13 Family Tradition Ideas to Start With Your Family
Family traditions are considered the key to growing a close-knit family and creating positive memories for kids. Below you can find a list of traditions for families that you can start right now. These examples of family traditions can actually be a lot of fun!
What are family traditions?
Family traditions, or family rituals are special things that your family does on either a regular basis, whether it be every day, week, month, or even year.
Examples of family traditions can be a special meal your family makes every Christmas, a family game night once per week, or even a certain habit you follow on a special occasion.
Some family traditions are sometimes handed down through generations which make them even more special to keep following.
Why are traditions for families important?
Traditions for families offer numerous benefits for all family members. They provide comfort and security, strengthen your family’s bonds, bringing family together to connect.
More importantly family traditions create positive experiences which then create long lasting memories for years to come.
Family rituals or traditions don’t have to be anything fancy, it can be just simple things. We have put together a range of family tradition ideas that you may want to introduce to your family.
13 Traditions for Families to Start Right Now
A list of family tradition ideas that you can start now and carry on for years to come.
1. Meal traditions
Every week on a certain day or time have the same meal. Choose a day that works for everyone in the family, or choose a meal everyone loves and try to stick to it every week as much as you can. The kids will look forward to it and it will become a great family tradition to carry on. Some examples of family traditions with meals below:
- Sunday pancakes or waffles
- Taco Tuesdays
- Take out Fridays
2. Family board game nights
A great tradition for families is a Friday or Saturday night game night. This could be a weekly or monthly family tradition.
Get your favourite board games out and all sit around all evening playing board games. It doesn’t just have to be your immediate family, it could be inviting all of the cousins over and having a huge game night. Some examples of family traditions with board games include:
- Monopoly
- Scrabble
- UNO
- Casino
3. School holiday outings
Kids spend a lot of time at school during the term, so make memories together creating school holiday family traditions. This might be choosing one new activity or place to visit each school holidays, or it could be doing your child’s favourite activity each holidays at a different place. Some examples of family traditions on the school holiday activities could include:
4. Monthly mummy or daddy date
One of the best traditions for families is a date day or night. This could be a mummy daughter date or a father son date, or a mummy son date etc. It could just be something simple like going for an ice-cream or out for breakfast or lunch together. But it could be choosing a fun kids activity. Some ideas are:
- Going to the movies
- Visiting a play centre
- Visiting your favourite café or restaurant
- Going out for ice-cream and then a walk
- Going for a bike ride
5. Photo traditions for families
Photo traditions for families are super fun. Choose an occasion and take photos of the same thing every year. As the kids get older you can see how much they have grown.
Some examples of family traditions with photos are:
- First day of school
- Christmas eve photos with matching pyjamas
- Christmas day photos in festive outfits
- Birthday photos, holding a balloon for each year
6. Family holiday traditions
Start a family holiday tradition with your family this year. It doesn’t need to be anything expensive; it could be a family camping trip each year to a different place or a regional holiday. If you have the budget for it, you could explore different parts of Australia, or even go on an overseas trip. Some examples could include:
- Camping trip
- Fishing trip
- Beach trip
- Pamper trip
- Staying in a holiday park
- Visiting a new city or state
- Overseas holiday
7. Bedtime stories
One of the best traditions for families with young kids is nightly bedtime stories and you can make it really special.
Half an hour or so before bed, cuddle up together reading your child’s favourite stories. For little ones you can also recite nursery rhymes.
As your kids get older, you may want to read a novel together with a few chapters each night. When they get old enough to read, have them read some of the story too.
Recommended:
Best story books for kids
Best kids book sets
Best board books for toddlers
8. Holiday and celebration traditions
Holidays and celebrations throughout the year are perfect for making family traditions. Whether it is dressing up for a certain holiday or having a celebration at home or out somewhere, it is always great fun. Some examples of family holiday tradition ideas are:
- Halloween: Decorating your house, or heading out for trick or treat
- Christmas: Special dinner or lunch
- Valentines Day: Making special cards for loved ones
- Fathers / Mothers Day: A special meal or day out
- Easter: Easter Egg Hunt or arts and crafts
9. Exercise Traditions
Morning or evening walks together are a fun family tradition that will keep you fit too. They are quite easy too. If the kids are young, a walk in the pram is fine, then as they get older they can walk too.
A weekly bike ride is also a great family tradition. Perhaps you can ride somewhere, stop for a drink (or a sneaky ice cream) then ride home.
10. Volunteering or Donating
A lovely family tradition to start if you are able to, is buying a Christmas present for a child in need. Many shopping centres have a donation tree where you can leave a gift, otherwise you could donate to a local charity.
Donating food or volunteering at the local food bank is also another great idea. It will teach your kids more than you can imagine.
11. Time Capsule
A time capsule is a family tradition to pass through generations. You can start a time capsule when your children are young for them to open up with their children when they get older. They can then start a new time capsule for their children.
12. Family Meeting Tradition
A family meeting tradition is great for communication within the family. It could be once a week, or even once a month. All get together to have a chat about how everyone is, how everyone is feeling. Life gets busy and sometimes communication is lost. You may learn something new about one of your kids that you didn’t know.
13. Milestone Traditions
Milestone family traditions are interesting. A popular one is checking your kids height every year and marking it somewhere. It could be on a wall in the house or a brick or fence in the yard. Every year you can see the line from the year before to see how much the kids have grown. You can also record the information in a memories book too.
Family Traditions Keep Families Closer
Family traditions are important because they bring families closer, spending more time together on a regular basis doing fun things. Hopefully these family tradition ideas have inspired you to start your own. Let us know of any family tradition examples you do with your family that we haven’t listed!
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