When
I became a parent, I developed this burning desire to create family traditions
that would make my baby girls feel warm, safe, loved and special. I just wasn’t
sure how to go about it. For the first few years after the peeps were born, I
tried to manufacture these occasions based on what other families did. Many of
these attempts failed to catch on because our hearts weren’t in them. They
weren’t authentically “us.”
I became frustrated, believing we
would be the only family on the planet that didn’t have traditions. (Drama
much?) I think my desire to create traditions came from the fact that my
childhood was, for the most part, devoid of strong family connections. I craved
the closeness all of my friends seemed to have with their families, especially
around the holidays. As a parent, I vowed to create that bond in my own little
family.
After trying so hard, and feeling
like I failed, I took a step back and reflected on what I was doing wrong. It
was then that I realized our family actually followed several meaningful and
fun traditions. I also realized authentic traditions, ones that stick around,
can’t be purposefully planned. They just have to happen. In our family, our
best traditions are created by accident. And while they may not be unique, they
reflect who we are at a given point in time. Interestingly, each tradition is a
perfect blend of My Ideal Reality and My Real Reality.
Here
they are:
Homemade cinnamon rolls
One
year, while we were still dating, my then-boyfriend/now husband made me
homemade cinnamon rolls. If you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch, you
know it’s a time-consuming process. More than 10 years later, the tradition
continues, and my husband still makes them. A hot pan of gooey, sweet, sticky,
buttery rolls is ready and waiting either Thanksgiving morning or Christmas
morning (it depends on our holiday obligations, which vary from year to year). The
fact that we only indulge once a year makes them taste that much better.
Salt dough ornaments
One
winter day, when the peeps were about 3 years old, something made me think of
these ornaments, which had been the standard classroom craft of school children
in the 1970s. I found an easy recipe, and we spent the afternoon cutting shapes
and painting them. Four years later, we take a day every winter to make a new
batch for their Christmas tree. It’s been fun watching how the girls’ artistic
skills have developed over the years. And we’ve named our kitchen: The Meltdown Bakery of Love.
Santa at the Kansas City
Zoo
This
will be our third year to visit Santa at The Kansas City Zoo. With a predicted
high of 20°F on Saturday, this will be a chilly visit (last year, we didn’t
need coats!). The zoo’s new penguin exhibit just opened, so we are excited to
check that out as well! This tradition started because someone who shall not be
named forgot one year that a trip to Santa was a necessary part of the
holidays. Oops! By the time this person realized it, most of the Santa
sightings had already taken place. Thankfully, we found Santa at the zoo, and
he was perfect. And free. We can take our own photos and/or buy one for $5. Deal!
Mayor’s Christmas Tree
Lighting
This
was a new adventure for us this year. I don’t know if it will become a
tradition, but I hope so. Our little family has had several big events occur
recently (all good!), so we decided to celebrate with a Staycation. We booked
at room at the Westin Crown Center, which included four tix to LegoLand, four
tix to Sea Life and a $20 gift certificate. We spent the day after Thanksgiving
exploring and eating. Then, we joined the crowd outside of Crown Center for the
annual Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting (100 feet tall!) I’m a Kansas City
native, but had never experienced this event before. It was beautiful, fun and
the perfect way to start off the holiday season. Then, we camped in our hotel
room with dinner, some beers (for me and the husband, NOT the peeps), and some
Cartoon Network (for the peeps, NOT for me and the husband).
And
there you have it! Our accidentally authentic holiday traditions!
Here
is your call to action: Share one of YOUR family traditions and how it came to
be (accidental or not)!
Wherever
you are, whatever you’re doing … Keep It Real.
