Growing up, I loved traditions. I clung to the fact that I knew what to expect when holidays rolled around, and I looked forward to using my favorite traditions with my own family one day. Now that “one day” is here, I love being able to borrow my favorite holiday traditions (like having Chinese take-out on Thanksgiving Eve) while adding my own. Imagine my joy when I realized that family traditions don’t need to be limited to holidays!
Kids love having something to look forward to, and they love repetition. I decided to capitalize on that and create a weekly tradition. Enter Family Fun Friday. As the name implies, every Friday, we do something fun as a family. During the day while Dad is at work, we try to do a special activity. If the weather is nice, we might go to a nearby farm to see the cows, go for a walk on the bike path, or take in a playground. If it’s rainy or too cold, we’ll break out the arts and craft supplies at home and whip up a masterpiece. Maybe even have waffles for breakfast or bake cookies!
The point is to do something over and above our normal day-to-day activities. Then, once the workday is done, we watch a movie together with a big bucket of popcorn. We try to limit screen time during the week otherwise, so this is special indeed. It makes my heart burst to see my family all piled onto the couch together every week, and I hope it will be something my kids love doing for years to come.
But traditions don’t need to be just for your kids. After Family Fun Friday became a success, my husband and I instituted Togetherness Thursday. Once the kids are finally asleep, instead of collapsing onto the couch to watch Netflix we do something together instead. We started with puzzles, then progressed to board games, and then card games. It’s nice to spend time together as adults after clocking out from being Mom and Dad! It’s too easy to just sit in tandem, scrolling on our phones while something plays on the TV that neither of us is really even watching. I like having one weeknight where we can focus on us. And then we have date night on Saturdays!
