Do You Have a Family Tradition?

Posted on October 22, 2008 in Fun-tivities by little mochi

I was flipping through our family album this past weekend and looked at the old pictures of my siblings and I. My younger brother is now 27. My sister just graduated from college last year. My youngest brother is now a 16 year old high school kid learning to drive. Where have all the years gone?

It has been said over and over again that your child will grow so fast that you will not know what happened to all the years. Now a mother, I finally understand. Little Mochi is now 15 months, almost 16 months, and I’m wondering where all the months have gone. I can’t even begin to think about him learning to drive. Before I know it, I’m going to be one of those mothers who thinks no one is good enough for my baby so I’m going to hate every girl he dates (oh gosh, I really hope I don’t become like that!).

As I sat there holding the page with school pictures of my youngest brother from every year since kindergarten, I almost cried. Where did the years go? He’s 16 now. And I remember back in Jr. High when my mother brought him home from the hospital. And now that I look around the house, I realized that my mom, who is extremely busy with her own business, never really did anything to preserve your childhood. The only “family tradition” we had was going to Vegas every Christmas for a few days because that’s the only time my parents ever closed the shop. What I regret, however, is the fact that we never take a family picture in front of a Christmas tree while in Vegas! It would have been nice to see the changes every year. Hey, it’s not too late, right?

I think keeping a tradition brings the family closer. It helps create great childhood memories. I have decided to start a family “tradition” myself with my own family.

Here are two things that I would like to do to bring my family closer and to create fond childhood memories for my kids. If I think of more later, I’ll update.

  1. Have you heard of Kids’ Step Stone Kit? Using this kit, I would like to create a “growing foot path” in my backyard. We’ll be able to see how big their feet has grown over the years. Perhaps create one on their birthdays (or some day close to their birthdays).
  2. Gotta finish off every year with a picture with Santa Claus until they are too old or until they realize that Santa is not real.

Other “traditions” that I have heard other families do or have read about that you may want to consider:

  1. Time capsules. Every year, you can stuff a capsule with your kid’s favorite things, quotes, pictures. Anything that reminds you of him that year. Keep it in a hidden place until next year. Pick a special day to give him last year’s time capsule and go over the items together. Keep a camera handy because you’re bound to see some great facial expressions.
  2. At year end, write a “letter” to your child telling him of his past year’s achievements.
  3. Stuff the easter eggs with something else other than toys or candy – something that you can stuff every year, but in a different color, style, size, etc.
  4. Plant a tree together in the back yard every year. You both can see how big your child grows relative to how fast the tree grows.
  5. Make a family year book with all of your child’s cousins. Be sure to include a picture of each cousin and his/her favorite color, cartoon character, places to go, etc.

Do you have a family tradition?  Share with us.  =)



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