Creating Holiday Traditions Your Family REALLY Loves

Today we’re taking a look at the holiday traditions we’re making with our families.  We want to create holiday traditions our family really loves.

Whether bad or good, the holidays traditions of our childhood usually hold a wealth of memories. We might draw on these to create our own family’s traditions or we might decide it’s time to discard traditions that no longer fit.  I said it yesterday, but it bears repeating:

Just because you’ve always done something, or you think somebody expects you to do something, does not mean you have to do it.

As you think about what traditions you’d like to keep and which ones you’d like to change, here are some ideas to keep in mind:

Creating Holiday Traditions

Think about what your family likes already. Do you love making puzzles together? Taking drives? Playing games?  How can you take those things you already *do well* together as a family and add a holiday flair?

Use creativity.  Your holiday traditions don’t have to look like any other family’s.  Also, you can take traditions you already have and tweak them to make them work better.

Think about the feeling you want to create.  Are you hoping for a sense of wonder?  A connection with your religious beliefs? Or maybe just happy connections with the people you love – if you know what feeling you’re going for, you can focus on that.

Figure out the outline, not the details. Especially when you are trying something new, it helps not to be TOO attached to how it will go.  Think about the main parts of your new tradition and then let it unfold.

Take into account ages and stages. Naturally some things will just work better as your kids get older, and some traditions need to change to accommodate aging family members

Make it simple.

Know when to let go. (Isn’t that the lesson we’re trying to learn in this life time?) But as it applies to holiday traditions- our families change and grow, it’s ok to enjoy the memories you’ve created and move on to new ways of celebrating when the old ways no loner fit.

Take a risk.  Try something new and keep your sense of humor at the ready.  If something doesn’t work you can laugh about it this year and you don’t have to bring it back next year.

Be gentle. You don’t have to change everything (or anything!) all at once.

Whatever you do, I hope you find holiday traditions for your family that nourish you and bring you closer, best wishes.