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We all look forward to birthdays to celebrate with cake and balloons. Whether it is your kid’s birthday or yours, the celebration with your family is always a joyful event. Similarly, the typical traditional holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa that are celebrated with much grandeur are not the only holidays that can be celebrated with a festive spirit.
Festivals provide a fun break from our mundane lives, encourage family bonding, and make our lives a lot more fun. But you don’t have to wait for the next Christmas or Halloween to enjoy a quality and fun time with your family. Scroll down as we list down 8 ways you can have your own family traditions.
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A Themed Weekly Meal
You could do a themed dinner on weekends where you cook a simple and delicious meal. Elaborate meal ideas might sound fun initially, but remember that weekends are also your time to relax. So, in order to make sure that you continue this family tradition, it’s best to choose something that takes little prep time. It’s also fun to involve your family members in the cooking process so that it becomes a weekly bonding activity. You could also do something like Meatless Mondays and Waffle Wednesdays. And before you know it, your kids will begin to look forward to it every week.
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Candlelit Dinner & Other Traditions
Instead of considering family meals as a burdensome chore, you can make it more fun by adding your own traditions into dinnertime. If you enjoy a fancy meal, eating dinner by candlelight might be the perfect tradition for you. Some families opt to say a pre-dinner prayer, while others enjoy having a meal with some music in the background. Each family member could take turns to play their favorite music on a certain night.
But don’t fret if you can’t think of a dinner tradition that your whole family would enjoy. The most important thing is to have a meal with your loved ones at the end of the day. Having dinner together as a family has been known to have many benefits. It boosts your kid’s self-esteem and improves the family dynamics, among other things (1).
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Celebrate The Season
There are several seasonal holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah that we all love celebrating. But we never celebrate the changing of the seasons. So, if you’re someone who loves the changing of the seasons, why not celebrate the first day of your favorite season with games, a themed cake, and presents. You could also dress in your favorite sweater or summer dress to make the day extra special.
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Family Walks
Family walks are something your family could do as a whole. It brings everyone together, encourages bonding, and even promotes a healthier lifestyle. Walks with your loved ones are also a great way to relax after a stressful day at work. You could go for a pre or post-dinner walk, whatever works for your family. A pre-dinner walk could help work up an appetite, whereas a stroll after dinner will help you digest.
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Five Good Things
‘Five good things’ is not just another fun family tradition, but it’s a great way to encourage your kids to focus on the positive in their lives. Not just kids, even we forget how grateful we should be for our family, health, and having a roof above our heads. You could do this tradition at dinnertime or bedtime by asking your family members to say five good things they are thankful for today. It’s not necessary to stick with the five; you could do three or perhaps more. It could be anything from “my boss loved my presentation”, “I got an A on my test”, to something like “there was no traffic to work today” and “Mommy made my favorite snack for lunch today”.
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Movie Nights
Before having kids, your idea of a fun weekend must have been going out with your friends and having drinks, but post-kids, you might find it hard to do. But you can still have a fun weekend by planning a movie night with your family. And once you begin this tradition, you will find it hard to stop. C’mon, who wouldn’t love snuggling up with a blanket and some popcorn at the comfort of your own home in your pajamas? The challenging part is going to be to pick a movie that will be enjoyed by all. You could choose rom-coms, animation, or something a bit educational.
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Charity Work
Make giving back a family tradition so that your kids learn the importance of it right from a young age. Having a meaningful tradition in your family can be rewarding in a lot of ways. The act of charity work will teach your kids the importance of giving back and doing something for others. You could do it every week, once a month, or on birthdays and holidays.
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Game Night
If we have to choose one tradition that is going to be a favorite among kids and adults, it’s going to be game night. It is a great way to come together as a family to have some fun. You could play monopoly, scrabble, caroms, and chess, among other board games. Game night doesn’t necessarily have to be indoors; you could also play badminton or shoot hoops in your backyard. If you’re up for it, you could even go for paintball or go-karting at your nearest arena.
While we all love trick or treating and decorating the Christmas tree, starting your own family traditions is a great way to encourage family bonding. And the best part, you don’t have to wait for the next birthday or holiday for some family fun.
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