Start your Family Traditions Now; Life Flies by Fast

When I started “Call Me Grandma!” in 2018, the grandkids were five and two. They’re growing up now–off playing sports, seeing friends, and taking care of themselves.

So, we don’t do craft projects, cooking projects, or play games, as much as we used to. They’ve moved on, as they should.

This is why it’s so important to start your family traditions when the grandkids are young. Even as they grow up and do fewer things with you, the traditions that are sacrosanct will still keep you connected, year after year.

Our family has developed many traditions over the years, but these are the ones that I expect, will be lasting.

The Weekly Family Dinner Tradition

Since the birth of our first grandchild, we have had a standing date for a weekly family dinner. Initially, dinner was on Friday night. Now, the night depends on the kids’ schedules. This family tradition ensures we get to spend at least one night a week with the grandkids.

When they were little, the grandkids would set the table. We used homemade place cards and the child who set the table had the honor of determining where everyone would sit.

The Annual Summer Party

This is a party we do on our deck that began as a celebration of the end of Camp Grandma, a crafts camp I held for the grandkids most summers.

I started the first Camp Grandma over zoom during the pandemic as a means to stay in touch with my socially distanced grandchild during lockdown. Our first summer party was meant to replicate the annual, end-of-year school party that has been cancelled.

We decorate with balloons, serve food and drinks, and have various kinds of games and relay races. There are prizes.

The games have gotten more elaborate and competitive as the kids have grown older. But they still delight in the fishing game, where they cast a line to hook prizes. They insist on it.

The Easter Egg Hunt

In addition to Easter baskets (grandma is the Easter Bunny); we have lunch outdoors; crack cascarones, Mexican confetti eggs, over each other’s heads; and hunt for filled plastic eggs.

Since Miss T was taking an international trip with her class during Easter break, we moved up the Easter basket deliveries to before she left, but she was sad to b missing the Easter egg hunt. So that’s another tradition that’s not going away anytime soon.

The Gingerbread House Party

Our first gingerbread house party also was in response to the pandemic. Since the kids couldn’t do any holiday activities, I created a virtual zoom party making gingerbread houses together.

It’s been an ongoing Christmas tradition since. The houses are getting more complex as the kids get older. This past year, we had our party in January, since we couldn’t coordinate busy schedules.

The New Year Dinner

Unlike the Chinese, the Japanese celebrate January 1 as the New Year and we follow the tradition of my ancestors to have a feast on the big day.

While it might not be part of your family tradition, it’s a good way to start the year with a family gathering. For us, it’s a potluck dinner.

Everyone, including 10-year-old N, is assigned a dish to make. The dishes are traditional Japanese or other Asian, in keeping with the heritage of the celebration, but you could feature your own family food customs. Involve the grandkids in preparing the meal.

Thanksgiving Sleepover

Our recent tradition involves Miss T and grandma working together to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. She spends the night.

Miss T learns about cooking and baking and setting a festive table as we prepare the meal together. We’ve done this for three years running, since she was nine, and I hope she’ll want to continue this tradition through college.

Family Christmas at our House

Our ten-foot Christmas tree is a major production and Miss T has been coming over to help decorate it for the past several years. Before she was old enough, she and her brother decorated a children’s tree in the family room.

We bake and decorate Christmas cookies together in my big kitchen. There’s plenty of counter space for folling and cutting dough and for laying out icings and sprinkles.

All the family’s presents go under our tree. The family comes for breakfast Christmas morning and we open presents together.

The rest of the day is spent in leisure–playing the new games the kids received at Christmas, reading our new gift books, and enjoying our new toys. We have dinner together, then the family packs up and heads home.

Making Memories of your Family Traditions

I would like to think that the grandkids will remember these activities fondly one day, when they recall their childhood.

I’m hoping to make a few videos that compile images of these activities. One of my favorite video apps is PicPlayPost. I use the simple basic free app for my Instagram reels. Of course, I also can use iMovie, which is free and preinstalled on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

But all that is for another day.

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