Creating Holiday Traditions Together
Creating holiday traditions and rituals can be good for your marriage. Having special activities you do together can help you feel more like a cohesive unit. It can also help you create memories for years to come.
It’s important to look at your current holiday traditions. Do you have any? Sometimes people don’t even recognize that what they do is traditional. Perhaps it is going to Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve or attending a holiday party. Take a look at what you usually do during the holiday seasons. If you have difficulty thinking of any traditions you participate in, it is a great time to consider creating some traditions.
Also, take a look at the traditions that you had as a child. Which ones do you want to continue? Which ones would you be happy to let go of? What traditions does your spouse have? If there are traditions you don’t like or that have become stressful, remember that you can let go of some of them in your adulthood.
It’s important to honor the traditions from your past that you want to continue. It’s equally important to create new traditions as a married adult that are separate from your family. Having a tradition just for you and your spouse and your children is a healthy way to separate you from your parents.
Traditions don’t have to be elaborate. They also don’t have to cost much. Often it is the simple things that create the best memories. Whether you decide to bake cookies, look at Christmas lights, volunteer for a charity, throw a holiday party, or decorate together, remember that your traditions don’t need to be formal.
Having such traditions can bond you together. So try to spend the holidays focusing on what is important to you and your family. Worry less about shopping, gifts and making things perfect. Focus on having special time together and enjoying one another’s company.
