Family Traditions- The New Meets the Old
Thank you to Log Cabin for sponsoring my post about updated traditions in my household. To learn more about Log Cabin Syrups (which are all free of High Fructose Corn Syrup), breakfast for dinner, and other new ways to update traditions in your home, click here.I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
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Even though this is a sponsored post by Clever Girls Collective, anyone who knows me knows I love traditions! Some are big productions and some are just small things we have been doing over the years that have become new traditions.
By far our largest yearly tradition is when we meet up for a family reunion at the beach. We look forward to this special time every summer. It gives us all a chance to come together and enjoy seeing each other and spending fun times in the sun and sand. I can say for certain that when you have 23 people to feed, breakfast is most definitely the easiest meal to arrange. That of course means pancakes and waffles are a must. Log Cabin syrup is a staple in our beach house!
On Christmas we all jump in the biggest vehicle we have and go look at the lights in the neighborhood. When we get home, the kids open one gift, leave magic feed for the reindeer and leave milk and cookies for Santa. Even my teenagers get into this tradition and enjoy the excitement it. It is fun for all of us.
On a smaller scale I have carried over a tradition that my parents started when I was young. Every year on a family member’s birthday, we cover the house in signs wishing them a happy birthday. Some signs are handmade. Some signs are printed. Some are sweet. Some are funny. Every one looks forward to waking up and racing through the house looking for the signs and cherishing the reminder that it is their special day. (Truth be told, I become a giddy child when I go looking for my signs, too!) We usually have to convince the kids to take them down a couple of weeks later. They always save at least one. I have a folder of many of my favorites from over the years. I love looking back and seeing the years pass through notes that went from simple to funny to marveling over how fast time flies. I hope the kids carry this tradition on with their own families.
Having kids ranging in age from 17 down to 10 it can be hard to get everyone together. I have found one surefire way to get everyone together and look forward to it. We have made it a tradition to have game night or movie night and to ensure that no one tries to skip out, we bring in the never fail ace up our sleeves: Brinner. That’s right. Breakfast for dinner. We all look forward to breakfast for dinner! The kids start asking for dinner way earlier than when we usually eat. A must for our breakfast for dinner is pancakes and bacon. We all have a part to play in preparing the brinner. And for at least that one night, I am guaranteed to have my whole family gathered around the dinner table to talk, laugh and share our lives. It is the most sought after dinner we have. If one of the kids have had a bad day, we cheer them up with Brinner! Without fail if we have a night without dinner plans, at least one kid will request breakfast. Sometimes we go one step further and make it backwards day. The kids can have dessert for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. They love it! I love that our family has this tradition and that it means so much to my kids.
As they age, our traditions morph and evolved but I am certain one that will never change is breakfast for dinner. It’s our favorite!
What are some of your favorite family traditions?