Slice of Life: Family Traditions
Today I could have posted a collection of books about Kwanzaa as we’re in the middle of the holiday now or re-posted my birthday books post since I’m celebrating another year around the sun, but I’d rather share a little slice of life post about family traditions after spending a few days with my immediate family.
Growing Up
I grew up surrounded by traditions that my mom and dad created for us. We lived 6 hours from my dad’s family and almost 10 hours from my mom’s, so many Christmases were spent at home without extended family nearby.
For us, Christmas Eve was spent with close family friends doing some sort of fun activity – ice skating, bowling, hiking, heading down to the city to explore. We’d got to an early mass and have Sloppy Joe’s for dinner. Christmas day we spent opening new toys, talking on the phone to aunts and uncles, my grandparents, etc. And then we’d eat a “fancy” dinner together.
Today
As the years have passed, we’ve added significant others, pets, and my niece and nephew to the mix. And although our family traditions have morphed to include new people and adapted to work for toddlers, it’s still the idea of being together that’s most important. My sister couldn’t make the holidays last year, but with Skype and phone calls we watched movies together, toasted with a drink, and checked in throughout the holiday. We still eat Sloppy Joe’s for dinner, but we open up presents later in the day on Christmas. We opened up our stockings after dinner this year, which was completely different.
Those family friends, I mentioned before? They’re dealing with some health issues this year, so we didn’t get to see them. And after spending 25+ Christmas Eves with them, it was weird to not see them. But, thanks to technology, we were able to send texts and pictures back and forth.
I love that our Christmas traditions are flexible enough to adapt and yet we still all get together whenever possible to celebrate. I hope that you had an enjoyable holiday filled with love and peace!
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