Holiday traditions continue to come up in my meetings and conversations. Each time I was asked about my family’s traditions, I didn’t have a response. Honestly, I was saddened that I didn’t have an answer in those moments. But now as I think about it, we do! Let’s not take our families or the moments we have with them for granted. My family and I are together so frequently that our traditions and activities have become normalized. Here are four things my family does together often and during the holidays followed by a list of other traditions we hope to incorporate going forward.

Family traditions:

1. Vacation, especially on Thanksgiving or Christmas
2. Play board games (Monopoly makes us total strangers)
3. Watch movies (Preacher’s Wife movie and soundtrack are a holiday fav)
4. My niece bakes her chocolate chip cookies

Other family traditions

1. A hike
2. Make homemade hot chocolate
3. Participate in an annual toy drive
4. Sponsor a meal for a family in need
5. Participate in a clothing drive
6. Make gingerbread houses
7. Look at Christmas lights
8. Plan a cookie exchange
9. Write thank-you notes
10. Give small gifts to your neighbors
11. Create a memory book
12. Call up a family or old friend (who isn’t expecting it) to come to celebrate with you.
13. Host a Christmas tea
14. Gather a group and host a Christmas party for seniors at a local retirement home.
15. Start a Christmas puzzle together at the beginning of the season and work on it a little bit at a time to decompress through the holidays.
16. Have a Book Exchange
17. Start the ‘Elf on a Shelf’ tradition. Your kids will love it and it will keep them on their best behavior!
18. Have your child start an ‘I Am Thankful’ list. Have them add one thing they are thankful for each day. Turn it up a notch by putting them on handmade snowflakes to hang in a common living area
19. Gift your child an ornament every year.
20. Enjoy a fancy lunch.