The holidays come with a familiar cast of characters: the ornament that always goes up first, a favorite recipe with a few floury fingerprints on it, the movie someone insists on watching every year, and the group photo that takes three (hundred) tries to get right. These are the little rituals that turn a season into a story.
They also look different from one family to the next. Some people build their holidays around cooking, others around decorating, music, gift exchanges, travel, or a quiet night at home.
At Mixbook, we believe those moments deserve more than a quick scroll. To see which holiday traditions Americans are planning, remembering, and carrying forward, we surveyed more than 2,300 people across 46 states. Respondents answered questions about the rituals they expect to take part in this year, the ones tied to their fondest childhood memories, and how often they revisit photos from past celebrations.
The traditions people do most often aren’t always the ones they remember most fondly, and that many holiday photos never make it much farther than a camera roll. First up: the traditions Americans are most excited to keep, create, and remember.
Holiday memory highlights
- 81% of Americans plan to watch holiday movies or TV specials, or listen to holiday music this year.
- Decorating is the tradition Americans look forward to most (54%) and most often tie to fond childhood memories (59%).
- 76% revisit holiday photos or videos no more than once a year, while 48% typically keep them saved on a phone or computer.
- 65% have left at least 1 childhood holiday tradition behind, but 62% plan to continue every tradition tied to their fondest childhood memories.
- Cooking or baking is the most popular planned holiday tradition in 20 states, followed by holiday movies or music in 16 states.
How holiday traditions become memories that last
The holiday moments that stay with us rarely arrive with a big announcement. They’re often the familiar ones: pulling out the ornaments, making a favorite recipe, turning on the same movie, or passing around gifts with people who know exactly which one you’ll shake first.
This year’s survey shows that the traditions people take part in, look forward to, and remember most fondly don’t always line up perfectly. But a few rituals—especially decorating, cooking, and gift-giving—keep showing up at the center of the season.
The traditions people can’t wait to do
Whether it’s a holiday movie playing in the background or a kitchen full of cookies, Americans are planning plenty of familiar seasonal rituals this year. The traditions people most commonly expect to take part in are:
- Watching holiday movies or TV specials, or listening to holiday music: 81%
- Cooking or baking holiday foods: 79%
- Decorating the home: 78%
- Exchanging gifts: 75%
But when respondents were asked which traditions they were most looking forward to, decorating and cooking or baking rose to the top. 54% selected decorating, while 51% selected cooking or baking.
The same pattern appears when looking back. Decorating was the tradition most often tied to people’s fondest childhood holiday memories, selected by 59% of respondents. Exchanging gifts followed at 50%.
Decorating, then, seems to bring the holidays’ past and present together. It’s something people look forward to doing now, and it’s also the tradition most likely to remind them of the holidays they grew up with. Cooking, baking, and gift-giving round out the rituals with the strongest emotional pull—proof that some of the best holiday memories are made with flour on the counter, tape stuck to a sleeve, or an ornament that’s been part of the family collection for years.
The traditions that stay with us can change
Americans generally look back on childhood holiday memories warmly, rating them an average of 8.2 out of 10. And respondents with very positive holiday memories reported taking part in more traditions today than those with less-positive memories.
- Respondents with not-positive holiday memories take part in an average of 4.3 traditions.
- Those with positive holiday memories take part in 5 traditions.
- Those with very positive holiday memories take part in 5.8 traditions.
That doesn’t mean a fuller calendar guarantees better memories. But it does suggest that small, repeated rituals can give the season more touchpoints to look forward to and remember later.
Keeping traditions going matters to many people, too. 59% said it’s very or extremely important to preserve or create winter holiday traditions for the people in their lives, while just 5% said it isn’t important at all.
Of course, traditions don’t have to stay exactly the same to remain meaningful. 65% of respondents have left at least one childhood holiday tradition behind. The most common reasons were that the tradition no longer felt important (27%), family circumstances had changed (26%), or they had adopted different traditions (16%).
Even so, many people hold onto the customs that mean the most. 62% plan to continue taking part in every tradition tied to their fondest childhood memories. And among people who have left at least one childhood tradition behind, 53% still said preserving traditions is very or extremely important.
The takeaway is a reassuring one: holiday traditions can grow and shift along with families, schedules, and seasons of life. The details may change, but the rituals connected to our favorite memories tend to find a way forward.
The holiday memories still waiting in the camera roll
Holiday photos help capture the tree before the lights come down, the flour-dusted kitchen, the lopsided wrapping job, and the people who made it all feel like the holidays. Half of respondents plan to take holiday photos this year.
Still, revisiting those photos isn’t always part of the tradition. About three-quarters of Americans said they look back at holiday photos or videos no more than once a year, including 7% who never revisit them.
Most often, holiday photos stay where they started:
- 48% typically keep holiday photos or videos saved on a phone or computer.
- 16% share them digitally with family or friends.
- 14% post them on social media.
- 8% add them to a photo book, album, or other keepsake.
- 6% print or display them at home.
There’s a bit of a gap here. People care about preserving holiday traditions, and many plan to photograph them, but those photos often remain tucked away in a camera roll. Turning a collection of holiday photos into a photo book or another keepsake can give those moments a place to be revisited, shared, and added to year after year. The Mixbook App can help make that next step feel a little easier, even in the middle of a busy season.
Across the country, the traditions may look different, but the pattern is the same: the holidays become memorable through the moments people repeat, share, and carry forward. Next, we’re looking at the holiday traditions that rise to the top in every state.
“Holiday traditions don’t have to stay exactly the same to stay meaningful,” said Leslie Albertson, Sr. Director Brand & Creative at Mixbook. “A favorite recipe, a well-loved ornament, or the photos from a busy afternoon can carry a family story from one season to the next. When people revisit and share those moments, they become more than a memory from one holiday. They become part of the tradition itself.”
The most popular holiday tradition in every state
The national results show that many Americans are making room for the same familiar holiday rituals. But when the responses are viewed state by state, no single tradition takes over everywhere.
Each state’s most popular planned tradition fell into one of four categories: cooking or baking, holiday movies or music, decorating, or gift-giving. Together, they paint a picture of a season built less around 1 big event and more around the little things people return to each year.
Four holiday rituals rise to the top
The national results show that many Americans are making room for the same familiar holiday rituals. But when the responses are viewed state by state, no single tradition takes over everywhere.
Each state’s most popular planned tradition fell into one of four categories: cooking or baking, holiday movies or music, decorating, or gift-giving. They paint a picture of a season built less around one big event and more around the little things people return to each year.
Four familiar rituals share the spotlight
Cooking or baking led in 20 states, making it the most common state-level favorite. Holiday movies or music followed closely, leading in 16 states. Decorating led in 6 states, while gift-giving led in 4.
Watching holiday movies or listening to music was the tradition Americans were most likely to take part in overall, with 81% planning to do so. Yet cooking or baking claimed the top spot in more individual states, suggesting that for many households, the season’s most dependable ritual happens in the kitchen.
Decorating also stands out in a different way. It led in fewer states, but it was the tradition Americans were most likely to say they were looking forward to and the one most often tied to fond childhood holiday memories. A favorite recipe may bring people together for an afternoon, but decorating has a way of bringing past and present holidays into the same room.
In some states, the season comes with a longer to-do list.
For many respondents, the holidays are made up of a long list of smaller traditions instead of one defining event. In Iowa, Idaho, and Ohio, 50% of respondents said they plan to take part in seven or more holiday traditions this year. New Hampshire followed at 47%, and Arizona at 45%.
At the other end of the spectrum, respondents in Hawaii, New York, and Washington were least likely to say they planned to take part in seven or more traditions, at 21%, 22%, and 24%, respectively.
A holiday season can be full of memories whether it includes a packed schedule of baking, lights, cards, movies, travel, and gift exchanges, or just a handful of rituals that everyone looks forward to.
Where holiday memories and traditions run especially deep
A few states stood out not just for what respondents planned to do this year, but for how warmly they remembered holidays past.
Missouri respondents gave their childhood holiday memories the highest average rating, at 8.8 out of 10. Arizona followed at 8.6, and Georgia came in at 8.5. All above the national average of 8.2.
Kentucky respondents were especially likely to keep their most meaningful traditions going. 84% said they plan to continue every tradition they associate with fond childhood memories, the highest share of any state. Tennessee followed at 77%.
Missouri also had the highest share of respondents who said preserving or creating holiday traditions is very or extremely important, at 78%, followed by Mississippi at 77%.
Traditions can change as families grow, move, and make room for new routines, but the rituals linked to favorite memories often stay close. Whether a family gathers around a favorite movie, makes the same cookies every December, or pulls out a well-loved box of decorations, those repeated moments become part of the story people want to revisit—and preserve—in the years ahead.
Give this year’s holiday traditions a place to live
By January, the cookies are just crumbs, the lights are probably still up but will definitely be packed away soon, and you’re left with a new set of memories to carry you through the tougher winter months. We found that the traditions people cherish most vary from family to family and state to state, but they tend to have something in common: they’re the familiar moments people share, repeat, and remember together.
As this year’s celebrations unfold, save a few of the details you might otherwise scroll past—a favorite recipe in progress, the annual group photo, the decoration that always comes out first, or a perfectly ordinary moment around the kitchen table. Those are often the moments that tell the real story of the season.
Half of respondents plan to take holiday photos this year, but 48% say past holiday photos typically stay on their phone or computer, and 76% revisit them no more than once a year. Gathering a few favorites into a Mixbook photo book, calendar, custom card, or piece of wall art gives those moments a chance to become part of next year’s tradition, too—something to pass around, see every day, and return to when the lights come back out.
Methodology
To better understand how winter holiday traditions and memories vary across the U.S., we surveyed adults in 46 states about the ways they celebrate the end-of-year holiday season. Respondents were asked a series of structured questions about the traditions they take part in, the ones they most look forward to, the ones they've stopped doing over the year, and the moments they associate with their fondest childhood holiday memories.
The survey also explored which traditions Americans have stopped participating in, why those customs have changed over time, and how important it is for people to preserve or create meaningful holiday traditions for those closest to them.
States excluded due to insufficient survey responses: Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Fair Use
You are welcome to use, reference, and share non-commercial excerpts of this study with proper attribution. If you cite or cover our findings, please link back to this page so readers can view the full methodology, charts, and context.
To ensure relevant responses, only Americans who said they celebrate or take part in at least 1 winter holiday tradition were included in the final analysis.
The survey ran over two weeks in September 2026, with over 2,300 respondents in total.
