When I was married, we had certain family traditions. For instance, on Thanksgiving, the location rotated among four people, meaning every fourth year, I would host a huge family dinner. As apart of the Thanksgiving meal, we had the same things, year after year. For instance, there was the turkey, stuffing, dinner rolls, strawberry salad, and pumpkin pie. While delicious, we always knew what would be served for Thanksgiving.
After going through my divorce, I decided to start new traditions. Instead of just making them up on my own, I sat my son and daughter down, asking them what they wanted to do. We made some plans and the first Thanksgiving as a single parent home was wonderful. Our first year, we made all Mexican food for Thanksgiving. We had tamales, burritos, enchiladas, rice, beans, chips and salsa, and of course, sopapillos, and deep-fried ice cream.
The second Thanksgiving, we decided to do Chinese. For this, we had won-ton soup, chicken fried rice, pot stickers, sweet and sour pork, crab Rangoon, and for dessert, delicious almond cookies. Last year, we went Italian. In other words, creating your own holiday traditions is a great way to get the kids involved and for doing something unique and special to your new family. Your kids can still embrace the more traditional Thanksgiving by visiting the other side of the family but I have to tell you, they love our special time.
We even came up with some Christmas traditions. For instance, we all spend time in the kitchen every Christmas Eve, making homemade cinnamon rolls. Then on Christmas morning, we have hot chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon rolls. In addition, we go caroling, helping the homeless, all treasured events that have become our own special tradition as a single parent home.
Five Ways to Create Family Traditions This Holiday Season