The Myth of Traditions

Family traditions--extravagant, expensive, and time-consuming.

Not.

Most parents dream about starting family traditions that will last through generations. I know I did.

But those same dreams of overblown traditions hindered my ability to create memories with my children. I figured if it wasn't Martha Stewart perfect, it

There are no handmade stockings hanging over my fireplace on the night before Christmas.

There are no handpainted Easter eggs filling my children's Easter baskets.

Halloween costumes? Don't ask.

Now I realize  I made establishing family traditions a whole lot harder than it needed to be. The traditions that stood the passing of time were simple--heartfelt, but simple.

• My Christmas tree is topped with a raggedy cardboard and tin foil star that my husband and then two-year-old son made two decades ago. I told my husband we needed a star, expecting him to go to the store and buy one. Instead, he and my son retreated to the kitchen with scissors and glue and created a Christmas-isn't-Christmas-without-the-star tradition.

• When my first three children were younger, I wanted to make dinner time special. So I began reading the Little House on the Prairie series to them. After that, I read the Chronicles of Narnia series. As they grew up, we read each of those series two or three times. Now I am reading those same stories to their much-younger sister--and recalling those special times with my older children. It's fun to tell Christa, "I read these books to Josh, Katie Beth, and Amy when they were your age."

• The Vogt family likes to take walks. Walks to the park. Walks with the doggies or without the doggies. Walks along a nearby trail or up in the Colorado mountains.Walking is something we do together--and it gives us a chance to talk about our day.  Cost--nothing. Value: priceless.

Don't fall into the perfection trap when it comes to making family memories. If you love to sew, by all means, adorn your mantle with one-of-a-kind stockings! But the most important thing is to be intentional about tucking family memories into your children's pockets.

It's never too late to start.