I’ve been thinking a lot about tradition lately.
This Christmas will be our first on our new homestead. Well, new to us. We’ve spent the last few months fixing up this 150-year-old (ish) house and the boxes are all unpacked just in time for the holidays. Whew!
It’s the first time we’ve been settled in years, and it feels like the perfect time to make family traditions for our family home. This feels important. How do I want my children to experience the magic of the holidays? This is what they will look forward to all year and look back on one day. But where to start?
Thinking back to the Christmases of my childhood, none of our traditions have survived. Luckily for everyone, my sister and I no longer force the family to enjoy a dance number. But some of the really fun ones, like charades, have also fallen off.
It made me realize it’s the weirdly wonderful things that make the holidays feel much more special than just another family dinner.
So now I’m designing our traditions based on how I want the holidays to feel rather than look.
Slow. Social. Sacred. Those are just some things that come to mind. Light on the presents, heavy on the experience.
We’re having a lobster boil with friends, then a winter solstice bonfire. I’m working on picking out a not-too-long holiday book to read aloud. Ideally in front of the fire. If we had any good china we would use it, but maybe we’ll put on some fancy clothes for Christmas supper, even if it is just the four of us. Do you have any amazing holiday traditions? Tell me about them! Kelly@ostaracircle.com
