Founder and President
of The Etiquette Factory,
a unique 3-phase etiquette learning system designed to change the world, one child at a time.
Yay!! The holidays are upon us and once again, we have opportunities to add a little joy to the life of others. Surely, that’s the spirit of the holidays and surely, that is something we can all get excited about. I realize that the holidays can bring sadness to so many people as they remember loved ones who are no longer with them and for some, the holidays bring the reality of loneliness or isolation. That is why it is so important that each of us take some time to ponder what we and our family can do to bring the light of Christ to others this season.
Holiday traditions are something that is so rewarding to both young and old. First of all, it’s never too late to start a tradition. When I meet people around the holidays, I always ask them, “Tell me about your holiday traditions” and people just light up when they talk about activities that their family did every year. It’s so special to have such memories and to have things that are unique to your family. May I suggest that this year, you take the time to consider if you have some traditions that bless others and if not, consider creating a new family tradition. May I share with you a list of some fun traditions that my family does:
- Each year we go to the store and allow everyone in the family to buy a new Christmas ornament, even mom and dad. Make sure you write everyone’s name on their ornament. It is so joyful to open the Christmas ornament box each year and be reunited with our special ornaments. And, when our children marry, they can take their ornaments and memories to their own tree.
- Each year we adopt a family for Christmas. Sometimes, if money is tight or a family is really large, we invite 1 or 2 other families to join us so it’s not too much of a financial burden. Then, we meet on Christmas Eve (or the night before) and stack the presents up on the family’s doorstep, knock and run. Boy have we had some fun doing this over the years.
Each year, my girl cousins and aunts (and grandmother when she was living), meet starting in October and begin making our traditional Christmas cookies. We make one kind each get-together and then everyone goes home with one tin of cookies. By the time Christmas rolls around, we each have 5-7 tins of our favorite Christmas cookies to give to friends and eat ourselves. This tradition has been such an important way for us to stay connected to each other and we all feel like our grandmother is proud that we have carried this tradition forward.
What are your family traditions? We would all love to read and gain ideas of special traditions that we could incorporate into our family. Please share in the comments below.
Merry Christmas! May the light of Christ penetrate your home and your heart throughout this special month. May we bring this light to as many as we can. May we remember the elderly, the lonely, the down trodden. May we share of ourselves in every way.
