Traditions!!!

Share your traditions!
You can either type your tradition under the comments or email it to ahpianostudio@cableone.net with a picture and I will post it. Thanks! 


General Conference
Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt (contributed by Andrea Hansen):  This is one of those traditions that wasn't planned, but has become a tradition in our home.  After General Conference we order an Ensign of Conference for each of our children.  The first year we did this I didn't just want to hand over their magazines, because I knew that they wouldn't know what to do with them and what was available to them in it.  I had a package of gummy bears in my cupboard so I pulled them out and some little containers for each person.  I told them we were going to have a Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt which immediately got their interest because there was candy involved and it was a treasure hunt (and who doesn't like those).  I showed them that their Ensign had their own names written on the outside of them and it was theirs to keep with their scriptures for the next 6 months because that was the most recent scripture we were given by our living prophets.  

Then I proceeded to tell them that they needed to be able to find the things in their that they had already heard in Conference.  So I had everyone turn to the index in the front of the Ensign and showed them how the talks were listed by Conference Session, Speaker, and Topic.  Then said, "As soon as you can  turn to the first page of the Saturday afternoon session of conference you can have a gummy bear."  As each person got there, each person got a gummy bear.  Those that got there first would help the others that weren't there yet or they would look at what the talk was.  We continued this with other questions like....How many talks were given by Dallin H. Oaks?  How many missionaries are out right now? (This only works after the April Conference when they give the statistics for the previous year) The year that my twin boys were baptized I asked them how many "children of record" were baptized this year?  Then afterwards we told them that they were part of that number.  They loved knowing that they were in the Ensign.  What were the top 3 topics that were talked about?  Can you find the poster of all the prophets and apostles?  Who is the Primary General President?  (this gets them looking for the other pictures for the rest of the general auxiliaries) Who spoke about baptism?  Turn to a talk that was not given by one of the First Presidency or the 12 Apostles.  Lots of different answers for this one.  Turn to the first page of the Priesthood session.  How old do you have to be to attend the Priesthood session of General Conference?  How many more Conferences do you have before you will be able to attend that one?  Find the story about __________  then turn to it?  (this taught them to look up their favorite stories in the story index).  They then had to draw a little picture next to the story so they could find it again if they were flipping through their magazine.  How many new temples were announces?  Who announced them?  Where are they?  How many of those are in the United States?  How many pictures of President Monson are there in this Ensign?  It was not a competition.  Everyone found the answers.  Everyone got the candy. Everyone had a blast!  

Their Conference issues did not look brand new when they were done, but they knew where things were.  It became personal to them and they became "theirs".  Which is exactly what I think needs to be done with the words of the prophets.  It made them much more accessible to them on a level that they could understand.  The next time General Conference rolled around as soon as it was over my kids asked me if they were going to get to do the Gummy Bear Treasure Hunt again when they got their Conference Issues.  It was interesting to me that they said, "when" they got their Ensign, not "if".  They already knew that they were going to get another copy that wasn't the question.  I told them that they would have to wait until the Ensign came out and that would be 2-3 weeks away.  As that time started to draw closer they would rush home from school and check to see if the mail was here so they could get their Ensign.  You would have thought it was Christmas the day they found their Conference Issues in the mail.  :)  We have done this enough times that we have our kids come up with things for us to find now.  It's pretty interesting how tricky they try to make them.  

(By Shawna)
Years ago my oldest children dreaded Conference weekend. I wanted to help them feel excited about it and, after reading a similar idea in the Ensign, we began a new tradition. When Conference weekend rolls around I let each child choose one favorite food that we can fix to enjoy while watching Conference. The kids loved it and have looked forward to General Conference ever since. My children even say, "Mom, we have to have .... because it is a tradition." My youngest (9 years old) began making her "Conference food list" a week in advance this year.

(By Andrea Hansen)
We roast hotdogs and marshmallows in our fire pit between Saturday sessions of Conference.   It is the first fire in the spring and the last fire in the fall.  We also have waffles on Saturday morning before Conference.  It's something my family looks forward to every year.

CHRISTMAS
ELF ON A SHELF!
This is basically just like Carleen's cute elf she has that watches the kids to see if they are being "naughty or nice".  Our elf's name is Buddy (you get to name your own) and he is a silly little guy that likes to make us laugh. Every night, once all the house is sleeping, he comes alive with Christmas Magic and fly's to the North Pole to give report to Santa on how our family is behaving. Then he fly's back to our house and finds a new place to sit and watch. But he usually does something silly to make us happy...because he's a funny little guy.  One big rule though, we can't touch him because it takes away his Christmas Magic and then it's hard for him to fly back and forth.  The only time we can touch him is on Christmas Eve. We can give him one big hug and tell him thank you, I love you, whatever you want. Then he will fly back home till next Christmas.

This has been an absolute JOY in our family. My hubby and I have lots of fun creating new things for silly ole' Buddy to do. Every night my phone will alarm at 9:30 - "Move Buddy!" it says. I added a few pictures of him. We add these pics into their scrapbooks every year so they can look at what their silly little Buddy did that Christmas.
- Zan Taylor
"Don't trade what you want most, for what you want right now."

12 Nights of Christmas 

(by Carissa Hansen)

A couple years ago we started the "12 Nights of Christmas".  We put together a binder with a scripture, Christmas story and Christmas carol for each night.  So every evening (staring 12 days before Christmas Eve) we pull out the binder and have a mini devotional each night.  Helps to keep the focus on what is really important during Christmas time. 

 

(By Anonymous)

At christmas time we do something fun every year where I pick a day to wrap all the presents. I lock myself in a room, and when a present is wrapped I put it outside thr door and ring a bell. Then all the kids come running, and whoevers name is on the present, they get to carry it and put it under the tree. My kids love the anticipation and it really kicks off the season.

(By Cristi Dame)

We like to cut down our own Christmas tree. It has always been a dream of mine to do this and now that we started doing it- I just love it! It's so fun to spend the day in the woods looking for that perfect tree to take home with us! Then we stop for hot chocolate and a bite to eat on the way home. Here are some more photos of our last year experience right here. 

 

(By Lisa Harrison)

Our children always have a slumber party together downstairs in the family room on Christmas Eve after our family "Nativity play".  On Christmas morning, they line up, in youngest- to- oldest order and come up stairs to open their stockings and presents.  We give the presents out one by one.  Each person finishes opening their present before the next person starts.  This helps prevent the frenzied free-for-all that you usually see in the movies! 

Christmas Eve

(by Becky Tilton)

My five siblings and I would always build a blanket fort on Christmas Eve to sleep in.  We sometimes had to get creative to fit all six of us in there ... and we probably could have gotten more sleep in our beds.  I think that my parents were glad to have us all contained in one area though so they could work their magic.  Great times, pictures, memories.  

Amber said...
For our Christmas Eve dinner when I was growing up, my parents always ordered pizza and cheesy bread from our favorite pizza place; the expensive one we only got to eat at on special occasions. It was quick and easy for them after a busy day of visiting relatives and mom inevitably needing to go buy just a few more things, and so on. As kids, we loved it! What better meal for a kid on Christmas Eve than one they don't have to pick the things they don't like out of?

After dinner we read the Christmas story from the scriptures and got new pajamas and talked about the true meaning of Christmas. My friends all seemed to have fancy dinners and parties to go to on Christmas Eve but I looked forward every year to the pizza party we had at our own home. As we've gotten older, my parents have tried to go all turkey and mashed potatoes on us, but every year to this day we resist and tell them to save it for Christmas Day. Pizza it is!

(By Suzanne Taylor)
Along with opening some cute matching jim-jammers, our kids open up their own personal photo book. Each child gets a digital scrapbook that I make via the website: shutterfly.com. The books can be made in an evening or over the course of the year, depending on how artsy-fartsy you wanna get. There is an option to just "auto-fill" a pre-made book which means you could have a book done in an evening! Anywho, we all sit on the couch in our cute jammies and ooo, ahh, giggle, and remember the events of that past year. It TRULY brings a strong spirit in our home. MY FAVORITE gift! They L.O.V.E. their books. If they are fighting...I can have them grab a book and look at it together and in minutes I will hear them giggling together. My 6 year old said the other day that sometimes she feels like crying she is just so happy when she looks at her "special books". I will ALWAYS make time in my life to make these books. I KNOW they are GOLD in my children's lives. IF you want to chat or need help getting started I am happy to help. Seriously EASY!!! Zan: 921-7035 

Digital Scrapbook Website....  http://www.shutterfly.com/

Winter

(by Andrea Hansen)

Another tradition that our family has is cutting and hanging snowflakes.  My parents grew up in Eastern Idaho with lots of snow.  When they were married they moved to San Diego and didn't have snow there so they made their own.  One year when I was about 3 years old my Dad was cutting snowflakes and he cut one that looked like Oscar the Grouch off Sesame Street.  Each year right after Thanksgiving dinner we pull out our snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling.  After all of them are hung except for Oscar everyone leaves the room, but Dad and he hangs Oscar.  It is a race to see who can find Oscar in the 200+ snowflakes that are hung at my parents home each year.  

We began dating the snowflakes and putting our initials on them.  Several years after I was married Oscar was looking really sad.  He was so worn out and tattered, but so well loved.  My Mom carefully folded him up and traced him on another piece of paper and cut a new one.  It doesn't look the same, but it is close.  She gave me the original, but I wanted to share that with my brothers.  So I made a plaque and color copied "Oscar" and put them in frames one year so that we each have an "Oscar" at our house.  

We share this snowflake tradition with everyone who visits our home.  My husband and I have been married almost 20 years and have over 175 snowflakes we hang each year.  I have been cutting snowflakes since I was big enough to hold scissors.  It has become a new tradition for someone to "challenge" me each year to cut something hard.  One year I cut my kids' names in snowflakes.  One year I cut violins.  My kids all have their favorites in our own collection that they have to show off as well as their own creations, but they never miss the opportunity to find "Oscar" at Grandma & Grandpa's house.  

 

THANKSGIVING:

(By Jennifer Hall)

I don't know how this tradition got started, but as long as I can remember we've done this every year. On Thanksgiving when we set the table we place 3 popcorn kernals on each plate setting. After we bless the food and before we start eating, we go around the table and say 3 things we are thankful for that year. Most of the time some of us say a few extra, but no one cares. When we're through, you can really feel the spirit and love we have for one another. It really makes you count your blessings and be grateful for the things you have!!

(By Andrea Hansen)

We have a very "non-traditional" Thanksgiving.  Each member of our family gets to choose their favorite foods and that's what we have.  We usually end up with something like this....Homemade macaroni & cheese, watermelon, Homemade pizza, green salad bar with every topping you can imagine, whipped potatoes, baked sweet & sour chicken, deviled eggs, all kinds of jello salads, and huge array of pies.  Whenever we have extended family attend we 'warn' them that we don't do "traditional" and if they want turkey and potatoes then that needs to be their 'favorite' dish to bring with them.  So far no one has ever brought turkey and potatoes.  The left overs are great too!  We put everything on the counter buffet style, fill our dishes, and eat until there is no more room.  :) 

(By Angie Davis)

I came to the site to maybe get a few ideas for a new tradition or to upgrade an old one but there are not as many posts/comments that I thought there would be! So I feel the need to share although I feel a lot of our traditions are the same as most everyone else...

I love Thanksgiving and I feel more than ever, that this particular holiday is so easily overlooked, but in my home it's a big deal! We don't have a very large home but what we have we SHARE. Not only with all our extended family but I am always looking for Elders or a single someone who may be lonely to share our harvest with on Thanksgiving. After we have sufficiently stuffed ourselves, we all clear our plates and get to write on the table cloth! We each write a specific/significant something we are especially thankful for in that year and sign it. Some write a few words, some write a whole story while others doodle or draw it out. When my kids were younger, they traced their hands and made turkeys, etc.

Every year it is so much fun to pull out the Thanksgiving table cloths and read everyone's comments and remember who we had from years past as guests. The first year I did this I got the idea at the last moment and was scrambling to try and find a "pretty" table cloth but I ended up with a very ugly one and it was a horrid color! The next year I was better prepared and purchased one early that I really liked, but it didn't seem to matter because when it came time to set the table the kids begged for the one from the year before so they could see all the writings from the previous year! This has been a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition for our family!
   

(By Andrea Hansen)

We have Poptarts in the morning while watching the Thanksgiving Day parades.  

NEW YEAR'S EVE

(By Justjan Godfrey) 

For New Year's Eve we blew up 12 balloons and put a note inside with an activity. You number the balloons and tape them to the wall. Each hour a child would pop the balloon and we would do the activity. (I put the ideas inside the balloon so the kids didn't know what to expect. Like: visit neighbors, call grandparents, play games, watch old family videos, exercise, set news year's goal) We did a variety of things from serious to silly. The activity didn't have to the last the whole hour but everyone came together for the next hour. It was twelve hours of undivided attention to the family. It was awesome. They can't wait to do it again.

(By Shawna)

For New Years Eve, we have always focused on family time. As parents we have always enjoyed staying home and spending time with our children on this night instead of going out together. Some years we have taken the family to a movie, etc., but most years we either stay at home and have a movie marathon, play games together, etc. The key is that, for our family, our children know that we want to spend the Holiday together. The teenagers have the option to attend a party or dance with their friends once they become 16. Some years they have chosen to go out, but other years they have chosen to stay at home with the family and celebrate. I believe that traditions don't always have to be complicated to be important to our families because some of the simplest are the most cherished by my children.

Goal Party

(By Dana Biberston)

I love to set goals, but when I tried to encourage my family to set goals it sounded like work. So, I decided to make it a fun event and maybe they could get what they wanted (have fun) and I could get what I wanted (set goals to work towards). On New Year's Eve, I make a special meal, we set goals individually as well as what we want to do as a family and then acknowledge the ending year's accomplishments. I present each member of the family with a special certificate of sorts that lists their accomplishments for that year and a little picture that seemed to reflect them or their interests (a motorcycle, etc.). Then when I present the certificates, I read the accomplishments while they try to guess who's certificate I was reading. Then the special person comes to the front of the table or room, I gave them a little gift (candy bar, or water bottle,or something small) and we cheer "You are wonderful!". I put those 1 page certificate in a sheet protector and into their goal book that we can use to set goals during PPIs. It has been several years and I love reading over them and seeing their accomplishments like "potty trained", "learned to swim WITH floaties on", "made the team", etc. By recognizing their accomplishments, they can see what milestones they have reached and it helps them to want to set new goals for the upcoming year.

I have changed the format of the certificate a little bit every year. I now include at least 4 things: 1. a picture of them from that last year 2. A list of their accomplishments as an individual 3. A list of things we did, experienced, or accomplished as a family (trips, service, fun activities, memorable moments, etc.) and 4. A small text box that has a very brief snapshot view of what life was like that year: where we were living (our address), then for each family member I list their name, age, year in school and at what school, that year's interests or involvements. It is not grand, but just a simple snapshot of the year in a few words for each individual family member. (This year I will add a 5th which is a family photo.) I then put this paper (which has grown to be a 2 sided document) in a sheet protector and into their notebook for them to review over the years. There are a lot of great things about this party. It allows us to: recognize the strengths and growth of each family member, acknowledge the Lord's hand in our lives as we have been blessed or worked through different challenges, see the blessing of setting and working towards goals, and document and keep up with our family history. I save all these files on my computer by year so I have extra records of them which comes in handy when trying to remember what year certain things happened. It has become so fun that now we have a New Year's Eve party (having a special Cajon Boil meal, setting goals together and enjoying being together) and a New Year's Day party (having a special Chinese meal and acknowledging and celebrating our accomplishments together).

BACK TO SCHOOL

The Gwilliams said...
My husband is a teacher and at the time I started this tradition, I didn't have any kids in school. I wanted to make "back to school" fun and special for him, so i started "The 12 days before school." I did some little service or bought him something and then I included a note. A few of the things I did was I shined his shoes, dry cleaned all his suits, cleaned his car (he really liked that one!), bought him gum, bought him a new tie, etc. I loved thinking of ideas and he loved wondering what was going to happen next and told me he felt really loved. Now he can't wait for back to school time!

(By  Andrea Hansen)
My husband gives every member of the family (school-age or not) a father's blessing the Sunday night before school starts.

BIRTHDAYS
 For each persons birthday in our family I hold a special family home evening prior to there birthday and we wrap up the child and then we open them up and talk about how they were a gift from heaven to us and we all talk about how special the child is and things we like about them. The kids and daddy love getting in a big box wraped up or if you don't have a box just wrap them in wrapping paper! Then we look at there baby books or watch them when they were a baby on home video's. Also on there birthday we decorate and pull out there main photo that displayed for the years, (age1, age 2 and so on) They love to see how much they have changed. Friends also think its cool to see when they come over for a party.

(By Suzanne Mickelsen)
just started this year ~ just a few weeks ago actually!! Inspired by THIS blog (see http://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?p=1358), I decided instead of anyone spending money on me for my birthday... I decided to do a Random Act of Kindness (RAOK). We went out to my favorite restaurant for a nice dinner on the night of my birthday (hence, another family tradition). While there having dinner, we secretly spied on another couple with their newborn baby having dinner nearby us. We decided to pay for their dinner ANONYMOUSLY. 

Unfortunately for my husband and I, we were not facing them so we couldn't really see their reaction when the waiter talked to them about it (we didn't want to act suspiciously of course). But the kids were trying to contain their enthusiasm (hard for them to do), watching them randomly (trying not to act suspicious either) and giving us the "play by play" actions (i.e., "They're looking around here, don't look!") Haha! It was absolutely PRICELESS just watching the kids participation! It was the BEST birthday gift EVER!!!! This will be our new tradition and I will also request to everyone I know for that same "gift" on my birthday every year (to perform a RAOK). 

 The RAOK does NOT have to be expensive or even cost ANYTHING!! It can be as simple as opening a door for someone, a big smile to someone who's sad, or helping someone load their groceries in their car! Anything to help another works just fine! =) Take a little time to read this lady's blog and see the pictures ~ it is MORE than INSPIRING ~ it will also give you lots of ideas of Random Acts of Kindness! LOVE THIS!!! =) 

(By Angie Davis)
Another tradition we have is to not only make birthday dinners special by having everything the birthday girl/boy want on the menu but to have it in candle light! We also have Christmas Eve dinner this way. It makes it VERY special and the kids LOVE it!  

SUNDAY JOURNAL
Another tradition I do is I have a journal for each child that I try to write in weekly on Sunday about things that happened that week with the child or just feelings of love I have for them. I pull them out occasionally and read to them a passage or two. They love it and it's amazing the things you forget over the years but it reminds me like it was just yesterday!! Love Traditions! 

FALL

Fall is one of our favorite times of the year as the holidays all begin one after another. we watch Disney's Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane, & Charlie Brown on the projector outside with a bonfire & I make scones with honey butter. its been just our little family but we've started inviting friends & family.

SCRIPTURE POWER

Another daily ritual or tradition is that I read The Book of Mormon to the kids at the kitchen table while we eat breakfast. on days/morning that we forget & things get crazy, i point out to the kids that we haven't received our scripture power & how that helps us be happy & choose to get along. there have been days where my oldest who is almost 6 reminds we that we haven't had our 'scripture power' yet

Meet & Greet

(By Bryn)

"Meet and Great" When my husband leaves for work we walk him out. My 2 year old son, likes to wave Bye Bye and blow him kisses. He wants to watch till his truck is out of site. We also do this when his Nana comes for a visit. I didn't know how important it was to him till one night I told him it was to late, he had a melt down until we did the walk out. I understand now it had become a tradition to him, and very important.

Morning Routine
A morning routine we have revolves around scriptures and hymns. Years ago I added hymns to our a.m. routine. We begin by singing a hymn together. We sing the same hymn for the entire week. My kids know many of the hymns by heart now because of this tradition. Every person in the family has an assigned day to pray and begin the scripture readings. Following scriptures, we say the Pledge of Allegiance. On Mondays we conclude by singing the National Anthem as well. We feel great unity in our family through this tradition.

Traveling

(By Keri Motley)

As a family we travel to the Oregon Coast at the end of every summer and go crabbing. We have gone for 4 years now. The kids look forward to it every year. We had no idea that the first time we went that we would be back every year after. It is a family tradition now and I know my children will always remember our trips to the Oregon Coast to go crabbing.

On Vacation
(by Cristi Dame)
Find a person to serve while we are on Vacation. This is something I did while growing up. My mom is from El Salvador and my dad served his mission in Mexico so we would visit those places often and always pack a suitcase for ourselves and then pack one for someone else in need even if we didn't know who that person was. We would pray about it and I can't tell you how many times the things we packed were exactly what someone was needing on the other side of the world. My husband and I adopted this tradition and even have shared a book of mormon to a man we became friends with selling jewelry that is shown in the photo. Sometimes the simple acts of service become what we remember most of the vacations.

St. Patrick's Day

(Wyne Family)

The night before St. Patty's day my kids decorate a box of some sort.  (We usually use a shoe box)  My kids then leave the box in the moonlight so that the Lucky Leprechaun can fill it with his treasures.  The kids go to bed in anticipation!  In the morning they find a trail of green clues to find the box filled with treasures.  One year I strung green yarn all over my house... Literally.  My house sort of looked like a green spider web.  It was awesome!!!  The kids had to follow their own string throughout the house to find their bag of goodies.  Previously I purchased trinkets that were green like cups or necklaces.  I always put in a new shirt they get to wear that day so they don't get pinched.  That year my kids had so much fun they asked if we could do it for their friends who were coming over that day.  It was pretty great.  I think I enjoy it as much as my kids.

(By Sheri)
For St Patrick's day, the silly Lepracaun turns our milk green, brings a box of Lucky Charms cereal and makes a mess of the chairs and opens all the cupboards and puts things where they don't go.  

Easter:

(Wyne Family)

This is one our family LOVES!  If church starts at 9:00 we will do this the night before, otherwise we do it Easter morning.  We pick out a few families beforehand and then get a ton of plastic Easter eggs.  We fill them with treats/candy and in addition we put little notes that are specific to each family.  In the notes we tell them why we love them.  After we've had smiles talking about how much we love each family we take those eggs and... "EGG" their houses.  We throw the eggs all over their lawn and leave a note on their door that says, "You've been EGGED".  It's fun for my kids to think about others qualities and be sneaky on Easter.  This year we were unable to do this tradition and my kids really missed it.  I would recommend this to anyone!  Happy Egging!

(By Sheri)
For Easter the silly Easter Bunny hides the Easter baskets and the kids have a piece of yarn that comes from their door all over the house. They follow their string to find their basket.

(By Lisa Harrison)

Each Easter, we invite a few families over for a huge Easter Egg hunt.  Each family brings about 12 filled eggs for each child in their family and either an appetizer or dessert to share.  We mix all the eggs up and then the Dad's go hide the eggs while the mom's talk and keep the children busy in the front yard playing games like red light/ green light.  Then we  line up the children on the stairs, youngest to oldest, take a few photos and give the youngest ones a head start of about 45 seconds before we release everyone else.  It is so much fun to watch!  Then we all eat the food that everyone brought!

Service:

(By Anonymous)
Once a month for FHE we make it a service night. We go serve in the community or in our ward. We have gone to the Ronald McDonald House to cook dinner, made blankets for foster children, gone to a retirement home to visit the people there, raked leaves for elderly people in the ward, planted flowers for widowed sisters in the ward dropped off treats and notes to Primary/Sunday school teachers etc. I always love it when the kids come up with a new idea of who to serve. It makes me realize they have learned to really enjoy service!!

4th of July
(By Shawna)
Our 4th of July tradition - We hold a big breakfast on our driveway each year and invite neighbors and friends to come eat and visit, as patriotic music plays in the background. Then we load in the cars and attend the 4th of July parade in our community. My oldest daughter was so sad the year she was away at college and could not be home for the breakfast. She and her husband now choose to arrive at our home at 6 a.m. on the 4th so they can participate.

Halloween
(By Shawna)
Our unusual Halloween tradition - A few years ago my husband was thumbing through channels on the TV after trick-or-treating. He came across the BYU channel which was showing a silent movie - The General with Buster Keaton. We all loved it, even our youngest who was 6 years old at the time! We purchased the DVD and now each Halloween night, after trick-or-treating, we have fun watching The General together. It is unusual, but it wouldn't seem like Halloween without it.
(By Cristi Dame)
We love to go spend an afternoon in October at the pumpkin patch and take home our pumpkins and carve them while sipping on hot cider. We also have a spooky halloween dinner every year before we go out on Halloween. 

Sunday
(By Andrea Hansen)
We have "raid the pantry" for dinner.  We get to put together platters of finger foods (cheese, olives, crackers, pretzels, carrots, cucumbers, apples, oranges, anything) and eat in the family room while we watch a movie as a family.  This is a real treat because food is only allowed in the kitchen/dining room and never anywhere else in the house.

Making Cookies
(By Anonymous)

We have a tradition where every holiday we make roll out sugar cookies and decorate them and take them to friends and neighbors. I like to do even the smaller holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo etc. it just gets everybody in a festive mood. 

Daily Tradition

(By Jen Waite)
A daily tradition of ours is that I spend a little (or a lot) of time reading stories to my girls in their rooms & visiting with them if they have stuff they want to talk about. They always ask about what we are doing the next day. Sometimes it is the only time of day when we get to spend quality happy time together; especially those days when I have been grouchy & stressed. We all treasure that time together & the girls have a really hard time when I don't do it. My husband has started doing it with them too when I am gone for the evening. 

Valentines Day

(By Cristi Dame)

Who really has time for Christmas cards at the end of the year? So, each year we send a Valentine with a funny family photo and an entertaining letter to our friends and family. Instead of feeling like a chore- we actually look forward to them each year. On Valentines we have a heart shaped Pizza and heart shaped plates and there are valentines on everyone's table setting. More photos of last year's Valentine's dinner here.

Weekly Traditions

(By Cristi Dame)

I love pizza so much that we have a tradition to make pizza each Friday! My two year old son helps with making the dough and putting the toppings on! It's amazing how many ways there are to make pizza! We both love the process and moments spent together getting the pizza ready and watching it cook in the oven. Plus the next day we can eat left overs for lunch! Yum Yum