“Look there, on the side of the road!” My daughter called out to me as we walked by a chair with tattered fabric and voluptuous curves. Looking at each in confident agreement, we knew it was the chair for the shoot.
The shoot I’m referring to here is the annual “family photo” my daughter and I take to send out for the holidays. This tradition is one we started together that’s always fun, easy, and cheap.
Disclaimer: We did disinfect chair before the photoshoot, if you were wondering.
We embellish an ordinary setting, dress in what makes us feel festive, set up a phone against a stack of books, and let the camera do the rest.
Bonus points that the photo part is free. We’ve ordered postcards to send, printed them out ourselves, or just texted them out depending on the season we’re in.
The tradition is the picture. The picture is the gift that will keep on giving.
Traditions are one of my favorite parts of being human. I see traditions as little capsules of experience carried from generation to generation. To honor a tradition is to carry along parts of who you are and where you come from down the ancestral line.
Though our time can run out, traditions have the ability to continue on. The passing and sharing of these kind of experiences is part of what binds us through the ages.
During the holiday times, traditions of all shapes and sizes come out to display their feathers. Cities put on parades, businesses throw parties, and families prepare their homes.
Coming off the tail end of what feels like a pretty chaotic year, I’ve felt encouraged to savor our family traditions more intentionally this year. Change is good, I get it. Change is also hard and happening all the time. So it’s nice to revel in the simple things that don’t change, like tradition.
A few of our family traditions include:
– Decorating moms tree with my siblings
– Celebrating Hanukkah with moms side
– Christmas cracker & crowns with dads side
– Sausage rolls from Grandmum’s recipe book
– Short bread cookies to die for
– Candlelit Christmas service
Tradition talk is an engaging way to spark up a conversation this year around the holiday parties and dinner tables you visit.
I’ll challenge you to compile a list of your traditions this year. However big or small! Take this list of traditions and see if you can note how far back some of them go. If they are newer to the list (even one you made up today), set an intention to never let your traditions fade away!
Happy holidays!
Local Pulse Staff Writer, Makenna Curtis
