Creating Holiday Traditions

Tis the season to ... create YOUR own new traditions! Honor the traditions of your childhood as you create new ones with your children. That might mean that instead of packing up the kids and driving to Grandma's house, you ask Grandma to come to you. It might look like having holiday dinner in your pajamas. It might even look like going away with your family for a week at a dude ranch without a single present to unwrap. As adults we get to choose, and that can be as powerful as it is intimidating. Just because your parents did the holidays a certain way doesn't mean that you have to follow suit. You might hurt some feelings along the way, but when you're clear about boundaries and what you wish to create for your children, it becomes easier.

For my family it began with Chinese takeout for Christmas Eve. Next we voted as a family to see who wanted to make the 6-hour drive to Grandma's house - if we voted to go, then we voted on when. Christmas Day? Christmas Eve? Sometimes we opened our gifts after our Chinese takeout and headed out at the crack of dawn on Christmas day, arriving in time for dinner with the family and all the cousins. Sometimes we opted to stay home and stay in our pajamas all day. As my children got older they understood the value of being with their grandparents over just playing with their new toys. No matter what we decided, I let the kids take the lead.

If you have a mother or mother-in-law who likes to control what the holidays look like, navigating to get what you want can be tricky, but again, keeping boundaries and intentions clear and strong will help it to happen.

What are the traditions you'll keep and what new ones will you start??