As a sixteen year old girl I have seen many changes in my families traditions. There are thousands of traditions out there, but only certain ones work for my family and me. Let me help find a tradition that works, and is enjoyable. 

      1. Parties

When I was a child I would go to my grandparents house and see all of my cousins and distant family. It was practically a  big party every holiday. However as everyone got older and moved to college or joined the military, our parties got smaller and smaller. After ten glorious Christmas parties with my whole family I found out we were moving eighteen hours away from everyone I had ever known and loved. 

      2. FaceTimes 

FaceTime is a tool we use to see our loved ones, and it is very useful. Especially when you don’t live anywhere near your family anymore. I got a facetime call from my grandma, and that became the saddest five minutes of my life. I saw all the joy my family was having during their party, all my cousins I had missed, and the new cousins just coming into this world. FaceTime would become my new best friend around the holidays.

      3. Giving Back

After seeing how some of the people in my town were having troubles, we decided to help those in need. On top of helping at the soup kitchen, we also went out to eat and tipped our waiter/waitress a good amount. We did this because we thought it would help out those who were coming a little short for anything around the holidays, because everyone knows the holidays are stressful. 

     4. Christmas Eve Surprise

We had finally found what worked for my very impatient siblings and I. We would open one present Christmas Eve and open the rest Christmas Day. However this would have some down sides for us kids, because we never got to pick the presents we opened. Yet again there would be a new tradition and we would keep this one.

      5. Candle Light Service

Christmas Eve candle light service is the newest addition to our traditions list. After my dad got a job preaching, we started doing this service that would consist of songs, the reading of the Christmas story, and a message from my dad. This is something that made my Christmas seasons brighter than before– literally. As we light the candles and sing many songs I find comfort in the church’s embrace during the Christmas season. 

We have finally settled and continue to do two of our traditions. We open one present on Christmas Eve. and go to the church’s Christmas Eve candle light service. After trial and error with many traditions my family found what works, and thank goodness we did. I was tired of new traditions every year.