Starting Family Traditions

If you are a parent of young kids now is a good time to start family traditions with them. Starting traditions when your kids are young is great because they will soon associate those activities with the holidays and they’ll look forward to them every year. You could try to think of stuff that you enjoyed as a child or you can come up with new ideas, things just for you and your family.

A great tradition is making the holiday decorating a family a family affair. From young to old, get everyone involved – the kids will love it! A cheap idea that I do is have the kids make their own ornaments, I just buy the plain glass ornaments and have them decorate and put the year on them. This makes the kids happy because they are helping to decorate the house and you can use them over and over every year as a keepsake.

Writing letters to Santa is always a great project to include, it’s simple to do and it gives you a chance to see what the kids really want for Christmas. The kids always feel proud that they wrote to Santa himself. I love seeing the look on their face when they get their letter from Santa – they get so excited.

Another idea is to bake cookies or brownies - something the kids can get involved with. You could even give baked goods as gifts; the kids would feel real special. Santa always likes cookies and milk on Christmas Eve so be sure to make some and leave them out for him as another tradition.

Another good tradition to do with the kids is have them make homemade holiday cards to give to the family. You can give them to your closest friends and family for the holidays. The kids will have fun decorating the cards and passing them out to family members and friends.

Whatever traditions you start or continue this year with your family, remember that Christmas is about giving and not receiving. It is not about the present you might get, it is about being with your family and friends that you love the most. Christmas traditions help to instill a sense of family strength as the family members come together to enjoy a loved event or activity. This provides an insight into our past, as we can see what our parents or grandparents may have done or what was important to them during the holidays.

As the years and generations go by, each family adds their own twist and touch and the tradition continues. Be sure to enjoy some of those great family traditions with your children this year so they can pass them on to their children when they get older. And do what you can to keep your kids believing in Santa for as long as possible because after all, Santa Claus keeps the magic alive!