The Gift of December- The Gift of Traditions

During December, my calendar tends to fill up quickly, and my pocketbook tends to empty more quickly. Our family is busy during the holiday season with all kinds of special activities and events, plus decorating and gift-giving, and often traveling. We enjoy all these things, of course, but in the busy-ness, we realized we were probably doing some of those things "just because" and not taking time to appreciate the meaning behind some of them. Leading up last December, my husband and I started really talking about family traditions that surrounded the holidays, and reflecting on those traditions that we had adopted from our own backgrounds. We decided that the childhood memories that were precious to us we wanted to pass on to our own children, but we hoped also to create something that was unique to our family. We wanted to give our children the gift of traditions.

We decided we wanted to create something that would become our own family tradition for the holidays. But where to start? Our guidelines were that whatever we came up with should be simple, promote togetherness, and make memories. 

Simple - Don't work too hard at layering things with meanings and symbolism. If it's elaborate or expensive, it may become burdensome to continue. There is joy in simple things, especially for children. When we asked our kids about some of the things they most wanted to do during the holidays, or the best memories they had of past holidays, we were surprised at the simplicity of the memories and desires that stood out to them. Doing puzzles or playing games together; baking favorite cookies; or playing in the snow.

Togetherness - The whole idea is to bring the family together, so we looked for activities that we could all enjoy together. That doesn't mean that everything we do is everyone's favorite, but because it holds great meaning for at least one of us, the rest of us will take joy in being a part of it. I'm not very good at doing puzzles, but some of my family members love doing that, so I sit down at the table and do my best to participate, simply because they want me to be there. Food is a great way to bring people together, so preparing special dishes or meals together and then gathering around the table to enjoy the food and the company is a centerpiece of many beloved traditions.

Memories - The funny thing about memories is that you can't always plan them. Sometimes they just happen. But you can pass on your family's stories, and your childhood memories, and start asking kids about their favorite things that they remember from past holidays.

So, what tradition did we create for our family? We borrowed from the old custom of the Twelve Days of Christmas. With input from all the family members, we made a sort of "bucket list" of the things we wanted to enjoy together during the Christmas season. Some items on the list were favorites from years past and so already had some tradition attached to them; some were activities that were specific to that year (such as a party we were attending, or starting to shop for a new vehicle); and all were family-oriented, close to home, and relatively inexpensive. We had a very long list to choose from, and we didn't get to do everything on the list, but we believe that we've begun something that will tie our family heritage and childhood memories to the present and create memories too. Maybe our Days of Christmas List will become a tradition that future generations will enjoy, as they create their own memories.

Traditions are a gift. The gift of family identity and harmony. The gift of being connected to our heritage. The gift of continuing the best of that heritage. The gift of spiritual and family values. The gift of shared memories.

Kym is in the middle of the 18th year of homeschooling her four kids, two of whom have graduated. She and her husband of 28 years are Canadians transplanted to Maryland. Kym loves coffee, history, and homeschooling, and you can join her for coffee break at her blog, Homeschool Coffee Break.

The Gift of December-5 Christmas Traditions to Start With Your Kids

 

 Christmas traditions are important. If you didn't grow up with them, you might not realize it, but they are. Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are those that surround traditions. Every Christmas we decorated the house after Thanksgiving. We went to Christmas Eve service as a family and then went to my grandparents house and my grandfather read the Christmas story. We had an advent calendar and looked forward to it every night of Advent. We watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as a family and had popcorn. We had hot apple cider at my grandmother's house while we unwrapped presents. These are traditions that I look forward to. Some more than others but they were dependable and full of memories and love and, most importantly, family. So if you have not started traditions in your home, then you will want to get going. 

Establishing some traditions and making those memories with their kids is an important part of the holidays. They don't have to be big and detailed traditions. They don't have to be expensive or time consuming, but they do need to be thoughtful and consistent. Establishing traditions is easy. You just find something that you enjoy to do as a family and do it. If you enjoy it, do it again next year. And, voila, a tradition is born! You may even have established a few holiday traditions in your home that you haven't even realized.

Do you get out a calendar on December 1st and count down the days until Christmas? Tradition.
 Do you make cookies with your kids and decorate them and take them to grandma's house? Tradition.
 Do you make a gift for a needy family and take it to them at Christmas? Tradition.
Do you make hot chocolate on Christmas eve and watch a movie or read a story? Tradition.

So think about it? Do you have a family tradition for Christmas? Is there something your kids ask about as they look forward to the holidays? I was actually surprised at some of the traditions we had established as they weren't necessarily intentional but have become one of the favorite parts of Christmas for my kids. So if you haven't gotten a few traditions going for your family, here are some ideas to get you started!



  COUNT DOWN TO CHRISTMAS- I know I have mentioned it several times, but counting down the days until Christmas is a fun tradition for you and the kids. (And, I must admit, allows you to easily answer the incessant questions of 'how many days until Christmas, mom?") You can count down the days in many ways. You can make or buy a fancy calendar or simply mark off the days on a regular calendar. We have tried many different ways. We have had candy for each day (not my favorite because I don't like to encourage candy before bed but they sure loved it!) We have built a Lego Christmas village one piece each night until completed. We have done the paper construction paper chain with a Bible verse on each chain link that is removed each night. We have added an ornament to the tree each day and, this year, we are doing a Jesse Tree. No matter what you choose to do, have fun with it. Do the same each year or do something different each year. Either is establishing a tradition.



READ A BOOK -We read an Advent or Christmas story book each night before bed during December. I get at least one new book every year. And in our house Christmas Eve is a two story night with the Christmas Story from the Bible and The Night Before Christmas book (my 1955 Golden Book edition that was read to me). Making reading a tradition is fun and you can find some great seasonal books at the library if you need more ideas.

SERVE OTHERS- One of the best traditions you can do is serve others in some way. Since the Christmas seasons is about giving, why not give to others. You can do this in any way you choose but making it a tradition will pass on the 'reason for the season' - that it's better to give than receive. You can serve a meal at a shelter. Prepare and deliver a meal to a shut in. Visit a nursing home. Take cookies to a neighbor or sick friend. Send letters to your elderly family. Visit at Veteran's Home and take some Christmas cards. Or just do some random acts of kindness. Anything is helpful and appreciated and teaches your kids that Christmas is more than receiving presents from Santa. Be creative and have fun doing for others.

DECORATE TOGETHER My kids LOVE to decorate. Well, at least my oldest. She enjoys making decorations. So we make it a tradition to decorate together. She makes a new decoration or we make it together and then we spend some time putting it in a fun place and talking about what else we need. Homemade ornaments and construction paper snowmen are great. Keep them, make a scrapbook and then look back over the old decorations. You will be glad you did.










FIND ONE SPECIALTY DISH AND COOK IT TOGETHER A fun thing to do as a family is to find one specialty dish that you will bring or serve to Christmas day and bring to all those other holiday pitch ins and then perfect it, make it your own, and find a job for each person in your family when preparing it. Then the whole family can take part in making the dish together. If everyone takes part in the dish, it makes it that much more special and will become the go-to dish for you throughout the holidays.

There are so many more traditions that you can establish. Don't be afraid to start one but don't try to start 10 just this week. Just pick one or two things and see what your kids like. You may be surprised at what they will enjoy doing together! No matter what you have established as a tradition, know that your kids love it. They will remember it and they will likely try to pass on the joy they found in it on to their family someday. And every time they make those cookies or read that story, they will think of their childhood and the wonderful memories they have of those traditions.
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Tawnee and her husband Chris are a Navy family land-locked in Indiana. They have 4 awesome, crazy, and creative kids. She blogs about life, parents, and the adventures of homeschooling her family at Adventures in Homeschooling. Visit her blog or on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.