Halloween is just around the corner and a rapid succession of holidays will quickly follow. As Intentional Parents, we have the opportunity to be deliberate about which holidays to observe as well as how we will celebrate them. Whether we follow traditional routines or invent our own personalized versions, family traditions and celebrations help to weave a cohesive family identity. They are powerful factors in creating connection, creating and sharing fun, and opportunities to define who we are collectively as a family. Traditions can reflect both cultural practices as well as rituals unique to a specific family.
For example, we did treasure hunts which involved a lot of going up and down steep hills and culminated in the discovery of some hard-won trinkets followed by a “feast†and tired kids who welcomed bedtime! Our kids remember these hunts fondly and my son has decided his three-year-old is ready for his first! Treasure hunts started out as a way to have fun at the lake and have become an anchor point in our family lore. What fun activities from your childhood might you want to continue within your own family? What new ones might you create?
Even if you do not celebrate Halloween, pumpkin mania has overtaken us once again. They are featured on restaurant menus and seasonal items at the grocery store. Neighborhood pumpkin patches tempt us to choose the perfect candidate for carving. Here in Florida, pumpkin-carving is both fun and frustrating. The heat and humidity cause our jack-o-lanterns to last only a day or two before they crumble into a sodden, stinky, mildew-laden mess. Some still enthusiastically perform the ritual in the hopes that this year, they’ll last just a bit longer. Others take a more practical approach and opt for painting pumpkins which definitely prolongs their life.
How and what will you celebrate? Share your family traditions with us and we’ll post them for others to sample.
