Sometimes it's difficult to set and keep family traditions. Here is a list of 10 fun family traditions, all excerpts from the book "Fun Family Traditions: Over 100 Fun Activities to Bring Your Family Closer Together" by Cynthia MacGregor. These traditions and activities require minimal supplies and money.
Time Capsule
Why not create a time capsule when a child is born into your family? There's no need to bury this time capsule or embed it in the cornerstone of the new house you're building--just stow it in some out-of-the-way location for viewing at a later date.
Materials:
- One large box for each child
- Any keepsakes you want to put in the capsule
Directions: Gather some or all of the following items (plus whatever else seems appropriate) and place them in a large box:
- Birth notices that appeared in the local newspaper
- Copy of the birth announcement you mail out
- A deflated "It's a Girl/Boy" balloon
- Congratulatory cards and emails you received
- One of the socks that fit on the baby's feet when they were a newborn (or some other article of clothing)
- A picture of the baby
- A newspaper clipping from the child's date of birth showing the major events of the day
- a national magazine from that week, showing what was going on in the world and what products were being advertised
- The baby's foot print and handprint
Put the box away to avoid the temptation to open it and peek in too early. Open it at a suitable milestone such as the 18th or 21st birthday, high school or college graduation, or wedding day.
Helpful hint: even if you've already had your kids and don't plan on anymore, it may not be too late to assemble at least some of the suggested items for a belated time capsule.
Family Flag
Every country has a flag it displays as a symbol of national pride. Why shouldn't your family have one, too? Your family flag could incorporate the Family Crest or Coat of Arms, family colors, drawings of family members, etc. Hang your flag at the front of the house or any other place that seems appropriate.
Materials:
- Large, rectangular piece of white canvas
- Permanent, colored, fine-line markers
- Glue
- Large, sturdy pole such as a broomstick or mop handle
Directions:
- Have every family member sketch a design for the flag, then get together and compare ideas, selecting the best ones and incorporating them into the final design.
- If you have one particularly talented family member, ask him to create the flag by drawing on both sides of a piece of white canvas. Use the colors and design the family has agreed on.
- Glue the edge of the flag to a pole such as a broomstick or mop handle.
- Display the flag by sticking the broomstick into the ground or using a flag holder to secure the broomstick.
Helpful hint: Everybody can contribute to this project. Have the contributions incorporated into a collage by a preselected designer.
Family Mailbox
How often do notes from school, important mail, and other papers go astray? Create a Family Mailbox so everyone will always know where to look!
Materials:
- One shoebox with the lid removed for each family member
- Different colored paints (be sure to include either white or another pale color) and a paintbrush
- Newspapers (to protect your work surface)
Directions:
- Spread out newspaper to protect your work surface.
- Use one shoebox for each family member. Remove the lid from the shoebox.
- Paint the outside of the shoebox with white or a pale-colored paint. You might wan to paint the inside of the shoebox, too.
- At one end of each shoebox, paint a family member's name to designate that person's mailbox.
- Paint a design or picture on the other three sides of the shoebox, and perhaps on the end where the name is, too.
- When the shoeboxes are dry, place them in a central location such as the kitchen counter, a table in the entry hall, or on a shelf in the family room.
- If you have mail, a message, or anything else for another family member, put it in that person's shoebox. Now everyone knows where to look for mail, messages from family members, phone messages, notes, and other important stuff.
Helpful hint: Encourage each child to paint his or her own shoebox.
Family Dinner Night
If on most nights your family has at least one member absent from the dinner table, you should consider establishing one night of the week when dinner attendance is sacred. Sunday is probably the best option - the night when Mom and Dad are least likely to have a business or parental commitment, and when none of the kids are likely to have band, volleyball, Scouts, a sleepover, etc.
Make it a rule that everyone needs to be there - and everyone means everyone. "There" means at the table - not in front of the TV or at a desk doing last-minute homework.
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