Holiday Tradition Ideas

There are thousands of ways you can keep your family close, even in this day of distant jobs and familial diaspora. One of the best is to have family holiday traditions that everyone does. It becomes like a family insider thing, with each member putting a special spin on it, but alike enough that it keeps you all together.

The important part of your holiday tradition isn’t what you decide to do; rather, it’s that you choose something and stick with it year after year. Below are several ideas for traditions you can start in your own family. You can do one or several of them, but whatever you decide to do, don’t change it. Traditions are one of the few unchanging things in our modern lives, and they are what holds us together.

Making your own Christmas ornaments (or Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or Ramadan decorations) can be a truly wonderful family event. Don’t stick with the flimsy pipecleaner-and-cottonball tricks, though. Instead, use your family talents. Do you have a seamstress in your family? Have her make up an ornament for each member in the same shape – bells one year, angels another, etc. – and pass them out. Members can use fabric paints, fabric sparkle, felt, tinsel, or whatever they like to customize their own ornament. You can do this with plain white ball ornaments, or large lightbulbs (using colored markers, which has a neat effect), or anything you would like. Do a different shape each year, but make sure all the decorations go up each year.

One special smell can bring all the memories of every Christmas you’ve ever had rushing back. Make it unique, not something you’d smell in any candle shop, and make it special. For example, use a blend of pumpkin and vanilla, no spice, for a warm mood. Use cinnamon and berry to make everyone hungry. How do you get the scents? Most large department stores carry essential oils today in the potpourri aisle, and you can use these, blended in potpourri or poured over stones, to create your custom scent.