Start A Family Tradition
A tradition is simply an activity or way of doing something that is passed down through family or community. Make a list of traditions from your family, origin or community you would like to pass down and then think about new possibilities. Traditions do not have to be old, so if you do not have any from your family start your own!
Here are a few ideas:
Dates with Mom or Dad: Pick a day of the month to go on an outing with dad, it can be a game, movie or just ice cream. These times will lead into great communication and allow the time to keep in touch when schedules get busy.
Special outings: Take your daughter to tea or son to a game once or twice a year. This can be anytime or scheduled around a holiday like Mother’s Day or when a favorite team is in town.
Saturday Field Trip: Pick one Saturday a month and go on a family field trip. Children look forward to unusual outings as a family. Most communities have family friendly locations such as a museum, live music at the park, or the zoo.
Thanksgiving: Each year have everyone in the family write what they are thankful for on a leaf cut out of paper, write the year on it. Then each year string it on a string and make a garland to hang during Thanksgiving. Holidays are a great time to start family traditions, the possibilities are endless.
Chef Night: Plan a meal that includes everyone in the family to prepare, even the toddlers can help pour and stir. Working as a team and enjoying the meal will be a fun event and remember to include everyone for clean up.
Game Night: Dedicate one night a week to spend playing games with family. If your children are young you may start out doing puzzles or blocks and then eventually play board games. This tradition teaches children the joy of spending quality, entertaining time with one another.
One of our traditions is to visit the butterfly exhibit at our local botanical garden with grandma. We love to look at the pictures every year, especially our first visit when my son was a baby.
There are so many ideas that can bring a family closer together and starting a family tradition is a good start! What do you and your family do? Click on “comments” to share.
