Getting Started with Family Traditions

Family traditions are defined actions or customs that a family practices to reinforce key values or experiences as a family. They help break from daily routines and give family an intentional practice to reconnect, celebrate, or deepen. Family traditions don’t have to mean big or flashy either, but simply that it is a space to pause from regular routines and re-engage.

Let’s dive into exactly how you can leverage this power of family traditions.

Using the Categories of Family Traditions

There are a wide variety of family traditions, so if you are looking for the best way to instill this practice into your family’s culture, you can start by evaluating what area of your family needs support. Remember, part of why family traditions are important is because they are your tools to reinforce what matters in your family’s culture. Learn more about strong family cultures here.

Consider these 3 areas that family traditions support:

1. Family Traditions for Connection

In this category, you can create traditions that are meaningful points to reconnect as a family.  These types of family traditions are important because they help you become more intentional in having defined time to connect. Too often, we just hope for the best that we are staying connected, so having a tradition will give you a specific way to implement this.

These traditions related to connection could look like a fun activity everyone enjoys doing together, a family meal time practice, a special Zoom call for updates, etc. Evaluate the gaps in your own family first of where connection could be further developed and find the unique strategies that work best for you.

2. Family Traditions for Celebration

This tends to be the most common category people think of related to traditions as we think about birthdays or holidays that have special activities tied to them. However, it can and should go much deeper than this. These types of family traditions are important because they help give your family encouragement to keep going and reinforce what you all care about accomplishing.

To create family traditions centered around celebration, look for opportunities to highlight when goals and victories are achieved, and to create special moments or physical remembrances tied to what you are celebrating. The more you encourage and celebrate what you want your family to be about, the more this will be solidified in their minds.

3. Family Traditions for Depth

As your family finds its path with traditions, this last category will help you think about what your family needs to be challenged or to go deeper together. By having a tradition tied to this, taking on new things or challenges can become more of a positive, growth experience. It is easy to get tied up in being busy as a family so having a family tradition to encourage depth helps create that intentional space to break from regular routines and have a tool to utilize to grow.

For these types of family traditions, it is important to consider your family’s current season and what will best support where your family is at in terms of age and current needs. It can be simple traditions like how you study the Bible, or a bigger activity to take a retreat and plan together, or even a challenge you set for the family to accomplish (generosity, health, serving, etc.). 

Use Family Traditions to Build for the Future

At the end of the day, your family doesn’t need more busy work or extra tasks, so don’t let traditions just be another thing to consume time. Dig deep to find a few, dedicated practices that will be the most impactful to your family’s trajectory. Review those 3 family traditions categories as a family and pick one idea from each as a starting point.

It’s just one more building block to your foundation. These are the traditions your family can pass and adapt to next generations, so now is always the best time to start.

Do you need more help just diving into the daily habits as well? Find our guide here.