Tuesday Tradition #23

What are your family traditions?

I'd love to hear what kind of traditions you celebrate and practice in your homes. I always love listening to other's ideas and stories and I'm sure you all have some amazing traditions to share!

Share them in the comment section and feel free to leave your website, blogs, etc. I want to fill up this posts with 100's of tradition ideas!
So anyone who leaves a comment will be in a drawing to win Cherish Bound's new Family Traditions Journal.
Last day to enter will be Friday, July 18th (Midnight EST)

Okay....let's hear 'em! Who's first?

Tuesday Tradition #22

A Colorful Fourth of July!

I love the 4th of July! It's another event on "my list" that brings out that warm fuzzy little kid excitement in me. There are 1000's of fun 4th of July Family Traditions! Here is one my favorites that we do every year....

We buy a few very large boxes of sidewalk chalk and each of our kids, usually the neighbor kids too, and any cousins or family that happens to be visiting draw HUGE brightly colored sidewalk murals. Up and down the sidewalk in front of our house, up the large driveway and anywhere they can find a piece of cement, they scrambled to draw, color, and create beautiful sidewalk masterpieces.

It's so much fun to see each little square of sidewalk colored so differently and the creative ideas that they come up with! Plus we always end up with a few squares saved for a game of hopscotch too.

Here a few other favorites!

• Homemade ice cream
• Matching 4th of July outfits for the little ones
• The famous berry Fourth of July cake
• Picnics & BBQ's
• "I Love My Country Because....." finish the sentence
• Declaration of Independence 101 (Educate your family)
• Crafts and Projects for decorating and eating (FamilyFun.com)
• And of course.......THE FIREWORKS!!!

Tuesday Tradition #21

Lemonade Stands!

How much fun are those?? I remember as a child setting up lemonade stands during my mom and grandmother's quarterly yard sales, on hot summer days when there was NOTHING to do, and even in the cold days of December trying to earn some extra Christmas cash. Those were the days!

My 5-year-old has just discovered this idea and is OBSESSED with selling lemonade. At first I thought, "Oh, come on...this is too much work! I have to get the table out, make the signs, make the sticky lemonade...." But I realized that I have some incredibly fun childhood memories of sitting behind my little table and my neighbors dropping quarters into my cup.

So if you need a fun summer tradition....go out and sale some lemonade with your kiddos! Everyone loves a yummy cold cup of lemonade and the sticky smiles that are made!

Here is a link to FamilyFun. They have some cute Lemonade Signs already made up and ready to print. Click HERE!

Tuesday Tradition #20

I love summer! I love the warm air (most of the time), I love the beach, the pool, BBQ's and get togethers....I love NO SCHOOL and NO schedules! Such a nice change of pace. And I love the 4th of July...and of course I'm a July Birthday, so I love it for that reason too.

Summer Rocks! And I love that with the simplicity of our schedule we get to spend more time together as a family. No 6 hour drives to soccer tournaments or 2 hours of car pool back and forth to all of our after-school commitments....it's just filled with dates by the pool, morning jogs, afternoon basketball, a little more swimming, some trampoline jumping....then daddy gets home from work and more swimming, late night tennis....

I didn't realize it, but we have great summer traditions in our family. I think we take it for granted that we are so blessed to be able to spend so much "FUN" time together in the summer. Obviously our family revolves around a sports theme, but that's tradition for us! My husband and I are....I guess you could say obsessed with sports, and we have successfully passed on our tradition and passion for sports to our kids. How many couples happily fall asleep with ESPN on in the background....last night, we were up watching the re-play of Tiger Woods' incredible victory of the US Open until 1:00 am. That's bonding....that's tradition in our family.

So maybe you're not a big sports fan, but you have something that you love that you can pass on to your children. And when you put those things into practice it's a tradition...how about cooking or baking? Reading? Writing? Do you collect something? Sing? (Ain't none of that going on in our family) Sailing? Artist? Comedian? Fishing? (that's us too) It can be anything! You are the one that will mold your children and grandchildren, and the family traditions you set in place today will be what connects their family together. Are you passing those wonderful talents and traditions on? I sure hope so....because if you don't, someone else will.

Tuesday Tradition #19

I'm editing this post! :O) I was brought to light on a few things that I didn't know about...."Anonymous" nicely shared their advice and opinions....

We're a big family and we just moved so we won't be venturing out on too many trips this summer, but I know a lot of you are traveling and will go to some AMAZING places. Don't forget to take LOTS of pictures and of course write your stories (Check out the Vacation Dailies) But here is an idea for those of you who LOVE pictures and capturing your memories is picture form.
Some of you take amazing pictures and some of us have some trouble....trouble capturing the perfect scenic shot. I can snap away shots of my kids, but I've got problems when it comes to capturing great scenic shots of landmarks and beautiful places. I can't seem to get the right shots, right light, too far away.....bla, bla, bla. So if you're like me you want those beautiful pictures, but they're just not worthy of any photo/story or scrapbook.

So maybe you can go to the local drug store or souvenir shop and buy some of the post cards. Post cards always have perfect pictures of the important places that you may have visited on your trip. Quit banging your head up against the wall frustrated that you couldn't get the right shot....Go get the post cards. BUT FIRST YOU MUST GET PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER! THEY ARE COPYRIGHTED. PLEASE DO NOT SCAN AND USE ANY POSTCARDS UNTIL YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN PERMISSION!!!*** After you've been given permission you can use them as perfect scenic shots of your vacation....no one will ever know that you didn't take those pictures and your vacation memories will look gorgeous!

And to add a little more fun family tradition to it, have everyone write on the back of the post cards their version of the stories and memories of visiting the landmark, beach, person, etc. Get the memories in writing while you're IN THE MOMENT! Time changes the little details of the memory and emotion, so capture right away...don't wait!

After having this bit of copyright information pointed out to me, this idea now seems way too time consuming...forget all that work. Figure out how to take the pictures....and just for the record, I AM NOT ENCOURAGING ANYONE TO IGNORE COPYRIGHT! :O)

Tuesday Tradition #18

I can't believe another school year is coming to an end! They just keep coming and going faster and faster and faster....this one went by way too fast for me. It seems the more kids we have and the more they do the faster it all seems to go by. Ah....I'm sort of sad about it. This will be a big transition for our family this summer. We're moving right when school is out, kids will start new schools, one will be going into high school, one will be tackling middle school alone without the older sibling, one will be starting kindergarten.....lots of milestones coming up!

With the sadness of change there is much more happiness and excitement that school is just simply going to be OUT! We love the break of course, but summer rocks! We have one tradition we do as a family the very last day of school every year. I've done it since I was a kid and I just kept it going with my own family...I guess that's why it's called a tradition, right? Anyway, it's simple, but every day on the last day of school it's usually always a minimum day so everyone is always hungry when school gets out. We wait for each child to get out of school and we all meet for lunch. Dad included...he meets us too. We go and have a big lunch somewhere comfortable and fun that we can just sit and talk about the craziness that just ended, the fun memories, the summer that's ahead and also reflect on the goals that were accomplished...or not accomplished. It's casual and comfortable and it wraps up the emotion of ending school nicely.

It's funny though...our table started out for 3 and 4 and now we need a table for 7! So many memories and traditions in the making.... I LOVE IT!

Leave a Comment, Win a PRIZE! Tuesday Tradition #17

With summer fast approaching many of us will be heading out on road trips! Now I don't know about you, but we have 7 people in our family. Road trips and 7 people...I don't even like saying that in the same sentence! My tongue swells up and it's hard to breath...the heart rate tends to spike and....okay, coming back to my happy place....deep breath.

I'm a little scarred right now. We just did a road trip over the weekend. 14 hours of driving in 24 hours, with 7 people (includes 2 teens, 5-year-old BOY, and 1-year-old TWINS), a double stroller, enough luggage for a 4 week evacuation, 2 ice chests, large shopping bag filled with food, diaper bags and other misc. items. My poor husband just gripped the wheel with two hands and slowly breathed in and out...trying to find his own happy place....he looked like he was on the verge of diving to the floorboard and curling up in the fetal position. Road trips are in the same family as Chinese water torture, right?

There was a block of time somewhere in there...not sure if it was on the way there or home, but I truly thought about opening my door and shutting my head in it and banging it endlessly until I would fall into a deep dark black coma....and then slowly find myself running through a meadow of daisy's in a white cotton dress with a cold Diet Coke. So I have fantasies, but not at the right time.

I was at the end of my rope and ready to jump when I remember the Family Chat cards I have shoved into my center console for the past year. What are Family Chat Cards? They're a small deck of MIRACLE! That's what they are! A deck of over 50 cards with questions on the back of them. FUN questions! It sounds too simple I know, but trust me....they did something in that time bomb on wheels that I had never dreamed of. I've had them in my car before and used them for fun with one kid at a time... when the birds were still chirping and everyone was hugging...happy times. But I haven't had to pull out the miracle deck to literally save lives. Because that's what these cards did...they saved about 7 lives!

The questions are all over the place from Seasonal and Holiday Questions, Vacation memories, childhood memories, hopes, dreams, wishes....but here's the funny part. The first question one of my teens pulled asked, "What do you love and enjoy most about your family?" AHHHH! The look on her face was priceless! We just started laughing! The mood lightened up, she asked if she could put that card back and draw another...and I said ABSOLUTELY! I didn't want to hear her answer at that point.

For over 3 hours we picked cards, told stories, laughed....okay, there were a few disagreements and small food fights over certain answers, but in the end we lived! All 7 of us arrived on the front porch.

So a family tradition of survival...and storytelling happened in that car. It wasn't planned, but it was a great memory that our family will remember forever...not sure if it will be treasured by all, but I'm getting a good laugh out of it today. Every family needs this deck of Miracle cards! You want to survive your family road trip? Invest in this deck of cards! Trust me....

So...You want a deck of Family Chat cards? Leave a comment about your worst road trip, or one that you're getting ready to take and you could win a deck of Family Chat cards. I'll pick a winner Monday, May 26. Let's here the stories!

Tuesday Tradition #16

My mom started this family tradition a few grandkids back...

There is nothing we can do about picking which family "genes" our children inherit. Some we hope and pray are passed on and others we beg that they skip a few generations. No matter what, we can't do anything about it. We always crack jokes about our crazy family and what we're passing along to the generations of children. So my mom decided she was going to create her own passing of the "jeans".

Each time a grandkid is born she makes them a crib size quilt to match their decor, but she uses our entire family's "jeans" to create the patchwork. She has gathered jeans from all sorts of people in our family and cuts squares out of their pants and uses the denim squares to create her Family Jean quilt. They're adorable, cozy and warm, but most of all she's passing a long a little piece of history, love, and style to each new member of our family.

Tuesday Tradition #15

Here's a "tradition" that is beautiful, adds to your home's decor, and is guilty of starting lots of fun family storytelling.

In our home we started a "WALL" of pictures. Actually, 2 walls and room of pictures. The first wall is a very organized squared wall of photos in our entry way. All 10x13 matted frames with closeup color pictures. They are hung straight and even with each other in a grid. This wall is extremely hard for visitors to pass by without stopping and staring...and of course some stories are shared.

If we make it past that wall there is another wall in our family room. This wall has black and white pictures all over it. The frames are all different sizes and shapes, but they are all black. They are hung in a "puzzle" and fit together all over this large wall. These photos are mostly from big events, vacations, special occasions....they are beautiful snapshots of specific memories in the making. Most people can look at a specific photo and know there is so much more to be told.

Our last wall or "room" of photos is in our game room. We are a big time sports family. My husband and I both played every sport, our kids play, we watch sports, we LOVE sports! We were stumped on how to decorate this fun room for over a year. We wanted a sports theme, but didn't want cheesy professional athletes pasted all over our walls either. So we decided to put all of our sports photos up! We blew up all of our sports photos in large poster sizes, some black and white and some color. Each person in our family got 1 large poster, 2 10x13's and 1 8x10. We picked our favorite action shots and sports moments and framed them. You want stories....you go in this room and it's all about stories. Mostly true stories, some exaggerated versions, but the best part about this room is listening to my children talk about what they dream of becoming. These pictures are great reminders for them....they remind them of how amazing they are and give them the confidence to become something big!

Tuesday Tradition #14

Mother's Day will be here soon and I can't help but think that I'm the one that should be giving my children gifts. This past year with all of our ups and downs and ins and outs, my children have been so resilient and amazing, not to mention just great kids that help around the house and help each other. No, they're not perfect by any means, but they are pretty awesome! Having 2 toddlers roaming the house again has actually been a sweet blessing. I love hearing them make each other giggle and I love listening to my five-year-old boy sing his version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to them. I think this year for Mother's Day I'm going to surprise my five kiddos and my hubby. I just feel so blessed to have them all in my life. Every day I look at them and think wow...how lucky am I? Lucky or blessed, I thank God every day I have them.

So this year for Mother's Day I'm going to wake up before all of them and make their favorite breakfast. I'm going to decorate the table with all of my favorite pictures of us together. I'm going to write each of them a love note and leave it at their place setting and thank them for being such amazing kids and husband. I want them to know that motherhood for me is more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed...it's truly a direct gift from God and I can't help but thank my kids, my hubby and God for letting me be a mommy!

Tuesday Tradition #13

I love this poem....showing our children how much we love them is a tradition in itself. This poem highlights some creative traditions that our children will never forget! Read it through a few times...

Tuesday Tradition #12

In my search for fun things to do while on our Spring Break vacation, I came across this great tradition in a little book I have from Once Upon A Family. I'm excited to start this tradition in our family. Not only is it easy, but it's unique and beautiful.

Sand Collection
"Collect sand from all of the beaches that you visit over the years. Don't forget to grab a few shells or a piece of coral, they will add a beautiful splash of color to your display. If camping is your family's passion, dirt will do just fine. You'll be surprised at the variety of colors and textures you will find. When you return home from your trip, fill a glass bottle with your souvenirs. An eclectic mix of different shaped and sized glass bottles will add to the uniqueness of your collection. Attach a small tag to the bottle explaining where the sand or dirt is from and display the collection of memories in your home for all to see. This simple tradition will become an important part of every vacation."

LOVE IT! I can't wait to build our collection...of sand, dirt, soccer field grass (that's where most of our weekend vacations are spent)! I'm excited about shopping for the cute little glasses too! Enjoy!

Tuesday Tradition #11

Some families have the tradition of a yearly vacation away from it all. Families use this time to reconnect and get to know each other again without all the distractions and hustle and bustle of daily life. Some families travel to grandma's or visit a new place within their state, some may travel to historical monuments while others may take off to another continent. Maybe it's heading to the mountains for one last ski trip before spring hits or hitting the beaches for Spring Break.

Our family has never really had a tradition of traveling and vacationing. My husband and I both grew up families that didn't vacation much. I think the closest I got to a family vacation was hitting the local "lake" with a bunch of my parent's friends. The highlight of my vacation was collecting pollywogs in the water I was forced to swim in. Memories were made and some great stories can be told, but for my family now, I want a little bit more than that.

Because we have 5 kids it's hard to travel far and wide and still remain on a budget. So we've decided to start a tradition right here in our own state of Florida. This will be our first real vacation as a family of 7. We're going to start a Spring Break tradition of heading south to Longboat Key for a few days each Spring Break. My husband surprised me at Christmas last year and took me there for a few days and the entire time we were there we thought about how fun it would be to enjoy this beautiful place as a family. So we're heading out Thursday for our first Family Spring Break vacation! I'm very excited and have prepped myself to enjoy the sun, fun, and family!

Family traditions are what the kids will remember as they grow up, go off to college and begin families of their own. Family traditions are an important part of any family. Whether the traditions are small, like grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies, or big like the trips to Longboat Key, they are a great way for a family to bond, and pass down the importance of relationships and togetherness.

Tuesday Tradition #10

I was at the Florida Story Camp this weekend and met some AMAZING people...people who love their stories, their history and their legacy. I met an older women who was telling me about a tradition she has with her grandchildren. She's a storyteller at heart and in life and her love for story is carrying on through her grandchildren. She told me that she has a jar at her house that is filled with story prompts that are written on little slips of paper....Where did you go to school in kindergarten? What was your favorite Christmas present? Who was your best friend? Tell me about the first time you fell in love....and so on and so on. Every time her grandchildren come over they pull a piece of paper from the jar and ask her the question. She said they will sit and listen to her stories and love to hear about her life and adventures. What a great idea?! I love it. We don't live close to our family, so I'm going to modify this great tradition. I'm going to send all of the grandmother's a beautiful box for Mother's Day filled with questions. Every time we call them (usually once a week) my kids can ask them to pull a question from their box and tell them a story. It would still be so nice to be right there in the room with them, but we'll make it work with what we've got. What a beautiful tradition to share with your families...try it and let me know how it works.

Tuesday Tradition #8

The past year I've been fascinated with learning what the symbols and meanings are behind different holiday traditions. I spent a ton of time at Christmas researching the meaning of the star, presents, candy cane, etc. It's exciting to see how far back these traditions go. This past week I've been intrigued with the symbols of Easter. I've celebrated Easter my entire life, am a devoted Christian, but still never knew what some of the traditional symbols meant.
I always wondered by Easter would move so drastically around the calendar...especially this year, March?? Here's what I found. Easter is a movable feast. Using the lunar calendar as determined by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. Most often Spring occurs between March 22 and April 25. Hum...

And the Easter Bunny? Eastre (or "Ostara"), the Anglo-Saxon Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility was often accompanied by a hare when represented. The fertile nature of rabbits and hares is another symbol of new life and the rebirth that occurs during the spring season. Also, German settlers in America are said to have brought over the tradition of a bunny named "Oschter Haws" who would visit houses on Easter eve, leaving colored eggs for children. Easter eggs were painted different colors to represent the sunlight of spring. Christians later used eggs to symbolize the rebirth of Christ.

And of course the Egg...Of all the symbols associated with Easter the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the most identifiable. The customs and traditions of using eggs have been associated with Easter for centuries. Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they were colored and etched with various designs the eggs were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers, much the same as valentines. In medieval time eggs were traditionally given at Easter to the servants. In Germany eggs were given to children along with other Easter gifts.

I love this time of year...it's truly a beautiful time to reflect on the miracles of Christ. Enjoy your Easter holiday...even if it's in March!

Tuesday Tradition #7

I can't believe Easter is already here! March is supposed to be green with St. Patty's day, but because we have Easter early this year I'd like to share a few Easter Traditions that your family is sure to enjoy.
This tradition started with my family when I was a little girl. I remember doing it with my brother and sister and my mom always had everything set up the Saturday before Easter. She'd get large white construction paper and have us paint cute little Easter and spring pictures all over the paper with paint, markers, glitter, etc. When it dried she'd roll the paper up like an ice cream cone and staple it together. We'd punch two holes on each side of the top of the cone and attach a ribbon or pipe cleaner for a handle and then fill the bottom of the cone with some Easter grass. We'd then fill it with candy and cookies. The best part was when mom broke out the funky bunny ears! Yes, we were then turned into the Cute little Bunnies...WHISKERS and ALL! (I've kept about 80% of this tradition alive in my family....only 80%) We'd "HOP" on over to our neighbors and put the cone on the door knob and then doorbell ditch! Now the door bell ditch was the best part...bunny ears flying, kids tripping, dropping the cones and cookies all over the ground...that was the best part! It wasn't unusual for some neighbors to have a little dirt or something in those cones, but it's a fun tradition, one that I've "sort of" passed on to my kids.

Tuesday Tradition #6

Here is a sweet and simple list of meaningful Family Traditions that you can start implementing in your family...TODAY! I found this at foreverfamilies.net They have a great section called "Creating Meaningful Family Traditions"

*For birthdays, each family member chooses his or her favorite menu, then everyone except the birthday person helps prepare the meal.
*No one can go to bed until they've told each member of the family "I love you."
*For religious milestones such as baptism or confirmation, a child is given a book of scripture.
*For religious or historical figures the family especially admires, celebrate that person's birthday. *Saturdays are Dad's day to make breakfast with the kids.
*Take turns choosing a topic of discussion at the dinner table.
*Have a special dinner plate to be used by a family member who has a reason to celebrate.
*Tell a story every night before bed.
*Keep a family journal, letting everyone write in it.
*Establish your own holidays, such as an "Unbirthday Party."
*Watch movies that explore the value of traditions, such as "Fiddler on the Roof."
Written by Marisa Beebe, Research Assistant, and edited by Stephen F. Duncan, Professor, School of Family Life, BrighamYoungUniversity.

These are beautiful and simple traditions that are cost efficient and will bring your family closer together.

Tuesday Tradition #5

A day late...sorry!

This is fun to plan for St. Patty's Day that's coming up. Eat everything GREEN...from scrambled eggs, to juice, green pancakes to green Jello. Make it fun for the kids. Maybe even sneek in a few green treats in their school lunch...green krispy treats, green grapes. Dinner can be quite exciting too. Some green pasta with green sauce and green salad. Stock up on some green food coloring and have some fun!

Tuesday Tradition #4

This tradition is simple, yet it will have a HUGE impact on your family.

Dinner time at our house can be quite hectic and crazy…completely unorganized an all together a complete miracle if all seven us are there at one time. If we do have all 7 of us sitting around the table, I like to make the most of this time together. The mood can be like a roller coaster…with two daughters, a teenager & pre-teen, their 5-year-old brother looking for fun, twins throwing food from highchair to highchair, dad coming in from a stressful day at work and of course me, trying to remain calm and actually enjoy my meal.

There were plenty of wasted nights at the dinner table. Arguing, bad moods, silent treatments, food fights…I knew I had to find a way to make this quality time that our family could enjoy instead of the worst event of the day…that’s when I started to use the Cherish Bound Chat Cards.

The Chat Cards are a deck of about 50 cards that have questions on them. I LOVE the Family Chat cards. They have wonderful questions for kids of all ages and parents too. They stimulate healthy conversation and who doesn’t love a few minutes of story swapping? There’s no time for bad moods and food fights. Everyone is always waiting to get their chance at telling the next story. It’s a great way to teach each other how to be respectful and listen to someone else speak and gives our children a chance to have the spotlight for just a few minutes.

We’ve gone from crazy hectic dinners to a time of learning, teaching and growing. We look forward to our few nights together at the dinner table. We enjoy each other’s company and love that we’re sharing our stories with each other, teaching each other and keeping a family tradition of sharing story a part of our lives.

Tuesday Tradition #3

Set aside a few hours one night a week that is just for the family. Make it a reoccurring event and keep it the same time, every week. Use this time to play games, watch TV, talk, laugh, bake together, teach each other something...whatever it is, spend this time enjoying each other's company. You'll find teens making sure they're home this evening and the younger siblings will be so excited when their family night comes. My philosophy is...I'd rather my kids be at home with me, but I also want them to "want" to be at home with me. Creating these types of traditions in your own home is a great way to keep your kids at home in a safe and loving enviornment. Give them something fun and exciting to look forward to...before you know it they'll be planning your family's special nights and starting their own traditions.