Family Rituals

[Debra]

I really love family rituals. Although they are few and far between... there are just some things that have to happen if you're part of our family. Here are a few:

1. Every Mother's Day (lol..yes, this one's selfishly tailor made for me) my kids
must have a portrait done of them all together. They've been doing it for
ove 10 years now .. I only wish I had started it earlier. They never forget though because it's my Mother's Day present.

2. Each birthday everyone gets the same cake.. Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese icing.. (yes, it's actually something we all love!.. If you get a cake like that.. you're definitely one of us!)



So, How about you? Have any you'd like to share?

[myartistry]

Rituals h-mmmm...

A-hh yes, my sisters and I have been getting together for birthday lunches and have done this for over 10 years.

[Debra]

You're so lucky.. Holly and I live 1000 miles apart.. no lunches for us :(

[strawbry_wine]

for just my girls & me--our most fav tradition doesn't have a specific time. One of us will say "I need to "veg out", and it can only be done on Sundays. We rent/watch a bunch of movies, buy/make alot of snacky-stuff (great chance to try out new party food recipes) and proceed to pig-out and not do a thing. Amazing how refreshing we feel the next day! And it must be done in jammies, except, when the horses decide to escape. and we have to go get them. at 4 in the afternoon. on a crowded road. wearing bunny slippers.

for my siblings & Mom, we have 2 things: wherever we all are, together or not, every Feb 19 we go to the closest airport and release a bunch of balloons in honor of my dad who was a hobby pilot & died 6 years ago on that day.

and the second thing we do is NOT get together for Christmas. It was soo stressful to try to get everyone's calendar to cooperate (5 of us, 10 children and our spouses or SOs), so we chucked it all and get together sometime in January. When we're all relaxed. And the fruitcake is just getting ripe enough to eat ; ))).

[Phoenix]

Well for me and my kids every friday nite is takeaway nite and maybe a few movies. Other than that there isnt much others lol. Slack here

[twirlyjoy]

A newish ritual (if that makes sense!!) I have with my brothers and dad is that for the last 4 years, we get together on the 2nd October for lunch, which is the day my Mum died, although this years had to be postponed as my youngest dd, Lucie was just on her way home from hospital after breaking her arm the day before!

A much longer running ritual which started when we were children and i now carry on with my girls is Christmas morning! At 6 o'clock (and NO earlier!!) the girls jump on me in bed and they get to open the presents in their stockings. We then go downstairs and they open their presents from me and then from each other. Then it becomes a free-for-all and everyone opens whatever presents they want to! At some point I try to encourage breakfast but haven't succeeeded with that yet!!

I am sure there are loads of others but just don't see them, as being rituals yet!! lol!!

[Debra]

Oh.. now that Christmas has been mentioned...I remember another one.. Every year on the last Saturday night before Christmas, our family on my mother's side gets together for Christmas Dinner. It's sometimes the only time we ever see eachother unless there's a wedding or funeral some other time during the year.

[steph]

A family ritual we have started is celebrating the American Thanksgiving, even though we are Canadian!! Dave takes the day off of work and we watch football all day and we get Festive Meals from a restaurant here called Swiss Chalet... they are chicken with stuffing and whatever kind of potato you would like... it's a Thanksgiving dinner without having to do any of the cooking...:)

Stephanie

[Debra]

Originally Posted by steph

A family ritual we have started is celebrating the American Thanksgiving, even though we are Canadian!! Dave takes the day off of work and we watch football all day and we get Festive Meals from a restaurant here called Swiss Chalet... they are chicken with stuffing and whatever kind of potato you would like... it's a Thanksgiving dinner without having to do any of the cooking...:)

Stephanie

Oh my.. that sounds like Heaven!!

[steph]

It is heaven... especially since I have to cook for Canadian Thanksgiving... or at least clean up a huge mess if we go some where else... so this is heaven!!!

Stephanie:)