How to Make New Traditions (& keep the old)

ASK ELIZABETH

Question: Do you have any new holiday traditions or do you just do your family ones? Now that I’m older & married I feel like I want some of our own.

Traditions you say? I can talk about traditions forever! I am a tradition queen.  Make new traditions but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold (sung to the tune of a girl scouts favorite 😉 ) Traditions around the holidays are very dear to me and make this season so much more richer. I know exactly what too look forward to! The first year of our marriage, we fumbled around trying to figure out all the traditions. It was almost perfect that we went to Disneyland with my family and did something totally new. When we got home, we had time to evaluate what we liked, what we missed, and what we wanted to do on our own. The next Christmas we felt prepared to make Christmas our own while still having our traditional Christmases with our family!

MAKE NEW TRADITIONS

Yes! Please make new traditions. As you move away from your parents and start a family/ household of your own, I think it is super important to make new traditions. It is part of creating your own memories for your family.

Quick tips for making new traditions: 

1. Try new things and see if you like them. (ex. Go to a local holiday market, watch a tree lighting ceremony, attend a holiday zoo lights, meet Santa at Macy’s, etc) If you like them, then make them tradition!
2. Ask your friends what their traditions are and see if you want to try them out.
3. Find inspiration on Pinterest or by reading blogs.
4. Check out your local news for nearby holiday events.

Some of our new traditions: 

• Buying a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament & wrapping it to us from Santa.
• Picking out a real Christmas tree Thanksgiving Weekend.
• Watching Elf together.
• Name draws for both sides of the family for Christmas gifts.
• Walk around the Broadmoor, see the giant Gingerbread house, and take pictures of all the lights.
• Girls Christmas Cookie Exchange.
• Walking through a daily Advent Calendar.
• Christmas cards from us!

KEEP SOME OF THE OLD

Just because you are making new traditions, doesn’t mean you have to leave the old ones in the dust! Sometimes you can keep the same tradition and other times you have to modify it a bit. Especially with getting married! When you are both bringing your childhood hoods together you have to find ways to keep old traditions alive for each other.

Some of our old traditions: 

• Stuffing everyone’s stockings at the Ridings house for Christmas (everyone in attendance gets a stocking!)
• Building Gingerbread Houses with the Mayberry side.
• Going to the Christmas Concert at the Pikes Peak Center with the Ridings side.
• Eating Fondue on Christmas Eve with the Mayberry side.
• Christmas cards with my family!

Feel free to play around with activities and traditions. It is okay to try new things. Keep them around if you like them, if you don’t, don’t worry about it! Take some time and figure out what you want your family traditions to be all about!