Traditions

Guest Writer: Amy Hamblin

We love this time of year!  Family time for us is the best thing ever and this time of year is just jam packed with family time.  It has been fun for us over the last 12 Christmas’ to find our own traditions or take from our different family traditions and blend them into one.

In my home growing up we always put the tree up as a family.  One of the most awesome parts of my families Christmas was the music.  My mom had about 4 or 5 different Christmas records and we listened to them non-stop from Thanksgiving until New Years.  Both of these traditions are something that I have passed on to my children.  We don’t have a record player but between my sisters and I we have tracked down every record recorded on CD so that my kids are listening to the same music that I did. They love it and so do I.

In my husband’s home growing up it was all about the candy and goodies at Christmas time.  We have incorporated that into our family tradition too.  Every year we make Bonbons and lots of different Christmas goodies.  It is time that our family gets to be together and we can teach our children things that they might end up teaching their children.

There are so many different things that you can do as a family that can bring you closer together this time of year. There are vast amounts of service opportunities, there are goodies to be made, homes to be decorated, books to be read, advent calendars to be filled or unfilled, and lots of love to be shared.  Find something that your family will enjoy doing and make it special enough that it is something that you will remember and want to do again for years to come.  Family is one of the best legacies you can leave!