ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The holidays can look different for military families, new locations, deployments, and time apart. Still, simple traditions can help keep everyone connected, grounded, and supported.

Here’s a practical guide to holiday traditions for military families.

This guide highlights simple, meaningful traditions your family can adopt whether you’re together at home, navigating a new duty station, or connecting across the miles.

1. Hold on to the Traditions That Matter Most

Maintaining a few core traditions provides stability and comfort for children and adults alike, especially during deployments or transitions. You don’t need to keep everything — choose the rituals that mean the most and make them nonnegotiable. Examples:

• Decorating the tree together the weekend after Thanksgiving
• Baking a favorite cookie recipe and sharing it with neighbors
• Reading the same holiday story or singing one special song each year

Why it helps: Familiar rituals create continuity and reassuring routines when other parts of life are changing.

2. Bring Deployed Loved Ones Into the Celebration Virtually

When a parent or spouse is deployed, use technology to create moments that feel real and shared. Turn these into repeatable traditions, so everyone has something to look forward to.

Ideas:

• Host a virtual movie night — press play at the same time and chat during breaks.
• Open gifts together on video chat so the deployed loved one can watch reactions.
• Send short, regular video messages of bedtime stories, holiday greetings, or daily highlights.

Tip: Schedule calls in advance and pick a consistent time zone reference, so children know when the call will take place.

3. Add a Local Twist Wherever You’re Stationed

You may be far from the foods, weather, or decorations of home. Embrace where you are and let local culture inspire new traditions — those memories often become family favorites long after the assignment ends.

Ways to adapt:

• Decorate a palm tree or local greenery if you’re in a warm climate
• Try a holiday dish from your host country or region
• Blend hometown traditions with discoveries from your duty station (crafts, songs, or community events)

4. Create a Holiday Countdown

A visible countdown gives children (and adults) something concrete to anticipate, whether it’s a holiday, Hanukkah, or a parent’s homecoming.

Countdown ideas:

• Paper chain with a short note or activity behind each link
• Sticker chart or Advent-style boxes with small surprises
• Shared digital countdown calendar that a deployed parent can update from afar

Why it works: Daily rituals teach patience, mark time, and keep hope alive during long separations.

5. Start a Memory Book or Holiday Slideshow

Collect photos, letters, voice messages, and short videos throughout the year and create a keepsake to enjoy during the season. These scrapbooks or slideshows help tell the story of your family’s year, even when someone is far away.

How to use it:

• Share the slideshow during a virtual watch party with a deployed loved one
• Add captions or short voice clips from each family member
• Keep the book updated each year as a family tradition

6. Simplify the Season & Focus on Meaning

Perfection isn’t the goal — connection is. When deployments, moves, or stress make the holidays harder, scale back and concentrate on a few meaningful activities.

Suggestions:

• Pick 2–3 traditions to prioritize and let go of the rest
• Outsource or simplify challenging tasks (buy a ready-made dessert, ask for help with decorating)
• Create calm rituals: a family hot chocolate hour, an evening walk to look at lights, or a nightly five-minute gratitude share

7. Lean on Community & Give Back

Community helps make the season rich and supportive. Many installations and local organizations host holiday programs, and volunteering can be a powerful shared tradition.

Standard base and community programs:

• Trees for Troops and holiday sponsorship programs
• Installation parades, concerts, or potlucks
• Volunteer activities like packing care packages, wrapping gifts, or serving at shelters

For military families, traditions become threads of resilience and togetherness—no matter the distance or duty station.

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