Once and Done

 For as many traditions that have been a big hit with my family, there are some that have definitely fallen into the once and done category. There were ideas that I thought would become a well-loved family tradition but simply flopped. Some were too work intensive, some didn't taste good, and some were just not well received. There are a few that we still laugh at, and although they didn't make the cut, they stuck in our memories. 

Pinterest launched when I was in the thick of mothering. It was such a great place to find ideas, and some were as simple as looking at the pin and recreating it. That's where I got a lot of my holiday-themed food ideas. But even thought they were Pinterest worthy, they didn't continue at our house after the first go round. We made things like brownie Christmas trees with candy cane trunks, cheese stick snowmen, and mini chocolate covered doughnut reindeer with pretzel antlers. Nothing was wrong with any of them; they just didn't make a second appearance. 

Then there were countless recipes that I swore would make the perfect holiday meal, but were voted out, with me casting the first vote! I think the worst was Colcannon, an Irish soup. I don't even think we ate the leftovers. One year the flan I made for Cinco de Mayo was an oozing mess, and I never made it again. I'm sure there are others, perhaps I just blocked them out. 

One of the memories we still laugh at was our Christmas carol contest. Ida went all out and made an angel costume (over achiever) to wear as she sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". John, who was four and the biggest Mickey Mouse fan ever, wore Christmas jammies and sung the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, while tossing his stuffed Christmas Mickey in the air. I threw on a hat and scarf and sang "Winter Wonderland", complete with jingle bells. Tom, the most enthusiastic performer in the family, wimped out due to a cough that he claimed would ruin his chances of winning. He played a carol on his "dancing" laptop. Lame, but excusable since he wasn't feeling 100%. I had to look back at my family blog to see who won--no surprise, it was Ida. What's funny is the last line of that post was "We can't wait for next year's rematch". Despite our enthusiasm that year, we never did have that rematch!

Another laughable tradition attempt was one I read on a blog. It sounded sweet, but the children thought it was weird. The idea was to find a baby Jesus - I used our Little People one - wrap him up and hide him under the tree. After all the other gifts were opened, pull out that last gift and have one of your children open it. The point was to show that Jesus is the best gift of all. Ida opened it and thought it was really weird that I had wrapped the baby Jesus that we had for years and give it as a gift. I do remember being disappointed, but what worked for another family, didn't work for ours. 

I'm sure I could dig up some other failures or bad ideas, but these few examples show that it's okay if your family doesn't love an idea that you thought would become a precious family moment year after year; there's always another idea waiting to be tried. And those flops might be good for a laugh for years to come. 

Save, Spend, Give

I don't remember where this idea came from, but I know it wasn't my own. In teaching our children about money, we started a simple system that was both easy to understand and implement, not to mention successful.

When Ida and John were little, I bought them each a piggy bank for Christmas. I thought they were adorable, but the banks didn't help to manage money. Plus, it was really hard to shake the money out them!

So, we moved onto the three-jar method. It was an easy hands-on way of teaching how to save, spend, and give. We bought three mason jars for each child, and then we found tin triple jar holders at a craft store. We labeled each jar with one of the three words and found a place in their room for our new personal banking system. 

Each time they earned or were gifted money, they had to decide how much to put in each jar. We usually put ten percent in the save jar to introduce the concept of tithing, and then they would split what was left between the other two jars. If they were saving for something, they would put more money in that jar. As they got older, they began deciding how much to put in each jar on their own, but those jars stayed untouched until they were ready to spend or give. 

Because they could see the money accumulating, they were no longer as quick to spend it. When there was no way of cramming in any more money, they would make a trip to the bank with Daddy to deposit the save jar amount into their account. Sometimes they would then decide to buy something for themselves, and other times they kept on saving - like when John, and then Asa, saved up enough to buy their own laptop. 

The older two were definitely influenced by the period of time when our business stopped making enough money to pay our bills. Not only did they see us budgeting and deciding which purchases were necessary, they saw us praying our way through a difficult time. They saw the amazing generosity of others and how much of a blessing it is to be on the receiving end of giving. 

That might have prompted them to be givers. They began to use the money in their give jars for things like collections at church, buying gifts for less fortunate children, and ordering goats, chickens, and anything else they chose from a World Vision catalog. 

Their generosity continued as they began buying Christmas gifts for each other and even a friend or two. Asa has been known to head to the vending machine at our neighborhood pool and bring back snacks for his friends. And when the older two became adults, their generosity extended to Tom and I; most recently being when John gifted me a laptop.

I now have one who has lived on her own for three years and manages her money so well, often refusing our offer of help. I have another who has a savings account with an amount that absolutely shocked me when I saw the balance. The third is still behind his siblings, but he's on the right track and has been managing the money he earns from his dog and yard work jobs well. 

I'm thankful my children learned to manage their money well at a young age. And all it took was three jars. 

Birthdays

 Along with the holidays and celebrations that are right around the corner, our season of birthdays kicks off this month. We start on October 31st with John's birthday, take a break for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and pick right back up on December 30th with Ida's birthday. Then, on January 5th, Asa's birthday brings weeks of festivities to an end. Whew! I didn't plan it that way, and I always thought spreading parties throughout the year would be quite nice. (I mean, who doesn't like a pool party?)

When Ida turned two, we lived in a neighborhood filled with little girls close in age. We were quickly introduced to what birthday parties were like--the complete opposite of my childhood celebrations. Renting a cool (read: expensive) party space, handing out goodie bags to guests, and activities galore seemed like a lot. 

My childhood birthdays were much simpler. We got to choose both the dinner and the flavor of our cake! Back then, an orange box cake was definitely at the top of my list --my, how my tastes have changed! I remember often choosing Mom's meatloaf or porkchop and potato bake for dinner. It was a family-of-four celebration each year, except for my sixth birthday when I had a party under the maple tree in our yard. I loved birthdays when I was little, so when I became a mom, my children got to choose their cake and dinner too.

Admittedly, I did go above and beyond that tradition, though. Once they were old enough, my children also got to choose the theme for their party, and often it was something not available in stores. That's when I began my love of all things Etsy, and if I couldn't find it there, in stepped Tom. He often saved the day creating party supplies. My favorite was the year he made Ida and her two friends fancy hats that they wore to the Tea Tavern, but he also pulled off both a Nutcracker and a Hamilton birthday. There were all kinds of themes over the years: Mickey Mouse, Skylanders, American Girl, Winter One-derland, Nancy Drew (one of my favorites), swimming, and more. 

Besides his creative contributions, Tom had a few traditions of his own. When our children were little, he would take the birthday child out on a Daddy date, which gave me plenty of time to set up the party so that they would walk in the door to an Etsy wonderland. He also started the doughnuts-for-breakfast on their birthdays. I'm not a fan of more sugar and junky ingredients, but they all loved it, and it was a special Daddy thing. 

Birthdays have changed in recent years. John spent his last five in the pool, followed by going out to eat. Despite Ida's living hours away, we still get to celebrate with her, since the ballet company is always on break until the new year. Even my youngest passed on the themed birthday last year and chose to take a few friends to an escape room instead. But the cake flavor and the dinner (minus John's swim team years) remain intact. I love that my mom started that over fifty years ago and it continues today, spanning the generations. Now that's a tradition!

Gratitude Pumpkin

 It's hard to choose just one tradition, but if I had to, I would say our gratitude pumpkin is my favorite. Admittedly, I cannot take any credit for this one! My cousin shared the idea via Facebook and said that she immediately thought of me. As soon as I saw it, I knew we'd make this one our own, and seven years later we are still loving this fall tradition. 

Making it even better is that it's probably one of the easiest traditions to pull off. All you need is a pumpkin, a Sharpie, and a family with some gratitude. The first year, we didn't begin until November, since it definitely has a Thanksgiving feel to it. But since then, we have been starting earlier each fall, because it's just that much fun! Plus, we usually pick a nice-sized pumpkin, so we have plenty of room to fill with our thankfulness.

For us, it's a dinnertime thing, but whatever works with your family's schedule will be perfect. One of the boys has always brought the pumpkin to the table, and after our prayer, we each share what we are thankful for. Big, small, serious, or funny, it doesn't matter; if it's heartfelt, it goes on the pumpkin. Being somewhat of a control freak, I choose to do all the writing on the pumpkin. But hey, if you don't mind the different and perhaps not-so-perfect handwriting on your pumpkin, I think that could make it even more meaningful (note to self). 

Sometimes, if we are video chatting with Ida, she'll have something to add to the pumpkin. So even from hundreds of miles away, the gratitude pumpkin still works. However you choose to do it, I have no doubt you will love hearing what is on your family's hearts and minds. It's also a great reminder on rough days that we truly do have so much to be grateful for. So why not write it on a pumpkin!

Decorating Traditions

Most people decorate. Whether it be for Christmas or another holiday, I would say it's common. Sometimes it's as simple as throwing a wreath up on your front door. And sometimes--it becomes a tradition. 

I decorate because my mom did, but I think I took it a few steps farther. My favorite season is fall (with winter close to tying). So, every September I put out my fall decor that I've collected over the past two decades. Some are showing their age, others are recent additions, and a few are gifts that remind me of someone. For me, there is definitely sentimentality involved--and I now know that the same is true for my children.

It's obvious that Ida inherited the decorating gene. In her book, if we used it once, it should be up every year and in the same spot. Okay, so she may get that from me! She has been known to put up all the Christmas decorations by herself exactly as I would have.

It's the boys who surprise me, because in my mind, they wouldn't care if the leaf garland shows up on the stair railing or not. Wrong! After decorating a few days ago, the moment John came down the stairs, he said, "These are beautiful. I love that you put them up every year." And when Asa walked in the house, I heard, "You decorated! I love when you do that." 

Really? Really!

I don't have a big budget, and my decorations aren't something you see might in a magazine, but they've become a part of each season or holiday. It doesn't have to be fancy. My leaf garland sheds leaves each year, only to be wired back on by my husband. Add to that fall word blocks, crocheted pumpkins, a fall sign, and numerous other fallish things, and ta-da!--it's a tradition! 

Your decorating traditions don't need to look like mine. Maybe yours looks like a scarecrow family is visiting. Or maybe it's heading to the farmer's market, buying a few pumpkins, and stacking them on your porch. Think your children won't notice or remember as they get older? I bet they will!

My favorite fall must-have is three little white pumpkins. One year I grabbed them at the store and put them on a fall runner on the kitchen table. I didn't give them another thought until dinner time when all three children had an opinion. They discussed which pumpkin looked like each of them, whose pumpkin should be in the middle, and why Asa's had to the be the one with the shortest stem. There was even a debate if Ida should have a pumpkin after she moved out! 

Every decoration can become a tradition, and every tradition can be treasured by your children.