At every family meal, we go around the table and each person says what he or she is thankful for. – Mark
We love to play short round robin games of either Boggle or Bananagrams at the end of the day. It’s a family event. We are all in our pajamas, sitting atop the parents’ bed with either of those games. – Josefina
We don’t always associate springtime with tradition, but every season is an opportunity. Here are 5 ways to celebrate create spring traditions with your family. Pick one of these or make your own.
1. Food. Is there something you make every spring to celebrate the season or special holiday (Passover and Easter are right here, but Mother’s Day is on the horizon, as well as May Day)? Share its origin with your children by creating a special recipe card including a photo, the recipe and where the recipe originated from (e.g. family member, friend, etc.). Ask your child to share a memory about eating the food.
alternatives to participating in traditional holidays and commercialism:
• Set limits and establish a sense of proportion. Holidays always evolve, and are a mix of traditions (Christian holidays for example are a mix with Roman traditions). Our kids write letters to Santa and know that they will get 1 gift from Santa only and a few from us. (Luckily for the kids, their grandmothers do not always comply.)
• We get our Christmas tree on the weekend of our anniversary to share this special time with the kids. We buy the tree that we think no one else will pick. We choose the one that is crooked or homely so it has a home for the holiday.
• We do not give presents for Channuka. We celebrate the Jewish traditions in a noncommercial way.
traditions: tips / resources
Search your soul, your heart, and your memory bank for what is cherished. What values, ideas, and moments are most important to you? Make a list. Build traditions around the top of that list.
Traditions should be unique to you. Lather, rinse and repeat Step One.
Involve your family. What traditions do they want to continue, tweak, add? ‘Cause they’re, um, on this train, too.
We celebrate, discuss and honor many religions and cultural celebrations in our home. We decorate a Christmas tree, light Hanukkah candles, attend a Seder annually at a friend’s home, and when my father fasted for Ramadan, we made a paper chain to symbolize how many days were left in his fast. Our kids are growing up knowing that people have different beliefs, religions, and traditions.
2. Create opportunities to share stories/experiences from previous generations.
Share your favorite childhood tradition with your children. “Interview†an older relative with your child to hear his or her version of favorite traditions and celebrations.
Go to a local senior center and “befriend†a grandparent or develop a relationship with a local neighbor and hear about their traditions.
Create a family recipe book and encourage others from different generations to contribute. Have them share stories about why they want this recipe included in the book. Include a picture. Then distribute as gifts from your family to the relatives.
recipe: Christmas Roll Cookies
2 cups flour
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325. Combine flour and salt with a wire whisk. Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed…
Last year, I hosted a conversation on TRADITIONS. So what makes a tradition and how do we as parents choose what to pass on and to preserve? What have we inherited, adapted, valued or created that is meaningful or relevant to our family?
Our religion or birthplace may dictate some of the traditions we celebrate and pass on. But as we make our journey into adulthood we are often influenced by our community and life experiences. Sharing households with other individuals and raising children provides an opportunity for reflection, contemplation and decision about how we blend, preserve, change or create traditions.
To continue this conversation, I am sharing excerpts from the 2010 Traditions book. Enjoy these daily updates during the holidays of favorite traditions from our panel and readers while I take some time off. I hope you find these ideas as inspiring as I do.
My December List was so handy last year (and the years before) that I now annually revise it and re-use it again. This summary of articles from the Kidoinfo archives includes craft projects, local events, and books to read, along with tips and ideas to make holidays a little easier, hopefully less stressful—and memorable for the kids. Some of you may be way ahead of me, so pick and choose what you need and please share your own helpful tips and ideas below with the Kidoinfo readers.
Now that it’s fall, our family welcomes the change of season and we look forward to carrying on traditions that celebrate autumn, the natural colors and the holidays including trips to favorite spots, foods made from local harvests, and activities rooted in fall.
Traditions connect our children with our personal and cultural history and form the memories they will later share with their friends and families. Stemming from religion, birthplace, seasons, or revolving around a treasured activity or possession, as parents we decide how to carry on, blend or create new traditions. They may be small or grand but it is the repetition and memories around the ritual that make them meaningful to us.
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