Traditions
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The older the kids get, the more I realize how important traditions are in making holidays special and forming memories for years to come. Both Joe and I have traditions and things that we associate with holidays from our years growing up.
Today one of my favorite traditions is going on in my parents’ house: my mom’s family cookie baking. It started as a small affair in my grandma’s kitchen over a decade and a half ago and has evolved into a much bigger event. Between my grandma, mom, 2 aunts, my mom’s cousin, my sister-in-law and my cousin’s girlfriend, everyone brings a few cookie recipes and a lot of baking occurs. They bake about 300 dozen cookies to share with family and friends! And that doesn’t count the “reject plate” where all the cookies that don’t pass inspection go! Besides a break for lunch, it is an almost full day of baking and sharing times together.
Traditions are great ways to share times together as a family and give families something to look forward to year after year. One of the best books I ever read on the topic( and there aren’t many books on the topic) is Noel Piper’s “Treasuring God in Our Traditions“. I would recommend it as a quick, easy read as we approach the Christmas season!
What are you favorite family traditions?
3 Comments
November 28th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
One tradition my family had, which sounds crazy to me now that I have children, is that we would go and cut down our Christmas tree a week or so before Christmas and my dad would put the lights on it, but we would not decorate it. Santa always came on Christmas Eve and decorated our tree (until my youngest sister learned the truth about Santa) and put all the gifts out. When we came down Christmas morning, it was a Christmas wonderland. My parents would literally be up all night getting Christmas ready, putting all the toys together, decorating the tree. One year, when I was about 8, I heard the tree crash to the ground on Christmas Eve night, in the middle of the night. I think my parents were just getting ready to go to bed. Somehow, my mom kept us in bed while my dad cleaned up the mess. The trunk was crooked and would stay in the stand, so my dad called my uncle, and they met at a tree lot not far away and “stole” another Christmas Tree at like 4:00 on Christmas morning.
November 28th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Christmas Eve my brother, sister, and I had matching pajamas and would sleep together. That way we could all wake up together for Santa!! Now that we are older we have a “slumber party” at my sisters. All of our kids have matching pajamas!
November 28th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
We had traditions with the tree, cookie baking, mom’s side on Christmas Eve (family gathering plus midnight mass– earlier service when we were younger) with one present and Christmas Day at my dad’s family. And on the 26th, taking everything down.
While in Europe, Kevin and I had our own traditions, but now that we are in different places, I am working on my own with The Boy. We don’t always get to go to family (800 miles in either direction), so we carry on as is.