Regular family traditions?

[123LuckyMom]

I was wondering if any of you have any regular family traditions to share, something you do all together weekly or daily and not just for a particular holiday. We've been doing a great thing every Sunday night since the beginning of summer. We light a fire (in summer it was in an outdoor fire pit, but now it's in our living room fireplace). We sing songs (or play them off our phones), tell family stories (like how DH and I met, the kids' birth stories, stories from when they were tiny, stories about our childhoods), and share prayers or hopes for ourselves and others. The kids do little performances, and bow, and we all applaud wildly. It's a huge amount of fun, like a mini camping trip every Sunday but with a bit of a religious bent, because it's on Sunday. It was DS's idea at the end of our first camping trip that we should do this EVERY Sunday, and we have. I feel so great about it, and I'd love to have more things like that, traditions that include the entire family and happen regularly. Do you have any to share?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Get outside Sundays. Each Sunday, we pick something to do outside like explore a new park. Anything though really. So long as it's outside,, we are away from technology and just getting fresh air that's all I require. With the weather turning colder, I'm fine with it becoming just get out of the house Sunday. So often we wind up just chilling in our pjs and not being very productive. That makes me grouchy. Bowling, a museum, an aquarium- all works for me!

[jenstring95]

I don't know if this counts because it's not nearly as special sounding as what you described, but DH makes breakfast for us every Sunday and I get to sleep in. The kids love this because they get to pick what breakfast is - generally homemade waffles, pancakes, breakfast tacos, etc. Sometimes they all go out and bring back doughnuts or kolaches. Generally DH makes enough to have leftovers for a breakfast or two during the week, which is nice because otherwise we generally end up having cereal. I like your tradition, OP!

[gymnbomb]

We do cinnamon roll Sundays. Not every single week, but probably 75%+ weeks we will do them for breakfast.

[rkold]

We do Shabbat nearly ever single Friday night. I make challah from scratch (sometimes DD helps) and we light candles, drink grape juice, and say a few prayers. I'm not super observant, but I love making challah from scratch. Now that it gets dark early, we do havdalah as a family also.

[bisous]

We have Family Home Evening. Every Monday night we have a meeting together where we have a little lesson, some prayers, songs and some kind of family game or activity. Sometimes we do a treat. Sometimes we have the older kids lead part of the lesson, conduct the songs and say the prayers. Sometimes the older kids come up with a theme and take over the whole night. (When my 8yo is in charge it is really funny!) It sounds somewhat similar to what you are doing with your kids in purpose and function.

[daisysmom]

We make particular courses of Slovak food for Christmas Eve dinner, and Slovak cookies during the holiday season, and several of my (deceased) MIL's favorite foods for Thanksgiving dinner, and several of my mothers (alive, but can be really annoying) traditional foods for thanksgiving too. I make my DH the same birthday cake (with homemade icing) that his mother always made him (I have done this for 20 years) and he makes me the same cherry cheese cake that my sister always made me.

None of this food is wonderful, particularly tastey, particularly healthy and all of it is TIME CONSUMING TO MAKE. But my DD who is 8 now knows and appreciates the traditions, and we have seen just in the last couple of years, how much she likes to write about the traditions or tell others about them. This ties her to her grandparents heritage and it is worth the effort. I interject new things too, but I honestly am so glad that we have shown her the continuity.

[anonomom]

We usually have a nice breakfast one morning each weekend. It's nice when nobody needs to rush off anywhere.

One tradition that I started last year but let fall away was letting one kid cook each Friday night. The kid whose turn it was got to pick a recipe, we'd make a grocery list together then they'd cook (with my help, of course). I really need to start doing that again, because they all loved it.

[bisous]

I forgot one! We have movie night every Friday. We usually eat make your own pizzas and then sit down to a movie. When DH gets home from work (usually half way through) my kids get to pick 3 SMALL pieces of candy from our candy bag. We collect candy throughout the week all year long. Halloween helps our stash last for the whole year! The kids like it and it helps me control the candy flow. Our Monday nights are generally something that just our family does together but we like to invite friends to movie night. It is a fun activity where we can get together and hang out.

[rlu]

I don't know if this counts because it's not nearly as special sounding as what you described, but DH makes breakfast for us every Sunday and I get to sleep in. The kids love this because they get to pick what breakfast is - generally homemade waffles, pancakes, breakfast tacos, etc. Sometimes they all go out and bring back doughnuts or kolaches. Generally DH makes enough to have leftovers for a breakfast or two during the week, which is nice because otherwise we generally end up having cereal. I like your tradition, OP!

This is the kind of stuff they will remember though, don't be too quick to dismiss.

Our bedtime routine starts in the living room with DH and DS going over the Optimist Creed and then DS and I (and GoldPup) go to his room for prayers. DH even sent the Creed as part of the Science Camp letter so DS could still do that. Getting GoldPup out of DS's room after prayers has become a comedy routine DH and I perform nightly.

Every Sunday DS and I go out to lunch with my folks and sister. Even if we miss church beforehand we go over for lunch, barring illness.

MIL takes DS shopping with her, even if just the grocery store. He's there to "help" her and it gives them grandma time.