Welcome to Wednesday Word, a weekly linkup for everyone, not just health and fitness bloggers. Each Wednesday you will have a single word prompt to write about. Let your imagination run free and share with your readers your interpretation of that word, or simply use it as inspiration for your post. Today’s word is tradition….. I’d love to have you link up, and if you do, please remember to follow my six simple rules.
2014
Tradition – an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom);
~ Merriam-Webster
Nothing makes my heart happier than celebrating a holiday or special occasion with family and friends, and doing it in a way we’ve always done it, or in a way that elicits fond memories from childhood. Over the years I’ve continued childhood traditions, adopted a few of my in-laws’, and Bill and I have started a few of our own.
Favorite Holiday Traditions:
- Dad reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve to my brother and me, and years later to his grandsons
- Christmas cookie baking with my mom
- Roasted chestnuts after Christmas dinner (Bill’s family)
- Driving around admiring Christmas lights after Christmas Eve mass
- Book Night
Out of all of the traditions from my childhood to the present, my favorite is Book Night. And I dare say that if you ask either of our sons or Bill which family tradition is their favorite, they would all answer, “Book Night,” as well.
Book Night started back when Joseph and Daniel were little as a way to encourage them to explore the world through books. We read to them regularly when they were young, but once they got into chapter books we wanted to help encourage their love for books to continue. Little did we know at the time that it would become a tradition we’d be enjoying all these years later with them as adults.
For years we started the night at Barnes and Noble next to Reston Town Center, but the store closed a couple of years ago so we now we go to Tysons Corner Center. After everyone purchases as many books as they want (within reason), we head to RTC for dinner. For several years we went to Macaroni Grill; and then one year we switched it up and went to Morton’s, then Jackson’s the following year, and last year we went to Il Fornaio.
After dinner, we usually stop by the Hyatt Regency’s lobby to check out the gingerbread village, and we always get a picture in front of the giant Christmas tree at Fountain Square. Some years we get hot chocolate and swing by the rink to watch the ice skaters, other years we get gelato. Most important is that we’re hanging out together!
As our family grows, I’m sure we’ll add new traditions and they’ll become very special as well, but I suspect that Book Night is here to stay, and will always remain as one of our favorite ways to celebrate the holidays!
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Another favorite tradition started back when I was in high school. My mom and I started baking a few batches of Christmas cookies every weekend starting in early October. By mid-December we’d have enough cookies in the freezer to make elaborate trays of cookies and fudges to give to everyone we knew. My teachers, mom’s hairdresser, the mailman, and elderly neighbors were just a few of the lucky recipients of those delicious trays of calorie-laden goodness.
In later years, I’d dedicate a weekend with my mom for a cookie baking marathon. I think it was my dad’s favorite weekend of the year since he always assumed the role of quality control manager, tasting a sample cookie from every batch. Mom and I haven’t resumed the tradition since Dad died – it’s just been too hard.
Our newest family tradition has started now that our sons are adults and we have a daughter-in-law. After Christmas Eve mass, we’ve always driven around our neighborhood admiring all of the beautiful Christmas lights, but now instead of putting the boys to bed when we get home so Santa can come; we have a delightful evening of snacking on sausage roll, homemade sweets, and wintery cocktails. It’s family time, and simply delightful!
What are some of your favorite traditions?
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Next Wednesday’s Word: Celebrate
What a great word and such beautiful things to remember! I love family traditions! Time to get my creative thoughts flowing!
Thanks! Hope you’ll link up again this week!
This post makes a person smile. Such nice family traditions! My kids are in their 20’s and it is so nice to still share holiday traditions with them year after year. I can’t wait to see which ones they carry over when they start their own families 🙂 Nice family pictures! Enjoy the holiday season!
Mary Beth Jackson recently posted…Holidays are full of tradition
Thank you! I think that will be the ultimate compliment – having our children continue with our family traditions with their own families.
Your Christmas traditions are wonderful! I know that your boys are going to continue to add their own families’ traditions as your family continues to grow. Thank you for a great post to start the day!
anne recently posted…Wednesday Word: Tradition
Thanks, Anne!
What beautiful traditions! So nice that your boys still love the holiday family traditions!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Why I won’t be #RWRunStreaking
Some traditions more than others – I never could get them very interested in helping decorate the Christmas tree, even when they were little. 🙂
I am so sorry that the cookie baking is too painful now (although that might just be kind of a blessing in disguise). I used to start baking cookies in summer and freeze them; I stopped that long ago. This year I’m actually thinking I just might bake several different types of dog cookies. Good for my waistline, happy dogs, and saves money, too!
Book night is an absolutely wonderful tradition! I love it. Even if I no longer buy physical books – or very, very rarely. I either borrow from the library or download to my kindle. Otherwise my house would have exploded long ago.
My parents tradition was to sing Hannukah songs. The younger generation really hated it. They still call me up singing them. It’s not a tradition I embraced.
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy recently posted…A love of tradition has never weakened a nation (Winston Churchill)
I absolutely love your idea of baking doggie cookies. You dogs will appreciate it! How’s Chester feeling?
I LOVE reading about family traditions! That’s a great strategy starting the holiday baking in October….gosh, every year, I totally space on starting early and have to turn my kitchen into “Flour & Sugar Central” for one crazy weekend. I always cut it close, and never get as much baking done as I’d like. Duh. #mybad! I have a tree skirt that I made…….every year I trace the outline of the kids’ hands and sew them on and embroider their names or initials and the year. The skirt is about as full as it can get, and I never got around to adding the names/hands last year, so I think it’s now a completed project. The kids are all grown, so their hands really aren’t changing anymore, so I’m good with it.
Kim Hatting recently posted…I have a new Holiday Tradition…Streaking!
I love your tree skirt idea! What a wonderful Christmas decoration to cherish forever.
I do a candy making weekend (a few cookies too) with my kids. We also enjoying driving around looking at Christmas lights, the tackier the better. I can remember when I was very young, my Dad read the Christmas story from the bible. Maybe your Mom and you could enjoy a new tradition? For me, it all comes down to enjoying time with family–no matter how we do it. Thanks for the linkup!
HoHo Runs recently posted…It’s A Holiday Tradition
Now that Dad’s gone I take mom Christmas shopping. She drives in her local town, but doesn’t like driving beyond there, so spend a few days with her and we go to a few neighboring towns. We make a day of it, and that’s become our new tradition. 🙂
Book night sounds right up my alley! I love perusing the book store – when I was younger, you would often find me sitting on the floor in a B&N aisle with a stack of books around me, carefully reading the book jacket of each one and deciding which one or two to take home.
One of my favorite traditions that we’re just starting is driving down to the “big city” for an outdoor, walk-through light display they have every year. It’s all free, including hot cocoa, shortbread cookies, popcorn, and even marshmallows to roast in little fire pits! It’s so much fun and the lights are beautiful. We make it an evening by stopping by the mall to visit Santa, and going out for dinner. My daughter is 4, and it’s still so fun to see the magic of Christmas in her eyes.
Alison recently posted…Wednesday Word
Your new tradition sounds delightful!
I remember when my oldest son was a baby and I watched his eyes light up the first time he looked at our Christmas tree so I understand exactly what you mean by seeing the magic of Christmas in your daughter’s eyes.
Perfect word for the season!!!
What a beautiful family you have!! What great traditions, you have created for your family.
As I think about today’s word, I think back to my childhood and I don’t recall any real traditions but I have made a conscious effort to begin creating traditions for my kids throughout the year :).
Thank you, and I’m sure your children love that you’re creating family traditions for them!
What a beautiful family you have! And I LOVE the traditions! Book night is such a great idea! I do the marathon cookie baking but I do it solo. I also assume the role of quality control because my husband doesn’t really have much of a sweet tooth. Thank goodness for lycra in jeans, ha ha!
Phaedra @ Blisters and Black Toenails recently posted…Tradition
Thank you! My lycra is already all stretched out, so that’s another good reason I no longer do marathon cookie baking.
What beautiful family photos! I love the book tradition!
Thanks!
These are great traditions! I don’t have family locally, but one of my close friends does the cookie baking and we go to their home for a cookie sampling party before Christmas! Enjoy your traditions! Can’t believe December is already here.
Kelli recently posted…Is your run training making you faster?
Cookie sampling sounds like a great way to do it – no mess, but all the deliciousness of homemade! 🙂
I loved your Book Night idea that I now do it twice a year with my little neighbors – once in December for XMAS and once in June as their birthday celebrations – the kids love it!
Janet recently posted…10 Helpful Tips for a Stress-free Holiday Season from the Signature Design Team
You little neighbors are very lucky! 🙂
I love your book night tradition! I also have not heard of many people who actually roast chestnuts on or around Christmas. That’s pretty neat!
One of my favorite memories from the holidays when I was a kid was going over to my grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve. It was a huge get together (at its peak we had 13 adults and 14 kids). Everyone dressed up and we had a big meal, exchanged a few gifts for the kids (while they adults played “cutthroat Christmas” – that White Elephant gift stealing game), and spent time together. Then, on the drive home, our whole neighborhood would put out luminaries along the roads and they would have all of the street lights turned off for Christmas Eve. It was truly magical for a kid.
Roasting chestnuts is an Italian thing. When we were in Italy, especially Rome, we saw hot roasted chestnuts for sale at all the little street markets.
Your childhood Christmas memories are terrific, especially the luminaries along the street.