The holidays are officially here! As we start singing along with every song that comes on the radio, our minds are filled with ways to start the celebration. If you’re looking for new traditions to start this year, then get ready for some fun! We’re going to tell you all the new traditions that you absolutely must incorporate into your holiday season.
Why are traditions important?
The holidays are full of traditions, from gathering for a meal to finding your perfect tree. But why is it in our nature to have traditions that we do each year? Traditions keep us connected to one another and can oftentimes help us feel comforted.
A simple tradition such as recreating your grandmother’s famous cookie recipe can make a huge difference in your day. Scooping out those cookies can flood your thoughts with all the moments you spent with your grandmother, in turn giving you a deeper connection to her even if she’s gone. This sense of connection and the physical sense of eating and smelling the cookies can give you an overall sense of comfort that you may not know you needed.
Starting new traditions or recreating old ones when you have kids is highly important. As kids grow up, they’re constantly trying to figure out what their role in life and their family is. By introducing new traditions you are telling them a story and giving their world a bit of importance. Traditions help develop their sense of belonging, and around the holidays that can have powerful magic.
And who knows? Maybe years down the road they’ll make the same cookies your grandmother did for their own kids. They’ll spend those moments filling their kid’s heads with stories as you did for them – making that connection a little bit stronger.
Read More: Family dinner traditions to get your kids talking
Fun and New Traditions to Start this Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is the holiday where we gather and give thanks for the things in our lives. This is one of the best holidays to implement new traditions for our families! With each new tradition you set, you give your family more and more reasons to think and feel what they are thankful for.
Thanksgiving Crafts
When you’re searching for new traditions to start, make sure to start them before the actual holiday! This will give your family multiple chances to get involved before the actual holiday. Choosing a few Thanksgiving crafts is a fun way to bring a little joy and connection into the month of November.
The crafts can be educational and revolve around why we celebrate Thanksgiving, or you can make them a bit more personal. One of the top things people are thankful for each year is family, so take this time to create a holiday craft around that – like a family tree! This can be as simple as coloring a tree with construction paper or for older family members you can create something more sturdy and turn it into a family heirloom.
Centerpiece Rotation
Starting new traditions or keeping old ones going can be a bit difficult when some family members don’t live in the same house. Decorating the dinner table for Thanksgiving is not only fun, but it gives a sense of importance to each family member who participates. While the host will likely decorate the table in their own way, you can make new traditions by having a centerpiece rotation each year.
Doing a centerpiece rotation can give each family member a chance to feel important and provide value to the family that can be both seen and felt.
Read More: Cheap and Chic Thanksgiving Centerpiece
Preparing the Food
Whether you’re looking for new traditions or keeping old ones going, having your kids helping out in the kitchen on Thanksgiving should be a tradition in every family. When your kids help you out in the kitchen, especially on Thanksgiving, it offers a number of benefits. The first one is that it lightens your load on what to cook!
Another huge reason to start new traditions of cooking in the kitchen is that it helps with your kid’s development. According to SCOE, “Hands-on cooking activities help children develop confidence and skill. Following recipes encourages children to be self-directed and independent, it also teaches them to follow directions and develop problem-solving skills.”
Giving your kids a sense of responsibility on such a big holiday will give them a huge boost of confidence and the role they play in the family. And while you’re starting new traditions, maybe start a little early with the cooking tradition so they get a feel for it before the big holiday.
Read More: 8 Fun ways for your kids to help with Thanksgiving dinner
FaceTiming those who aren’t present
Thanksgiving may be a little different this year as not as many people are wanting to travel during a pandemic. That doesn’t mean that you can’t include those who aren’t able to make it. We live in a wonderful age of technology, where we can simply pick up a phone and see a loved one within seconds, no matter the distance.
So when you’re starting new traditions that involve everyone, set aside a chunk of time on Thanksgiving to have a video chat with family and friends. Both you and the people you’re calling will feel more connected and it may encourage them to pick up the phone and connect with someone else during this time.
Dinner Speeches
This is one of the new traditions that may sound a little nerve-wracking at first but is so worth it in the end. As you sit down for Thanksgiving Dinner, go around the table and have each person give a little speech on what they are thankful for this year.
Although the speeches for the first year of this tradition may be short and sweet, this gives your family a way to deepen their speech each year. As the holiday approaches, your family will begin to think about what they want to say during their speech, and possibly will even practice it in the shower. Not only does this create a huge connection during the holiday, but it gives you time to reflect and truly appreciate and love the things in your life.
Cutting the Turkey
While it may be the head of the household’s responsibility to cut the turkey each year, that doesn’t have to be set in stone. Part of creating new traditions is having the ability to say what goes. Instead of having one person cut the turkey each year, rotate it amongst the family, or draw a name out of the hat right before dinner. The more connecting you do with a tradition, the more involved your family feels.
Giving everyone a Wishbone
We all remember fighting over the wishbone at the dinner table. The wishbone is a tradition that everyone looks forward to on Thanksgiving. While this lucky tradition may feel like it started in your household, AAEPA tells us that this tradition “dates back nearly 2,400 ago.”
A tradition that has lasted over 2,400 years is something to truly keep alive and going. But instead of causing a fight to break out for a wish, starting new traditions like giving everyone a wishbone can help mediate the drama. Giving each person in your family a chance to have their wish come true is a meaningful tradition that can be passed down for years.
Plus, they’re really easy to buy, so you don’t have to search through a bunch of birds to find them! Check out these wishbones on Amazon!
So whether you’re starting new traditions or trying to keep old ones alive, remember why we have traditions. Creating these bonds and memories provide so much value to our lives and the lives of future generations. While you may never meet your great-great-grandchild, knowing that someday they may be gearing up for their turn in the centerpiece rotation will help keep the connections in your family alive.
WANT TO READ MORE?
So now that you’ve planned out your new traditions, it’s time to start prepping for the big holiday! Make sure to read Planning a Stress-free Thanksgiving!
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Photo Credits: Priscilla Du Preez | Claudio Schwarz
