Family traditions can be a great way to bond and have a little fun together and you don’t have to wait for a holiday to start a new tradition!
Here are some ideas you can start implementing with your family throughout any time of the year to create some traditions you will all love:
• Establish a weekly themed dinner night—Taco Tuesday or Spaghetti Sunday or Pizza Friday
• Plan a weekly family game night–Rotate who gets to pick the game or even make it a family tradition to pick out a new game at the store each time (try thrift stores such as Goodwill or Savers to save money!)
• Have family Read-a-Thon nights—Everyone picks a book. Older children can read to themselves or a younger sibling. Parents can model reading their own books in front of their children. Pop some popcorn or grab a bunch of pillows and blankets and read on the floor with flashlights.
• One-on-one parent and child date nights—my family used to do this and I loved it! My brothers and I would each get an individual night once a year with just mom and then another with just dad. We’d get to pick the activity, too!
• Service days—choose a couple days a year where you serve together as a family. This could be at a soup kitchen, a meal packing service like Feed My Starving Children, or simply go around the neighborhood together and pick up trash.
• Family picnic—this could be in the backyard, at your neighborhood park, or even in your living room!
You could also try incorporating daily traditions as a way to spice up the week and give everyone something to look forward to. Pick one or do them all!
Movie Monday—Unwind with a family movie night that gives everyone something to look forward to on those dreadful Mondays
Tasty Treat Tuesday—Bake something for dessert, pick up or go out for some ice cream, or try a cookie delivery service
Workout Wednesday—Go for a family walk, bike ride, evening hike, play soccer in the backyard, basketball in the driveway, toss a Frisbee around at the park
Thinking Thursday—Work on something mind-stimulating together. For younger kids you could conduct a science experiment, make slime, play with a sensory bin, or build with blocks. For older kids you could work on a puzzle, play a trivia game, or try out an escape room
Family Fun Friday—Go swimming, make s’mores, play board games together, build a fort, have a water balloon fight, camp in the backyard, go on a family outing (restaurant, outdoor movie in the park, skating rink, bowling, laser tag, trampoline park, etc.)
Scenic Saturday—Take a day trip, explore a new park, try a new hiking trail, visit the Desert Botanical Gardens, have dinner outside and watch the sunset, go star-gazing
Slow Down Sunday—After a busy week, take some time to relax on Sunday! Unplug from social media, limit screen-time, pick quiet activities the kids can do such as visiting the library, color in a coloring book, play with play dough, make a card to send to an out-of-town family member or friend, play in a sandbox outside, go swing on the swing set, de-clutter toy bins, donate items to a local charity
What are your favorite family traditions? We’d love to hear your ideas.