I love family traditions! Big Tradition! Small Traditions! It does not matter to me. I love the special things that make our family ours. Creating family traditions is both easy and fun! Plus, traditions are one of those parts of life the children will look back on as adults to remind them of their childhood and of me!
Starting Traditions
With so many children (7.5) and grandchildren (5) we have many, many fun traditions. We have several easy traditions that cost no money and take little time to create and enjoy. For example, we make a big deal when we cross any state line. It sounds odd and silly, but the kids look forward to it (even if they won’t admit it).
They even remind me the state line is coming up if I don’t seem to be paying attention. We live in Indiana only about twenty minutes from the Kentucky state line. We do it when we cross that state line as well as any state line when we are traveling. It’s easy….. “Indiana, Indiana, Indiana, Kentucky!” Every state line….every time. And
I’m happy to say this silly simple tradition is something I have done as long as my children have been alive. To my surprise, I even have proof my adult children still think about it today! I recently got a video from my second oldest of him doing “Kentucky! Kentucky! Kentucky! Tennessee!” when he and his wife were going to Nashville for the day. It made my heart happy….they thought of me. Nothing big, nothing fantastic, but one simple thing that made him think of his childhood and think of me.
Small Traditions
Our family has several other small traditions such as that. We take the first day of school pictures and the last day of school pictures in the same spot each year.
We do birthday parties, birthday decorations, and other birthday treats.
I bought this obnoxious pink, fluffy birthday hat several years ago thinking we might use it once or twice. We have now used it for EVERY birthday for EVERY child since approximately 2010!
Bigger Traditions
I also decorate each child’s bedroom door with crate paper after they go to bed the night before their birthday and they wake up to it in the morning! Some of them break through it so it’s down immediately. Others crawl under it and try to keep it up for a few days.
I decorate the house with a few decorations, decorations that have been reused for over a decade I might add. I also make a scavenger hunt for them to find birthday presents hidden around the house. Again, little silly ideas, but special.
It’s also one of those things you aren’t sure if they really care about, but then you find out they do. Just this past March I found this out for myself. I have two children with birthdays in March, my daughter in college and my high-school-age son.
He was discussing birthday decorating and made the comment I did not need to decorate or hide presents this year. When I questioned, he clarified. He meant I did not need to do these things for his SISTER when she came home for the weekend. I definitely still needed to do them for him! Again, a heartwarming, mom-you-did-a-good-job moment realizing my almost-adult adolescent boy still looked forward to crate paper and clues!
Big Family Traditions
We also have big family traditions too: baking massive amounts of cookies at Christmas time,
Going to Disney World,
cruising the Caribbean,
pictures with Santa,
and traveling to our favorite restaurants out of town!
All of these traditions are fun and exciting, but they take a little more work than smaller traditions! However, traditions don’t have to be complex or expensive. They just need to be the time that is special for you with your family, significant other, or child.
If you are interested in more information about improved family relationships and family time together check out my ebook How Many Times Do I Have to Repeat Myself? Simple Steps to Stress-Free Parenting and Better Family Relationships!
TAKEAWAYS!!
- Family traditions are fun!
- They are easy to do!
- Family traditions make great pictures!
- They make good memories
- They do not have to be expensive or fancy
- Simple ideas, such as taking special pictures at the start of each school years, are just as memorable as big trips
- For more ideas check out our list of 106 Things to do When your Child says “I’m bored.”
- And, hopefully, the children will share some of the same traditions with their children!
Wow! What awesome family traditions!