Family Traditions

Traditions

Traditions; the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way. We all have them. It’s why we cook a certain way, shop a certain way, parent a certain way. Some are good to carry on and some maybe we want to leave behind. Each generation puts their own spin on them as they are passed down.

Family Traditions

When I think of traditions I think of it in terms of families. More specifically those centered around holidays. Don’t confuse family traditions with everyday family routines. Routines happen repeatedly, but lack the symbolic meaning that family rituals hold. A family outing on Saturday night may be part of the family routine whereas a family outing at a special event for Dad’s birthday may be a tradition. My Mom and I are both born in May. It was tradition we would celebrate our birthdays together each year by going out to a special restaurant.

Holiday Activities

More specifically when I think of family traditions I go right to past holidays. In particular is the Christmas season. I have so many memories of this time of year. I think it was the happiest time of the year for me a a kid growing up! We didn’t have a a lot and it seemed Dad’s shop was always on strike! That was a big thing when I was a kid but not so much these days.

Baking

Anyways…holidays were special and Mom seemed able to make it feel like we had it all. The best activity was the baking!

We made sooooo….many cookies…LOL. There were the traditional ones (my sister and I made sure we had those recipes when we left home) and my favorites were the cut outs. I loved decorating them. I haven’t baked in years but this year was feeling the need for some holiday memories (the pandemic you know!). So I asked my husband if he would help me decorate them. He said yes! It was fun and I am going to ask him again this year.

Crafting

Of course my all time favorite activity is crafting things for the holidays. When my nieces were young family traditions included making ornaments. Sometimes it was gingerbread cookie ones (not the ones you eat….LOL). We would string them together and make a garland for the fireplace. There were also ones for the tree.

One year we even made a gingerbread house. We baked it all from scratch. There was so much candy and frosting it is a miracle we didn’t end up with Sugar overdose. We had a great time and that house lasted clear until May. When the humid weather hit it all started to fall apart. Surprisingly no bugs got into it!

More Traditional crafting

There was also time for more traditional crafting. There are a lot of things you can do with felt! Again the whole family can get involved in making easy tree ornaments or package tags. The gingerbread man from my tree. Cherished ones that my niece made.

Memories & Stories

Over the years the memories build up. It is fun to talk about them from year to year. Also to pass them down to the next generation. My most unusual one is about the night Santa stopped by on Christmas Eve! Yep…he sure did…much to 4 young children’s surprise. I could go on and on. Oh…by the way recently I did. I wrote about several memories from my youth.

Memories in my mind to Book

It has been a work in progress. Lots and lots of learning to get it all accomplished. The end result has been a labor of love.

If you like what you have been reading so far and want to know more, stay tuned for my Christmas in July book launch. It has memories, craft projects, recipes. Filled with patterns, pictures, and videos of how to’s. Projects for the whole family to enjoy.