Making Memories {10 Family Rituals/Traditions}

Special moments for children don't always involve big gestures and expensive vacations.  I believe family rituals and traditions are the basic building blocks for the memories that children will take with them into their adulthood.  Here are 10 of our favorite family rituals/traditions:

1)  We have pancakes for supper every Friday night.  (It is easy for me, and my boys love it.)
2)  We have family movie night every Friday night.  We have special snacks, get in our PJs, and cuddle up on the couch together... all of us.  (In the summer we have it outside - check it out here.)
3)  We make a big deal about birthdays.  We have a big party with friends on a convenient day, and the boys make each other cakes on their real birthdays.  (I also write a birthday letter to each of my boys on their special day.)
4)  Every Easter we egg the neighbours.  (You can read about it here.)
5)  Every Fall we take a trip to a pumpkin patch.  (You can read about it here.)
6)  Every Halloween we "boo" the neighbours.  (You can read about it here.) 
7)  We love Christmas.  We have special traditions for Christmas Eve (that you can read about here) and for getting our Christmas tree (that you can read about here).
8)  We think the first day of school is special, and we have 5 special ways of marking the occasion each year (that you can read about here).
9)  We celebrate the last day of school with an end of year banner and a trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream.  (You can read about it here.)
10) We started filling out "end of year questionnaires" on New Year's Eve.  I look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come.

What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy these specials times with your family.

♥

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)