I am such a sucker for family traditions and rituals. When Wood Sprite was a wee sprite, I read The New Book of Family Traditions by Meg Cox and was instantly smitten. The book is in its second edition now, with even more traditions, and I’ll have to get a copy because I just love it.
As a young adult, I resented the fact that we had very few family traditions growing up. As I got older, however, I realized that we actually did have them; they simply weren’t announced with a trumpet. And now that my grandmother is gone and the family is farther apart, I truly miss these moments.
So far Wood Sprite has a nice tradition and ritual base we are building on. I blow up balloons and float them all over her floor on her birthday, then I make her a tunnel from crepe paper to crawl through down the hallway. Then the day is hers to decide whatever she wants to do with it. We make éclair cakes for Indy on his birthday and we make or get hot pretzels for mine. On Halloween, the three of us have a bonfire; on Christmas, we open gifts as soon as Wood Sprite gets up, no matter how early! There are a bunch of others, too.
Being a sucker of family traditions, I’d love to hear about your own family’s fun rituals and traditions. My friend J told me about some really cool ones her family has (her family is much bigger than mine) and I couldn’t believe it. Those families like Steve Carell’s in Dan in Real Life that go to a cabin together for a week and have special recipes, talent shows, Crossword competitions and other fun really do exist! And I want mine to be like that, too.
So tell me—what are your favorite family traditions and rituals?
Photo courtesy of Sara S.
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