5 FAMILY TRADITIONS

                                                5 Family Traditions             

1. The birthday hat. Get a hat that is well suited to your family and make this the “official birthday hat.”  The idea is that each person wears it at their birthday dinner, whether that be at home or out in a restaurant. We have a rather large birthday hat in our family – it looks like a cake complete with big felt candles out of the top. It’s ridiculously awesome.

2. Birthday cakes. Create the birthday boy or girl’s favorite type of cake. Is it cheesecake, devil’s food cake, or black forest cake? Or is it not even cake at all? Do they prefer pies, cookies, or cupcakes? Whatever it is, make their favorite treat an annual tradition for their birthday.

3. New job. When someone in your family gets a new job, a promotion, or a raise, create a tradition that they take you out for dinner. It doesn’t have to be a fancy or expensive dinner – you can go for pizza or wraps.

4. Christmas dainty exchange. This is my favorite new tradition in our family. Christmas can be a very stressful time, but baking all those Christmas goodies doesn’t have to add to it.  Include as many or as few people as you want, and choose two to three items each to bake.  Bake enough to share with everyone in your group and agree to a date when you’ll meet up and exchange the goodies you’ve all made. I love this one for a couple of reasons.  You get a huge variety of baked goods, and you don’t have to spend weeks preparing. Who doesn’t want that?

5. New Year’s fondue. This has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Every New Year’s Eve we have a fondue at Mom and Dad’s. It’s a very fond memory for me, and now my husband and kids are included in it as well. It’s a very slow way to eat a meal, and a great way to spend the evening with family as we ring in the new year.