Traditions.

2

As the relentless Arizona heat gives way to our version of fall, we look ahead to the holidays. For a child is there any time more magical? As a mom I’ve often felt the weight of creating these moments, the magical memories. One thing I’ve discovered as my kids have grown is, simple traditions stick.

Of course the big, elaborate trips to places like the Polar Express in Williams will leave their mark on our little one’s hearts, but so will the small, family rituals they can come to look forward to each year.

For us, chili and a gathering of friends and neighbors out on the driveway each Halloween, or the letters they write to Santa each year after Thanksgiving dinner, or the fun excursions to Friday night Franks have become something they expect and look forward to each year.

I’m the kind of girl who takes a different route to the grocery store every time I go. I like to shake things up and can get bored with routine- but I have grown to cherish the very simple, very personal traditions that our family has established.

What traditions do you have?

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Noelle Larson is a mom still searching to find the “balance” between her spiritual journey, family, ambition, inner peace, world peace…all while trying not to blink so she doesn’t miss one minute of her beautiful, messy life.  Noelle writes at metromom.org where she journals her crazy days chasing after her kids and husband, deep thoughts, and captures her latest adventures.

2 COMMENTS

  1. We actually do the German Pickle Ornament tradition where you hide a small pickle ornament in your tree and whoever finds it first gets a special gift. (someone bought it for us as a wedding gift and we’ve done it for the past 6 years… even w/o kids) 🙂

  2. We have a Halloween potluck breakfast with our playgroup friends in the park (started when the babies were too young to appreciate trick-or-treating, but now we do it because it’s so fun to get costume pics on the playground when everybody is fresh and happy in the morning).

    Growing up my family had a tradition of buying one brand-new, beautifully illustrated Christmas story (like The Polar Express) every year. Reading it together, and then adding it to a growing library that we pulled out of storage from the previous year was a way of kicking off the season. We’ve done this the last few years, and it’s fun to get out all the books every year and see our collection grow!

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