Traditions are the stories that families write together. This is a line from a Christmas movie (Reunited At Christmas – Hallmark Channel) that a grandma speaks to her young granddaughter as she shares the cherished Christmas star that has been passed down for generations and sits atop the family Christmas tree.
We have some things that have become traditions in our family. Some are borrowed from each of my wife’s and my families. Some we made up for ourselves. Here are a few of our favourites:
- We say something like, “have fun, be good, make good choices and play nice” when our kids leave our house. Of course it started when they were much younger.
- The way we open Christmas gifts. Read more here.
- Summer camping trips to Port Burwell, Mikesew and a few other provincial parks. Fry truck fries and feeding the seagulls.
- Group camping with the Payne, Calleja and Potts families. We added other families as the girls got older & moved away from home. Elaine, Melissa and I still go with this group every summer.
- A yearly picture at the bus stop (at least through grade school).
- Father-daughter fishing trips, spring fall and winter at a cabin with 3 other families all with girls (13 girls, 4 dads). Yup, we were crazy.
- Summer movie nights in the Rosseau Community Hall
- Maple syrup making in the back yard when we lived in Rosseau.
- Pulling GT’s behind the tractor in the winter and riding in the trailer in the summer. This started with my dad pulling the girls around their yard in a trailer in the summer in Milton.
- Attending the annual sled dog race in Rosseau.
What are your family story traditions?
Meandering Moose 