Growing up, my family had all sorts of family traditions. There were always activities or food that we looked forward to for each holiday or special event throughout the year.
But there were also small and simple family traditions that happened every day. Like eating supper at the dinner table together. Praying as a family before bed.
Each week we had special traditions as well. Friday night was always homemade pizza night.
And Sunday nights after we got home from our evening service, we would eat popcorn. I remember other kids being jealous of our Sunday popcorn tradition.
What are Family Traditions?
As I shared above, family traditions can be big or small. They can happen every day, once a week, or only once a year.
My mom used to say, “We did this twice in a row, it’s a tradition!” She loved creating traditions for our family.
These experiences helped bring us closer together. They were kind of like inside jokes within our family which helped create a special bond and spend quality time together.
Family traditions are things your family does repeatedly to bring a closeness to each other and create memories you and your family will cherish for decades to come.
How to Start Family Traditions
Sometimes traditions start simply because of a repeated habit. For example, we used to get soda and popcorn at the gas station at the edge of town whenever we would go to the city an hour away.
It happened a couple of times in the row, and then it just became a tradition to continue.
But if you want to create specific family traditions, those usually don’t just occur. There has to be a plan in order for the traditions to happen.
If you want ideas for traditions, think back on your childhood and include some of your favorite traditions. Ask your spouse and children for ideas and things they would like to do. And of course, use this list.
You can also read about my specific holiday traditions ideas.
Family Tradition Examples
1. The First Day of the School Year
The first day of a new school year is always exciting and a little nerve wrecking. This is a great time to create a yearly tradition.
- Have a special breakfast.
- Give your child a card or special note.
- Take a picture of your child with their school bag.
- Put a note in their lunch box.
- Buy a new pair of shoes or other article of clothing.
2. Big breakfast on the weekend.
During the week, you probably make a quick breakfast. Your family goes to work, school, or runs errands, and you may not have a lot of time to cook a nice breakfast or even sit down and eat as a family.
But maybe one day on the weekend, you could make a big breakfast and enjoy it together as a family before you get to your weekend events.
3. Weekly game or movie night with favorite snacks.
Either Friday night or Saturday night we have movie night at our house. It depends what we have going on.
The kids get to pick out a DVD from the library during the week and then we watch it one night during the weekend.
It’s always fun to pop popcorn and eat out of their popcorn tubs from Dollar Tree. It’s a highlight my kids look forward to doing.
If you don’t want to do movies, you could do game night. Or you could rotate them each week.
4. Make bucket lists for each season.
At the beginning of the season, sit down as a family and make a bucket list. Everyone gets to participate, but Mom and Dad can lead the discussion and approve or disapprove of certain activities.
This is fun to do each season because it gives your family something to look forward to doing together. You’ll also hear from your kids the things they are interested in doing.
We hang our bucket list up on the fridge and my kids love crossing off things from the list as we do them.
5. First snow of the year.
When it starts to get cool, my kids always want hot cocoa. So our tradition is to have hot cocoa on the first snow fall of the year.
Maybe your family could have chili or make homemade banana bread. Pick something that is pretty simple, but fun to celebrate the first snow.
If you live in a location that doesn’t have snow, you could pick a date on the calendar like December 1.
6. Last day of the school year
The last day of the school year is such a fun time! Choose a fun tradition for this special time of year.
- Get ice cream.
- Go swimming.
- Eat a picnic lunch at the park.
- Grill out and eat in the backyard.
- Go camping.
7. Birthday celebration traditions.
Birthday’s are always a fun time to celebrate each family member. It’s also a great time to include family traditions. You probably have a favorite tradition from your childhood. Or maybe one you wish you had!
Here are some ideas:
- Use a special birthday plate.
- Tie balloons to the birthday child’s chair.
- Hang streamers from their doorway to walk through.
- Let the birthday child pick out a special breakfast.
- Go to a restaurant or have a homemade meal of their choice.
- Everyone shares a special memory or character trait of the birthday person.
- Retell the story of the day they were born. (G rated of course.)
- A certain gift on a specific birthday. (bike on 8th, phone on 15th, ect.)
8. Bedtime routine and check in.
Bedtime is a special time for our family. After our kids follow their evening routine of baths, PJ’s, and brushing teeth, we tuck them into bed with the same daily tradition.
They share their favorite part of the day. Everybody prays. We sing a song. And then everyone gives hugs. It only takes about 5 minutes, and it’s a great way to end the day with happy kids.
Your family bedtime routine doesn’t have to take long. It’s a great way to connect with your kids each day in a simple way. You can even start a bedtime routine with your one year old.
10. Cooking Together.
Getting in the kitchen and creating something together as a family builds unity and camaraderie. It’s another way to get to know each other and do something productive.
Maybe you could have “build your own pizza” night once a week or once a month. Saturday mornings may be a favorite time to bake cinnamon rolls or muffins together.
My kids love helping me with dinner. Every night they ask if there is something they can help with. Usually there is at least one or two tasks they can do. The simplest thing they did was add pre measured ingredients to bowls.
Then they upgraded to rolling canned crescent rolls. Now my almost 8 year old helps shred cheese and cut vegetables. Helping in the kitchen is a favorite nightly tradition.
11. Family Walk or Outside Time on the Weekends
Spending time outside together as a family is not only good for your family unit. It’s good for your family’s health and well being.
Weekends are a great time to go for a family hike, walk, picnic, or bike ride because you probably have more time than on the weekdays.
However, you may find that your family likes to take a walk every night after dinner.
12. Monthly Parent/Child Date Night
This family tradition started one Christmas when my husband took my son shopping for Christmas presents. They had so much fun on their date, that they decided it would become a monthly tradition.
Now we each take one of our kids on a monthly date. It’s a highlight they look forward to each month.
Here are some great mother daughter date night ideas and father son ideas too.
13. Volunteer as a family.
A great way to build closeness as a family is to help others as a family unit. Even little kids can learn be a part of service opportunities.
You could give baked goods and cards to elderly neighbors. Volunteer as a family at church or community service events.
Donate food and clothes to shelters. Give to Operation Christmas Child or Angel Tree at Christmas. Participate in neighborhood cleanups.
This is definitely not a complete list of family traditions, but I hope it gives you a great start. If you have more ideas to add to this list, leave them below.
