Holiday Traditions That I’ll Never Forget

A quick note before you get further into this post, it was actually written by my oldest daughter, Beth. Since the holiday season has officially arrived, I thought it would be fun to discuss some of our family’s traditions. And then I had the idea that my daughter could share them instead.

I thought this way, I could share some of our fond memories but everyone could read them from the perspective of a person who was a child when they happened. Because I believe that holiday traditions are just as, or more, important to kids. 

And nothing made me happier as a parent than to see my kids enjoying the traditions we had formed as a family!

Thanksgiving Traditions

I’d like to start out by saying that my family’s Thanksgiving traditions have changed a lot over the years. So some of the traditions we had when I was younger, transitioned into other things the older I got. But all the different versions were equally fun to me and my sister, so here we go!

Tradition #1 – Eating Something Different Every Year

When I was very young, our family spent Thanksgiving at my grandparent’s house and the traditional Thanksgiving food was always served there. But we had two sets of grandparents, so that meant we ate the same dinner twice. Not to mention all the leftovers, and the fact that both sets of grandparents served the same sort of meal at Christmas!

So when my parents decided to start celebrating Thanksgiving at home, with just our little family of four, we had all had enough turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing for a lifetime. My mom had an idea to solve our Thanksgiving meal burnout, thus our new tradition was born.

Instead of having the traditional foods, each year we would choose a meal that we were craving. Normally we would stick to a theme. One year it was Italian, so we chose pizza and chicken alfredo. Then another year it was Mexican, that year we had quesadillas, rice, and some spicy cheese dip.

Eventually, we all decided the thought of Thanksgiving food didn’t gross us out and we switched back to the traditional stuff. But those years we took a break from it were really fun, and much needed.

Tradition #2 – Sharing What We’re Thankful For Before We Eat

I won’t go too in depth with this one, because I’m sure a lot of families do something similar. But one thing my mom always insisted on, was that everyone listed at least one thing that we were thankful for before we ate our dinner. And it was a great little reminder to me and my sister, since we were so young, not to take things for granted.

Plus, I know I always felt really special when my mom would say she was thankful for her kids. 

Tradition #3 – Watching “The Sound of Music”

This one is very specific I know, but “The Sound of Music” was a favorite movie of ours and for some reason it really put us in the holiday mood. So after we ate, we’d always sit down, get cozy in our favorite blankets, and watch it.

Although sometimes we would break it up into two parts, and do something in between. Because admittedly, my sister and I didn’t always have the longest attention spans when we were little.

Christmas Traditions

But as much as I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. And the same goes for my mom and sister. My dad is less enthusiastic, but in any case… we have a lot more Christmas traditions than we do Thanksgiving themed ones.

Tradition #1 – No Name Tags

The first Christmas tradition I want to talk about was another “limited edition” one, so to speak, in the way that we only did it for a year or two. It was my mom’s idea, and my sister and I really loved it.

My mom always tried to think of ways to make every holiday experience a little different, and one year she had the idea of not using name tags for any of the presents under the tree. Instead, she used certain types of wrapping paper for my presents and certain types for my sister’s.

She knew who’s gifts were who’s, but we didn’t. She kept the suspense up all the way from when the tree went up, to Christmas morning. Then, when my sister and I woke up, she sent us on a little scavenger hunt through the house to find clues that would lead us to which gifts were ours.

My sister and I loved this! It made the whole thing more interactive for us, and the fact that the suspense had lasted so long leading up to Christmas made the payoff feel even better. Overall 10/10 idea mom!

Tradition #2 – Lots and Lots of Board Games

Arguably, even above getting to unwrap our presents, the family time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was my favorite part of the holidays when I was growing up and even now. My mom always made sure to schedule some family time every day, usually after dinner, but a day where she didn’t have any work, housework, or cooking to do was rare.

She always took off of everything she could on Christmas though, and she would spend almost the whole day doing various things with Rach and I. We would normally play a variety of board games, and the one we played the most often was Monopoly. I never won, because my lack of skill in board games is unmatched, but it was really fun regardless!

Tradition #3 – Opening A Gift The Night Before

I don’t know about anybody else, but by the time Christmas Eve rolled around, my sister and I could barely contain ourselves in terms of knowing what our gifts were. So to help us cope with our impatience, mom would always give us a small gift to unwrap on Christmas Eve. 

And typically this did the trick, and we were distracted enough with it that we weren’t as impatient to open the rest. It was also just another way that our mom made Christmas into a two day ordeal, and we loved that.

New Year’s Eve Traditions

Our New Year’s Eve traditions probably don’t vary that much from a lot of people’s, but there are a few fun things that stuck out to me when I was reflecting on how we always spent the holidays. And I’d just like to quickly go through them, even though they’re not as detailed as the previous two sections.

Note: Dad doesn’t like to stay up on New Years, so it’s kind of always been a girl’s night.

Tradition #1 – Having A Midnight Snack

Especially when Rach and I were younger, we started to get tired the closer it got to midnight. But a little bit of food always seemed to perk us up. So every single year since I can remember staying up until midnight, mom always makes some pizza rolls at about ten o’clock as a way to wake us all up.

Honestly, I find it funny that even after all these years we still need a pick-me-up at the same time every New Year.

Tradition #2 – Writing Down Our New Year’s Resolutions

My mom is big on lists and writing things down, so not only did she encourage us to make new year’s resolutions, but we would all sit down and write out our separate lists together. Then we would all read them off to each other, and we would help keep each other accountable through the year.

I don’t make lists that often, but writing down my resolutions every year really does help to keep me motivated. So I’m glad this was a tradition for us.

Tradition #3 –  Painting Our Nails

We do a lot of activities in the times leading up to midnight, board games, video games, snacking, and watching movies. But one thing that we started doing, and continue doing even now, is painting our nails together.

My mom hardly ever paints her nails, and my sister and I don’t do it that often, but we like to start the new year off with a new coat of fingernail polish. And we always have a nice chat while we do it, so it’s just a fun little thing that I’ll always remember about staying up until midnight with my favorite people.

I hope you enjoyed reading about some of our little family traditions for the holidays, and if you have any traditions you’d like to share then please do!