Traditions make the holidays that much more magical and memorable, and there are dozens and dozens of them to choose from. Today, in partnership with Responsibility.org #TalkEarly we’re sharing our Say Yes team’s favorite traditions…
Our Favorite Holiday Traditions
There’s no question about it, we all love holiday traditions. And not surprisingly, there’s a strong connection between family traditions, happiness, and positive family relationships. When you think back on your childhood, what positive memories do you remember? I bet a lot have to do with traditions, mine certainly do!
Traditions are great quality family time, and give us great opportunities to have real conversations with our children about responsible decision making, and good choices. It also gives us the opportunity to model those as well, especially around holiday alcohol consumption. Some of the great topics we’ve shared this year in partnership with Responsibility.org’s #TalkEarly campaign are : a simple game to get kids talking, rethinking quality family time, and talking to your kids about friendships. I’ve learned so much this year working with them!
So, we know we want to create traditions with out families, but the real question is: Do you keep the nostalgic holiday traditions from your childhood or start your own? And with a partner, which traditions do you keep from which families?
Jared and I have gone back on forth on traditions. At first we held onto a lot from each of our childhoods, but have slowly trimmed it down to ones we both really love, and added a few more as well. Making our own family traditions, and spending Christmas just with our family=some serious adulting.
I liked this article about how abandoning obligatory family traditions made the writer love the holidays again. Do you feel obligated to carry on traditions?
Today, our Say Yes team members are sharing our favorite holiday traditions. Some from their childhoods, and some new. Here’s one of mine to start:
Making Paper Snowflakes. Growing up, I loved any kind of craft activity (and Edie is following suit). My favorite holiday craft was paper snowflakes. They’re really easy to make and everyone in the family can help. Some fold and cut, others unwrap to reveal the design, and others can tape up on the window. Growing up in New York, I loved making these on snow days throughout the winter and would fill up the windows in our kitchen and my bedroom.
A couple tips: Start cutting your paper into a square shape. Fold four times keeping the same mid point. Trim off the excess to make a clean triangle shape. Then, no rules on what designs to make. Small cuts, triangles, anything! Just don’t cut through all the way. Lastly, yummy holidays snacks while you work together are not optional! –Liz
Baking Party. Every year, a friend of ours organizes a big baking party. The kids really look forward to it and there is nothing quite cuter than a bunch of kids covered in icing, decorating Christmas cookies. We love to hop in our car, blast some holiday tunes and check out the bright lit houses in our neighborhood on the way. – Gaby
Placing Stockings. Growing up, every Christmas Eve we had the tradition of “placing our socks”. Everyone takes turns putting their stocking somewhere in the room so Santa can fill it. There were always fights over who got the coveted spot, but in the morning when Santa had come all of that was forgotten. It’s a small tradition that I love and have carried it on with my own girls. – Ashley
Cinnamon Rolls to the Fire Station. A few years ago, we started delivering cinnamon rolls to our local fire station on Christmas Eve. It started one year when we made homemade cinnamon rolls and the recipe resulted in seven pans full of rolls, far too much for us to consume. We gave some pans away to friends and had a few leftover so we decided to drop them off to the fire fighters to thank them for working on the holiday. It was so much fun that we now do it every Christmas Eve. – Michelle
Tió de Nadal. In the Catalonia province of Spain where I’m from, there’s a Christmas character called ‘Tió de Nadal’ (the Christmas log) or he’s sometimes known as ‘Caga tio’ (the pooping log!). It’s a small hollowed out log propped up on two legs with a smiling face painted on one end. From the 8th December (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) Catalan families give the log a few morsels of food to ‘eat’ and a blanket to keep it warm. On Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the log then ‘gives out’ small gifts! People sing a special song and hit the log with sticks to help its ‘digestion’ and the log drops sweets, nuts, and dried fruits. When garlic or an onion falls out of the log, all of the treats are finished for the year. – Marta
Christmas Lights Drive. This time of year we love to pile into the car one evening and checkout all of the Christmas lights around the city. Some neighborhoods in San Francisco go all out! We usually pick up hot chocolates on the way and listen to Christmas music. It always gets us in the Christmas spirit. –Sarah
My work with Responsibility.org and #TalkEarly this past year has been such a rewarding partnership, and so educational for me as a parent. I hope you’ve enjoyed the content as well. Thank you for always supporting Say Yes brand partners!
Our traditions are like a warm blanket that makes us feel safe, protected from modern life, from stress and negativity. However, we must try to bring tranquility in everyday life to feel good, few occasions are not enough. We keep our minds open to welcoming the experiences, methods and traditions of others. I have changed my lifestyle thanks to what you will see below. I recommend it to everyone! – https://bit.ly/2MoA3JF
Goodbye!
Christmas light drives have been one of our favorite family activities to do after dinner and before bedtime the last few weeks!
Paige
http://thehappyflammil.com
May I ask where you got your wooden reindeer?
Your holiday traditions are so fun! I wish I even had one of these growing up!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com