Holiday Traditions: Create New Traditions Now to Make Future Memories

Have you ever asked any friend about his or her favorite family traditions? Do you remember what happened as your friend began to recount the rituals of his or her childhood?

If you answered yes, it is likely that you remember your friend’s eyes lighting up as a smile grew on his face. Before you knew it, your friend had launched into a nostalgic story from his childhood, describing the feelings, tastes, sights and smells from his favorite family times.

It’s a reaction common among those retelling experiences from younger days, according to author Emyl Jenkins. That’s because traditions are important to people, and they are important to history, Jenkins said.

Traditions bind us together for the common good. Traditions unite our memories of the past with our hopes for the future, Jenkins wrote in 1996 in The Book of American Traditions.

So why not begin a few traditions of your own during this holiday season? That way, when your children are adults, they, too, will be able to recount their childhood days with bright eyes and a broad smile. Here are a few ideas to get you started this holiday season:

Make a holiday log or journal each year. You can do this in several ways. If you want to do it very simply, all you need to do is write down the year and the major gifts your child received in a notebook, and continue to do so from year to year. For a more elaborate version, you can fill an empty popcorn tin with photos, notes, and cards. That way, when your child is grown, he or she will have something to look back on and share with their own children.

Create a special holiday breakfast. Each year, my mother bakes a special bacon, hash brown and cheese casserole for breakfast on Christmas morning. Now that my siblings and I are grown, we look forward to the breakfast almost more than we look forward to opening gifts. Your holiday breakfast can be something as simple as break-and-bake cinnamon rolls, or as elaborate as a seated, early morning meal. How you develop the tradition is up to you, but a holiday breakfast will allow you to spend more time as a family.

Spend an evening singing Christmas carols. For many, this idea will bring about a mental image of a family crowded around a piano, while Aunt Sally taps away at the keys. This is certainly a great way to spend time as a family, but the tradition doesn’t have to be that organized. When we were children, my siblings and I always spent Christmas Eve seated around the lit Christmas tree in the dark, singing Christmas carols, laughing, and munching on popcorn. It was a great way for us to wind down for the night — and relax before bed — as we waited for Santa to arrive.

Choose a holiday movie to watch each year. Does your family love A Christmas Carol? How about A Christmas Story, Babes in Toyland or Miracle on 34th Street? It doesn’t matter what movie you choose – all that matter is that you take the time to watch it as a family each year.

There are just a few ideas to help you get started. There are hundreds of other things you can do, too, to celebrate the holidays. One thing is for sure, though: starting a holiday tradition will help you — and your children — to fondly remember the holidays in the future.


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