Holiday Traditions For Your Abbotsford, WI Family

Start Some Fun New Family Traditions!

by Nava Atlas

Holiday traditions are cherished because they give families a sense of continuity and predictability. But if your family's traditions are becoming too predictable, or if family circumstances have changed, you might consider starting some new traditions to keep connections fresh and fun. During the upcoming holidays, there will be 54.6 million K-12 kids and 16.7 million college kids home on school break. It's a perfect time to introduce new activities that create lasting memories and bring family members together in meaningful ways.

Cook together. Rediscover your roots with old family recipes and traditional seasonings and ingredients. Honor a family member who is departed by making his or her favorite holiday dish. Designate one treat or dish that you only make together during the holidays, so that everyone looks forward to it from one year to the other. Or have a bread- or cookie-baking day and deliver goodies to friends and neighbors.

Read together. In front of the fire with hot chocolate, read aloud as a family. Revisit classics the kids loved when they were young; or discover folk tales, myths, and legends together for the first time. There is almost always a movie released around the holidays based on a classic. This year it's The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Read the book together, then go see the movie. Discuss which everyone liked best, and what the differences are between the film's interpretation and the original story.

Start a family letter basket. Have each member of the family write a letter to every other family member. They can be simple notes, or, to make it more fun for the kids, let them embellish their letters with stickers, drawings, and memorabilia. On Christmas or Hanukah, read the letters our loud. These will become the most cherished gifts of all.

Have a themed holiday celebration. Even wonder how Asians celebrate the New Year, or how Europeans enjoy Christmas? Is your Abbotsford, WI family curious about Kwanzaa? Learning about the rituals, foods, and decorations from other countries makes holidays fresh every year. There's lots of information on the internet about cultural celebrations all over the world. Let your kids choose a culture that they are intrigued by and they'll have a blast doing the research.

Connect with neighbors: Organize a neighborhood holiday open house one afternoon during the holiday season. It's a fun way to view winter holiday decor and share hot chocolate and cookies (or wine and appetizers), kicking off the holiday season before everyone gets busy with family gatherings and travel.

Create a time capsule together. During that lull between the winter holidays and New Year's Day when the kids (and guests) might still be around, create a time capsule for the year just gone by. It takes but a few fun-filled hours and creates a concrete link to your family's history and the culture at large. Collect the front section of the daily newspaper; a weekly newsmagazine; extra or duplicate family photos from the past year; ephemera about the past year's popular books and movies; maps and brochures from family trips from the past year; memorabilia about home, garden, and companion animals; and photocopies of awards, report cards, or other records of events. Place all in a sturdy plastic container, and label "Do not open until . . ." (whatever date is mutually agreed upon). In future years, the fun of creating new time capsules will be second only to opening up those from the past.

Volunteer together. One day during the holiday season, gather everyone to deliver food to the elderly; gather supplies for the local animal shelter; make gifts for hospitalized people; collect enough loose change from all family members to sponsor a child overseas (that's all it takes!); visit www.doinggoodtogether.org for lots of ideas on how families can have fun while volunteering together.

Give gifts of quality time. Give IOUs to family members, such as making a delicious brunch or a favorite dinner for the person who cooks the most in your family (usually mom), babysitting for your sister's kids so she and her husband can go out; have your child promise a one-on-one sleepover for a cousin, or your teen offer to take a grandparent out to the movies. A gift of time can be so much more meaningful than yet another tie or pair of gloves. Similarly, you can make an attractive document announcing that you have made a donation to a family member's favorite charity, in their name.

Have an annual giveaway. Just before the holidays, gather your kids and have everyone take stock of all of the "stuff" they have. Knowing that even more stuff will be forthcoming, have everyone fill a box or two of good quality toys, books, and clothing that are no longer needed and deliver these items to Abbotsford, WI toy drives, women's shelters, literacy agencies and social service agencies.