[Sabra]

HI:

Many times family traditions help to build security in family members. When I asked my children which family traditions they remember when they were young it was really great to get to hear their responses. Some of what they said I hardly remembered and some of the things that I worked hardest on and would have been meaningful to my temperament was not as meaningful to them! I was really glad that we talked so that I now know which traditions to spend more effort on.

What family traditions does your family have? Please name anything that pertains to your family all the way from a hug and kiss at the door when your hubby goes off to work to writing kind notes to place in their lunch boxes all the way to the biggest surprise gift you gave one of your family members.

You may share what traditions have been passed down from other generations before you, too!

I can't wait to hear about your families.

[sweetnoodle]

My immediate family had two girls, and so do I. One tradition we always had was getting a special dress for Easter time. We also usually got clothes at Christmas.

I made sure my two girls had special velvet dresses their first Christmas. They KNOW they have to wear a dress on Easter, but I do let them help pick it out.

Other traditions:
family Christmas cooking making (sugar cookies everyone gets to decorate!)
getting our pet dogs to speak to us (row-row, mama, etc.)
never buying school lunch, always taking it
watching the Oscars!!
eating chips and dip on New Year's Eve
always having Thanksgiving together that includes green bean casserole
trying never to turn away kids with fundraisers at the front door
praying at bedtime and dinner

[Tigger]

Pickleburgers, lol. Every year on New Years eve my mom would wrap pickles in hamburger meat and broil them in the oven. Her parents did it with my uncle and my mom. And now my hubby and I do it with our kids.

My sister and I also always got new dresses for Christmas and Easter, and our kids get new outfits (3 boys between us, no dresses for them, lol) for the same holidays.

Opening one gift on Christmas Eve. We passed that one down too.

Getting one gift on my sisters birthday and vise versa. Didn't pass this one down, lol.

Bedtime prayers.

Camping on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends! I love that one! Hubby and I do it with the kids but we have to get a cabin instead of tenting it since our youngest is multiply impaired. She needs a "safe" place to play since she can't walk.

Animals. Maybe not a tradition but my parents always had animals and now my sister and I both have animals.

Wow, thanks for the memories!!

[qs mom]

My mother always got up on with me in the morning. Until I mved out at age 23. And every morning she said, "Be careful and have a nice day". She still says that when I visit.

Also . . .

opening 1 gift on Christmas Eve

Tree triming party with friends - I haven't picked up my adopted son yet, but I do this with my neices and nephew and my son will be with us next year

Easter egg coloring at grandma's on Good Friday

[sweetnoodle]

Letting the girls play in the sprinkler or pool on Memorial Day. Purposely NOT visiting relatives on that day-- staying at home in the warm sunshine and letting the girls do whatever they want and eating outside!

[patrisha]

What a wonderful thread Sabra!

We always made Christmas cookie ornanments every year with the year on them. You could see the changes in the design of the ornaments as my daughter got older. These ornaments now hang on my daughters tree with my granddaughter's added to them!

Trish

[Splainin2Do]

Hi, I'm new here, I am considering adoption in the near future.

This topic intrigued me because it brought a very fond memory to mind. In my immediate family there were 6 of us kids and my 2 parents. We were pretty poor, but we always had each other. One tradition my Husband and I plan on passing along is .......

When we were growing up, every Valentine's Day my father would buy a large box of candy for my mother, and smaller boxes of candy for us 4 girls. My mother would buy my father something and then something smaller for the 2 boys. I always looked forward to that, and look forward to enjoying it with my kids. There are a ton of other traditions we had, but that is what I remember most.

[spaypets]

Our daughter's new, but we're already working on traditions.

Every Friday night we light the Shabbat candles and do the blessings over our daughter, the wine and the challah. Instead of the usual roast chicken, we often have Indian food (she's Indian).

Some time later in the week we have French toast made with the leftover challah.

Also, we try to get to temple as often as possible and after services we have a lunch of bagels and lox.

We will always go to the fair at the end of the summer -- once with my nieces and once with just the our family.

Summers will be filled with trips to the beach.

My fondest childhood tradition is a Columbus Day picnic on the beach and Thanksgiving at my grandparents (of blessed memory).

We're hoping my cousins will continue their tradition of Thanksgiving at their house.

My husband isn't Jewish, so on the first night of Chanukah, I give him a Xmas ornament for his tree. It's usually a train.

[jleasterday]

I love family traditions. My 3 sisters and me would help my mom bake Christmas cookies, make a gingerbread house and delivery the cookies and candies to neighbors. My younger sister and me go see the Nutcracker at IU every year. When The Wizard of Oz was on TV we would all get together and watch it with our sleeping bags and popcorn. Every year we watched Mary Poppins. My mother had my younger sister and me take a nap after supper, so we could stay up later and watch it. We still have an Easter Egg Hunt for the younger kids at my grandmother's. I hope to carry some of these traditions on with my family.

Jennifer