackers come from?
Christmas crackers originated in the UK in the 1840s and remain a staple in Britain and Commonwealth countries, though they're far less common in the US.
Why is eggnog so divisive?
It comes down to texture and richness. Some people love the thick, custardy, spiced drink, while others find it too heavy or egg-forward to finish a glass.
What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes?
It's an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition featuring seven different seafood dishes, rooted in the Catholic custom of abstaining from meat before Christmas.
Is Midnight Mass only for religious people?
It's primarily a religious service, but plenty of non-regular churchgoers attend once a year for the atmosphere and tradition, especially alongside family.
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Image credits
- Decorating the Christmas TreePhoto: William Warby, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas DinnerPhoto: Austin McGee, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas LightsPhoto: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas OrnamentsPhoto: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas MarketsPhoto: Roland Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Advent CalendarPhoto: Turris Davidica, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Gingerbread HousesPhoto: Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Secret SantaPhoto: Lance Cpl. Shannon Yount, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Christmas StockingsPhoto: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Gift WrappingPhoto: Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Candy CanesPhoto: Evan-Amos, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- White Elephant Gift ExchangePhoto: Thirteen Of Clubs, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas CarolingPhoto: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Advent WreathPhoto: Medusahead, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Nativity ScenePhoto: Ideefixe, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas CrackersPhoto: en:User:Cgros841, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- PoinsettiasPhoto: Scott Bauer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
- Visiting SantaPhoto: josephleenovak, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Cookies for SantaPhoto: Artondra Hall, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Yule LogPhoto: ChuKat600, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- EggnogPhoto: Dinner Series, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas PuddingPhoto: User Musical Linguist on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Christmas CardsPhoto: DrThneed, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Midnight MassPhoto: Atleett, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Ugly Christmas SweatersPhoto: TheUglySweaterShop.com, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Feast of the Seven FishesPhoto: GW Fins, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Kissing Under the MistletoePhoto: Marsilar, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Elf on the ShelfPhoto: mbaylor, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source