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Holiday Beginnings
New Traditions for the Families of Today

By Sharon Waldrop

"'Tis the season to be jolly..." Indeed it is! The holidays consist of cheer and contentment, warmth and togetherness, families and friends. Look at the holidays through your toddler's eyes: bright colors (ever notice how awesome pictures taken in December look?), bright lights and Christmas music replacing standard tunes in elevators and at the mall.

But even better than the hottest toy on the market is to offer your toddler family togetherness and memories. It is true that money cannot buy happiness – but the gift of family traditions is priceless.

Ornament Special family traditions will be remembered long after a toy has shifted to the bottom of a toy box or after a trinket has been moved from the bottom shelf to the top shelf to collect even more dust. The holidays are an ideal time to start new traditions and begin a lifetime of memories.

Recreate Your Fond Memories
Jessica Williams, an editor from Montana, recalls her childhood memory of tree shopping as a child and now shares this experience with her own children.

"When I was growing up, my family used to alternate between buying a tree from a lot and buying it from a tree farm," Williams says. "My husband's family almost always bought a tree from the lot, as they lived in an urban area. When we moved to Montana, our oldest son was just a baby. We were introduced to a small tree farm near our town by my aunt and uncle. Ever since then, we've gotten our tree from this scotch pine farm.

"We make an event out of it by dressing the kids in warm winter clothes and traipsing around the farm looking for just the right tree. We always let the kids pick their favorite, then, standing in deep snow amongst the trees, we vote on the one we all like best. My husband cuts it down, and we haul it to the owner of the farm. We have vowed to always get our tree from the same farm every year, and now we have smaller trees mentally marked for the years to come. There's something about walking down the same paths, shouting to each other among the same trees and recognizing younger trees that have matured each year."

Honor New Skills
Grandmother Connie Nanasy recalls several family holiday traditions from the days when her children were young. In Connie's family, it was common for the smallest child to be lifted to the top of the tree to place the star. Also, after a child learned to read, he or she was allowed to practice this new skill by reading gift tags and passing out presents.

Nanasy read Twas the Night Before Christmas to her children so many times when they were young that over the years they memorized the whole poem. She was delighted when two years ago one of her adult sons was still able to recite the poem to her word for word.

Candy Cane

Start a New Tradition
Hannah and her partner, who live in Ireland with their son, started a brand new tradition for their family. Her partner is Jewish, and they initially did not celebrate Christmas. However, after their son was born and later entered daycare and enjoyed visits from Santa, the family decided that it was time to get their first Christmas tree.

"We bought a re-plantable tree – a small Charlie Brown fir tree in a pot, which we transferred to the backyard in spring," says Hannah. She adds that they had no ornaments because they never had a tree together. Since their celebration was a non-secular, back-to-nature, new family tradition celebration, they decorated the tree with popcorn and cranberries.

Sherry Rust, a child and family therapist in Dallas, Texas, says holiday traditions are important in a child's development. "The most important commodities parents have for their children are time and love, not things," she says. "A family tradition can give children the sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. One of the most important developmental tasks for children is to develop a sense of belonging. Traditions aid greatly in that developmental task and at the same time bind the family with a common glue."

Today's holiday traditions can remain an important part of your family for generations – in pictures, videos, scrapbooks and most importantly, in the memories of your children and grandchildren.

Want to see more?

About the Author: Sharon Waldrop is a freelance writer.

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