As Christmas is drawing closer, I find myself remembering all the family traditions my parents established long ago. Even now, as a married young adult, I still look forward to my family’s annual Christmas-Eve Family Program with childlike excitement. I have reflected lately on what it was my parents did to instill in me the innate desire to participate in our family traditions; whether it was over the holidays or throughout the year with our other special annual family events, I have always anxiously anticipated our gatherings. So, what is it that makes a family practice a “tradition?” I believe there is a basic format to creating family traditions, and it involves three things: attendance, preparation and timeliness.
In order to create a family tradition, strive to have all family members present during the initial “formation” process. Having all family member present gives children a sense of belonging and comfort, and children will also understand that this new event/ordeal is special because everyone is gathered together. Make it a point to engrave in everyone’s mind the importance of the tradition you are trying to establish and encourage involvement and ask for others thoughts. Those in attendance should have a say in how activities and events are orchestrated. Traditions will provide children and adults with something to look forward to throughout the year, so it is important that everyone give their input on how they want to celebrate a particular family activity. Before these traditions are set in stone, they have to be held regularly at least two times in a row and all family members should try to be present; this will engrave upon the minds of all present that this family gathering is more special than the typical, every day happenings.
Prepare for this big family event in any way you can. If you plan to make a family program, create an actual program that family members can follow along with and hold in their hands. If it is an event of some kind, make invitations your young children will love to receive. Set the invitations on pillows and request a response of whether or not they will attend. This will add to the level of importance the children place on the family tradition. The more planning, preparation and time you put into your tradition, the higher the value that will be held for the family event. If you want to create lasting memories, make all possible efforts to produce a family function that everyone will not only want to participate in during their childhood growing years, but throughout their adult lives as well. I know I have a yearning to go home to my parent’s house for the holidays and see who will win the title for the “2009 Christmas Spirit Award.” It may sound silly, but it was the award I wanted to receive ever since I was five years old. I think I won it every year for the first couple years since I was the oldest and the baby siblings were not quite eligible for the noble title.
Any time is a good time to bring the family together; creating traditions, however, is best done when families are young and children’s minds are imaginative and still forming. If certain dates and times are deemed of the upmost importance in young children’s minds, they will continue to value that tradition throughout their life and may even believe the tradition is just a way of life within their family. Establishing traditions when children are in the teen stages can be more difficult because some teenagers may try to create their own personal traditions that involve hanging out with friends and not family members.
By striving to place importance on family togetherness when children are young, you can better your chances that your children will always value the time your family spends with each other. Embrace the principles of family attendance for family events, preparing for family activities and beginning traditions while children are still young. Make your family traditions as special and unique as each member or your family is.
About the Author:
Courtney Lewis is the manager of Sweetly You where you can find uniquely scented body lotion and build custom body bath gift packages.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Establishing Family Traditions
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