When we think of traditions, we think of something passed down from generation to generation. Or a specific something that we do yearly and look forward to doing. For example, it could be as simple as decorating a gingerbread house every Christmas holiday with the kids, taking a yearly family photo, or bringing in the New Year together.
Our lives have become highly fast-paced today, and with that, we need to find the time and ways to connect with our family on a daily basis. Family traditions do just that and a lot more. These traditions bring family members closer together and create unique bonds that last for a lifetime.
So here’s helping you create your very own family tradition and some reasons why you should do it.
Reasons to Create a Family Tradition
As a parent, you may be looking forward to developing a family tradition. Still, if you look back at your own childhood, you’ll realize that you, too, grew up with some traditions, which helped you in many ways.
- These traditions get all the family members involved and help them all develop a secure connection with each other. It brings them closer together.
- They also give each of these members a sense of identity and importance.
- Traditions also help reinforce family values and rituals. For example, having the family tradition of reading a story to the kids before bedtime is not just a great way to connect with the kids, but it also instills the importance and love for reading.
- They help bring comfort and a feeling of security within the family members- in the demanding life today, it is easy to feel strained and stressed, and these traditions help us feel relaxed and grounded.
- They create wonderful memories- and this one’s probably the most beautiful reason for starting with a family tradition.
Ways to Create a Family Tradition
If you’re considering starting with a family tradition, here are a few things you need to keep in mind.
- Sneak in small traditions in everyday life- start small- it still matters. You can maybe begin a ritual where you have your kids pray before bedtime or complete your kid’s projects after dinner for 30 minutes or so – just a little something to connect with your little ones.
- Make an annual visit to someplace important- it can be visiting a family that you connect with, or taking a trip to a museum, or even just a short hike. Every year give one family member a chance to weigh in over where you all could go.
- Create holiday traditions by assigning tasks to each family member. For example, you can have one kid decorate the tree every Christmas while the other kid decorates the rest of the room.
- Encourage traditions that connect you to your past- like visiting the graves of relatives who have passed away every once in a while, visiting the grandparents, etc.
- Last but not least, don’t forget to make the traditions enjoyable- have a pizza night once every month or a movie night once every two weeks. Make things fun.
Traditions don’t have to cost tons of money, and it’s the memory associated with it that means so much. So get started on your own family traditions now.
