Tradition is how the vitality of the past

enriches the life of the present.”

T.S. Eliot

I look forward to our Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions every year. I reminisce about childhood Christmases when my mother created a magical Christmas out of thin air.

            What family traditions do you look forward to for the holidays? What brings you the most joy? Is it the food, the fun, the family time, the parties, or the music?

“I love to experience the smells, sights and sounds of Christmas,” said Pat Berg, a grandmother of 19 from Grants Pass.

P.S. I saved my favorite family tradition for #10, in case you’re wondering.

10 Ideas to Bring More Fun to Your Holidays

One: Ask Grown Children what their family would like.

“What I don’t like is the stress of trying figure out what to buy. Did they already have that Lego set, is this the right size, will they like this? That’s what takes the joy out of Christmas giving for me,” Pat said.

Two: Bring Happiness to Others

Reach out to someone lonely. Call them, take them to a Christmas bazaar or concert, invite them to dinner, or visit and sing them carols.

My friend Lynn Hopson invites friends to a cookie bazaar every year. Some of our friends bring food to the homeless. As a family, we put money in a Christmas jar all year, then anonymously give the money to someone.

The book Christmas Jars gave us this idea!

This is my family in 2011 decorating our tree. We had such a great time! One of our fun traditions is a different child gets to put the angel on the tree each year.

Another fun holiday tradition is having one person play “Santa” each year and hand out presents.

Three. Stick to Your Budget

My friend Pat has a budget for each family. I do too. Going into debt for Christmas presents doesn’t make anyone happier. It just causes unnecessary stress.

This year, she told me, one of her sons asked for museum passes as their family gift. A simple, stress-free present to bring Christmas joy!

Four: Recreate Your Parents Traditions With Your Family

I loved putting on puppet shows with my brothers and sister as a kid. One year, my Mom made a puppet theater out of plywood, then sewed Muppet-like puppets for us to play with. I started writing plays and the 4 of us would perform them for our parents. I continued the tradition when my children were young.

Another fun tradition I’ve continued is to make a new ornament for the tree each year. Crafts are a great way to bond as a family and make memories.

Other Fun Holiday Traditions

Many families have the fun tradition of giving out matching PJ’s. My friends Donna and Mike Staker started this tradition when their kids were small. It sure produces cute pictures!

Taking a drive to look at the lights near your house is a great break. It’s always fun. On my street in Grants Pass, two houses have a running competition to see who can fit the most lights on their house each year. It’s pretty comical to see. Now they’ve added inflatables, so their lawns are even more crowded!

Remember this? My 2018 blog contained some creative family traditions. Click here for ‘Keep Calm & Prepare Early for the Holidays.’

Five: Cultivate Joy by Doing Activities that Make You Happy.

Does baking make you happy? When I called, my friend Pat was making rolls for Thanksgiving and listening to Christmas music. How inspiring!

Other holiday traditions for fun times:

• Attending concerts
• Watching Hallmark movies
• Surprising a child and watching their face light up with joy
• Call an old friend to catch up

Six: Focus on the Spiritual

Take time to read scripture, pray, sing and meditate. Spirit-filled Christmas activities help us all feel peace and more joy at this hectic time of year. For me personally, music brings Christmas joy.

I love the carols, cantatas, the Messiah, and other inspiring music that makes my heart light. When I sing, I get wrapped up in the music and feel joy.

Seven: Give experiences or time, not things.

Write a story, make some music together, give tickets to a show.

My friend Lynn wrote a story and gave it to her grandkids one Christmas. “When my daughter told me (grandson) Peyton fell asleep with it under his pillow, I just cried.” Tears of joy, she means!

Eight: Read a Christmas Book

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to read a short Christmas book. My favorite author is Debbie Macomber, who seems to come out with a charming, nostalgic story every year. Everyone has their favorite! If you think you don’t have time to read, then the answer is simple: listen to the book instead. It’s a great way to do something for yourself while doing dishes, making cookies, food shopping, etc. I know it makes me more cheerful!

Nine: Get Outside.

Another fun tradition I had as a child was going to cut the Christmas tree down with my Dad, a forester. (We lived in Maine.) Now, if we can, we get out into the mountains or woods of Oregon to find a tree. The tree permit is only $5.

It’s a lot of fun even if there isn’t snow. You get to see sweeping vistas on your way to the hills, and smell the wonderful forest. Just don’t do what we did one year. . . we walked downhill to find a tree and had to pull the heavy tree uphill to the truck.

Studies have shown that being in green spaces reduces stress and helps us to be happier!

Now, what you’ve all been waiting for. . . . Drumroll, please!

Ten

My all-time favorite tradition is the family treasure hunt!

When we still lived in Vermont and the kids were small, my husband Frank started writing riddles for the kids, then hiding them.

We turned to this after Frank’s sewing debut had disastrous results.

Frank has a great time giving clues when he stumps the kids with his riddles. The cool thing is, even if you’re not good at writing riddles, you can find some pretty funny Christmas verse online, which he uses to make the treasure hunt more fun.

And at the end of the treasure hunt the kids collect their prize. Usually, it is four pomegranates. The joy is not in the prize, but in the challenge of the hunt!

Remembering childhood Christmases through a haze of nostalgia brings joy to me, as does continuing the traditions I’ve started with my family. What brings me the most joy is sharing experiences and traditions with the people I care about. I have to be careful, as we all do, not to overspend on massive amounts of presents in an attempt to re-create the holiday magic.

I have learned it’s truly not about the stuff.