When you are in the “little kid years”, time seems to move at warp speed. Not each individual hour or minute, of course—those can be mind-boggling slow. But the years themselves, they are gone in an instant. One minute you’re holding onto a little squish of a newborn and the next you are helping them with their backpack on the first day of kindergarten. In our family, we have found that a few small, special family traditions have really helped to slow the clock down just a bit. Some are a blend of things we did in our own childhood and others are new things that are special just for us. But what makes them truly special is how they act as anchors throughout the year, bringing us together, and grounding us in the moment. Who wouldn’t welcome an opportunity to slow things down just a bit?
Keeping It Simple
We try to be very purposeful in the traditions we bring into our little family. The key for us is that these anchors are not big, fancy to-do’s. They are simple, inexpensive, and low-stress. No one wants to go broke or have a nervous breakdown over a tradition! So many of the prescribed traditions in today’s world involve spending lots of money, hemming and hawing over the perfect gift, or getting the experience just right for an Instagram story. Actually, one of my recent articles was all about family traditions we have let go of in our family. The forced photos with Santa, the mandatory apple-picking trip, and so on. We have decided to focus on simple, small joys.
Our Annual Anchors
Snow days
Before kids, my husband and I would enjoy waking up on snow days, even though it meant we were just working from home. We would make banana chocolate chip pancakes and enjoy a slow morning before tackling the shoveling and our work days. These days, our kids usually are more excited about the banana chocolate chip pancakes than the fact they don’t have school! Nothing like a tummy full of sugar and carbs to power of a day of making snowmen and sledding!
Birthdays
Each night before our kids’ birthdays, I make a handmade birthday sign from our giant roll of art paper and hang it up in the kitchen. We add some balloons and cover the doorway to the kitchen with colorful streamers. The birthday boy or girl always loves walking through the steamers to start their big day. They know to then take a seat at the table and wait for their plate of birthday pancakes. These are different than snow day pancakes! These come in the shape of your new age and the first letter in your name. Each member of the family gets a letter and number to celebrate alongside the birthday kiddo!
Vacations
After the suitcases have been packed and the car has been loaded, our kiddos sit on our staircase and we grab a quick photo or two. It is great to see how the kids change each year, but what’s more thrilling is capturing that anticipatory joy on their faces in the moments before we leave!
First Days of School
Our kids get a simple sign printed from the computer showing their new grade, teacher, and something they would like to be when they grow up. These answers are my absolute favorite to look back on. They have ranged from garbage truck driver to sunshine to policeman to a carrot. Oh, little kids. They pop out onto the front porch for a quick picture with their sign, their backpacks brimming with supplies, and a whole lot of pride.
Summer Bucket List
Each summer, we also make a summer bucket list together (using the same giant roll of paper I use for birthday signs! Somehow the roll never runs out!). Everyone adds ideas, big and small. Well, mostly small to be honest. Things like eating watermelon outside, looking at the stars, and swimming in the pond down the road all made last summer’s list. It is a great way to build some anticipation and excitement for summer activities. And, as the season winds down and we all get those summer blues and wonder where the time went, it serves as an easy way to look back and see just how much we truly did together as a family.
Give Yourself Grace
We love our annual anchors that act as guideposts throughout the year, but we have to keep a bit of reality mixed in. Sometimes people get sick, things are just too busy, and kids can be…well, kids. While we have tried to keep things simple, easy, and fun, there are still times when we have to give ourselves a little bit of grace if a certain thing has to be skipped. Stomach bug on a birthday? Pancakes will have to wait. Photo-refusing toddler? Let the pre-vacation photo go that time around. The item left on the bucket list at the end of summer? Just means you already have a start for next year’s list!
Tough Stuff
A few years back, we did some estate planning and set up guardians for our kids in case the worst should happen. During this process, we realized our annual anchors are a really valuable addition to those plans. If anything should happen to us and our kids’ lives are turned upside down, at least their guardians would know about these special family traditions. We would want that piece of comfort and normalcy for our kids.
When They Are Grown
We hope that when our kids are adults, they will look back and remember the happiness of the time we spent together. What’s more, we hope that it will have taught them to embrace the simple, yet magical little joys in life and seek them out in their own ways.
Maggie
This is a wonderful article. I wish you were writing these when my kids were little .
I will put your advice to good use when spending time with my new grand baby ❤️