As you probably already know, making memories with my family is one of my favorite activities in the world. And with that, we have enjoyed some fun traditions that have helped strengthen our relationship. And today, I wanted to share some of our traditions with you in the hopes that it does the same for your family too.
Why Are Family Traditions Important?
Family traditions create warm and positive memories that each family member can look back fondly year after year. These traditions become core memories as your kids grow up and it also teaches your kids important values in life.
Family Traditions To Enjoy With Your Kids
Family traditions don’t need to be expensive or fancy. Some of them can be done with very little to no additional cost. From our personal experience, the simplest tradition can be the most fun one for us as a family. You don’t have to do all of these; but you are more than welcome to choose which ones you’d like to try.
Movie Or Game Night
When the kids were old enough to enjoy a movie, we started doing movie night every Friday and Saturday. This is something we’ve done at our home so we don’t have to pay for movie tickets for everyone. Of course, we weren’t able to watch the most recent movies but we find that it’s okay since it has saved us money.
In October, we would watch Halloween-related movies; and from November to December, we would watch Christmas-related movies.
At some point, the kids were into board games. So during that time, instead of watching movies on weekends, we would play board games. I miss this time a lot because our house would be filled with laughter because of all the silly things happening.
Celebrate Achievements
In our house, we are big on celebrating achievements, no matter how big or small it is. To celebrate, we would skip cooking and order take out for dinner. For small achievements, we’ve done fast food or pizza night. For big achievements, we have splurged a little and order from restaurants.
One of the kids got a good grade from a project that they’ve spent a lot of time on – we celebrate. My husband got a salary increase at work – we celebrate. The kids leveled up in their martial arts class – we celebrate. My fall mini sessions booked up on opening day – we celebrate. My middle son completed his peanut allergy treatment – we celebrate. And you know this one is huge!
When we bought our first house, we had our very first dinner on the kitchen floor eating Chinese food. Every year, during our house purchase anniversary, we order food from the same Chinese restaurant to celebrate.
Take Each Kid Out On A Date
Every so often, I would take each kid out on a date. They get to choose what they want to do. This has been one of their favorite activities so far because they have the rarest opportunity to have an alone time with Mommy without their siblings interrupting.
We’ve done a visit to the zoo, watching Monster Truck, eating at their favorite restaurant, staying home to watch their favorite movie, and so much more. The possibilities here are endless.
Get Your Family Photos Taken Annually
We all know it – kids grow up so fast. faster than we are ready for. I never really notice how fast they’re growing up because I see them every day. But as soon as I see their photos from last year, that’s when I noticed how much they have changed. This is normally part of our fall family tradition.
That’s why I arrange for our family photos to be taken every year. This one can be expensive but I promise you that this surely is worth the investment. It doesn’t just document the current season of our lives, but it also freezes that moment for me. More than how my kids look at that time, the current relationship that we all have with each other is frozen in those photos. Knowing that we can always look back on those photos and remember our lives back then, that alone makes it priceless for me.
You don’t have to do a fancy photoshoot. You can even do an in-home lifestyle photography session. Think about it – at the comfort of your home, doing an activity that you all enjoy doing – what could be a better way to document that time in your lives?
If you’re interested in booking a family photography in Northern Virginia, I have a team of amazing family photographers who can help you freeze this time in your lives. I’d love to hear from you.
Have Meals Together
We have always eaten meals together as a family, except on days when the kids are in school or on some nights that I am out working late, of course. This one is pretty simple; but it certainly helps strengthen your family’s bond. This becomes more important once your kids are older, because everyone is going to be busy with their own lives (school, work), sitting together as a family to enjoy a meal and talk about what went on in your day will probably be the only time you all will get to catch up after a busy day.
Family Time
We always have a designated family time every single day. This is where we all gather in the living room after dinner to watch whatever show we are into. This is our “quiet time” as a family before the kids go to bed. Sometimes, we go to bed right after watching; but some nights, there’d be silly playing between the kids and I. Some nights, we’ll have late dinner because of our schedule, but we would extend the kids’ bedtime a little bit just so we could enjoy some family time.
Celebrate The Beginnings And The Endings
As you might have already learned, I am big on celebrating. Other than celebrating each other’s achievements, I find that I enjoy celebrating the beginnings and the endings with my family.
At the last day of school, I would take the kids out on a lunch to celebrate the end of their school year. We would go and enjoy ice cream together as a family to celebrate the first day of summer. We would go to our favorite water park and spend the whole day there to celebrate the first weekend of summer break. We would celebrate the start of fall by spending the entire day at a Pumpkin Patch.
Go On A Trip
We go somewhere to celebrate the kid’s birthdays. We’ve gone to a beach, theme park, or water park. We try to be budget-friendly as much as possible because going on trips for each kid’s birthday can get very expensive, especially since we have 3.
This is just an idea. You don’t have to do exactly like what we’re doing but maybe go on an annual family trip.
Fun Family Traditions To Strengthen Your Bond
I hope these fun family traditions help strengthen your family’s relationship as they have helped ours. No matter what tradition you choose, as long as it draws you closer to your family, then that is all that matters. If you end up trying some of these, I’d love to hear how you like them.
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
Fun Activities To Do With Kids In Northern Virginia
Winter Traditions To Start With Your Family
Frying Pan Park | Recreational Activity in Herndon, VA
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‘Til next time,
Belle
