Everyone wants his or her holiday experience to be a happy one. The reality is, however, that there are a lot of reasons this is a very stressful time of year, even for those who love the Christmas season.
One way to counteract some of the stress is to create and continue family traditions that add joy to the time you spend with your family.
Research has shown that engaging in family traditions builds and strengthens bonds between family members of all ages. People who participate in family traditions report that this special time spent together makes the effort they put into coordinating busy schedules and traveling well worth it. Many traditions are spiritually based and add purpose and meaning to the season. Research even shows that the silly rituals your family enjoys are valuable, because any time a family laughs and has fun together is time well spent.
Studies also reveal the number of rituals your family takes part in is more important than the type of traditions you enjoy together. While a specific tradition may be important to your family, it is not necessary for you to make elaborate plans or to spend an enormous amount of time or money carrying out the tradition for it to be impactful. In fact, the simpler the tradition, the more likely your family is going to enjoy it and put effort into carrying it on.
If you want to start a new tradition this year, here are some tips to help you get started:
>> Think about what your family values and start there. You may attend a Christmas Eve service at a specific church, or maybe your tradition could be to attend at a unique location each year.
>> Establish seasonal routines that can be flexible in the future to accommodate for changes in things like family dynamics, health, and distance. If your tradition is watching a Christmas movie together, for instance, and you cannot all be together, have each family unit watch the movie and then call each other during commercials or afterwards.
>> Think of an activity that will be successful even if someone is absent or there is someone new in the family. Playing a game, reading a poem, or singing carols are all good options.
>> To save time, incorporate something you are already going to be doing like eating and opening presents. If you can’t all be together for cookie decorating, save or send some to those who missed out. Make a game out of opening presents by rolling dice, or open presents in a special order like alphabetically or tallest to shortest.
>> Think of ways to include family who are not able to visit by sending videos and photos, using a speaker phone, or asking everyone to write a little something about the day to share with those who are not there.
>> Simply reminisce about the joys of holidays past by watching home movies, reading old holiday cards, or telling stories.
Keep in mind — there’s no right or wrong way to start a great family tradition, and sometimes the best traditions are those that morph into tradition all on their own.
I hope you all enjoy tremendous joy this Christmas season!
