Moving into a new home is exciting and presents the perfect opportunity to start building new memories with your family. Family traditions are an excellent way to make your new home feel like home, whether you’re bringing existing traditions or starting new ones. To help you get started, we’ve compiled some tips and ideas for creating traditions.
Why are family traditions important?
Traditions are an important part of any family. First, they nurture a sense of identity. Whether your traditions are based on religion, culture, or fun, they help shape your family or serve as reminders of heritage. Second, they build strong family bonds through shared experiences and positive memories. And finally, traditions provide consistency that can be comforting in this busy, fast-paced world.
Tips for building family traditions
Build around your routine
Turn your everyday activities into something special. Life can get really busy sometimes so incorporating small traditions into your daily routine is a great way to transform mundane moments into meaningful bonding time. Driving home after a soccer game, getting picked up from school, sitting around the dinner table—these are prime moments to start building memories. Here are some ideas:
- Greet your family with a special handshake
- Leave a note in their lunch box
- Read a bedtime story
- Start a weekly movie night
Turn chores into a family event
No one likes doing chores, but they're a necessary part of any family. They not only keep the home clean, but they also help your children gain a sense of responsibility. Family traditions can make those chores a little less painful for everyone. Here are some ideas to foster togetherness while completing chores:
- Set aside time each week for everyone to work on chores
- Play music throughout the house during chore time
- Craft a chores wheel to decide who completes which tasks
- Create a reward system that benefits everyone
Incorporate food
What brings people together better than food? There’s nothing like the serotonin boost we get from enjoying our favorite meal or splurging on a delicious dessert. This is also a great way to include family recipes, whether they were handed down from previous generations or are simply favorites among family members. Here are some sustenance-focused tradition ideas:
- Go for a special meal after a game (ex. Go for ice cream if they score a goal)
- Stick to a themed dinner schedule like Taco Tuesday or Pizza Night
- Incorporate a special item into your weekend breakfast menu such as pancakes
- Go grocery shopping together
- Volunteer at a food bank
Find one-on-one time
Finding time to spend with each family member is so important for creating strong bonds, especially among larger families. Every day may be hectic and busy between work, after-school clubs, sports, and so on. Even if the family manages to all sit around the table for dinner, spending one-on-one time allows you to create connections with each member without interruption from others. Here are some ideas for activities to do one-on-one:
- Go on a hike
- Walk the dog
- Go bowling
- Cook together
Don’t try too hard
When you try to force a tradition, it could lose its meaning. So, don’t try too hard to create them. Oftentimes, you can build family traditions around events that happen naturally. By simply paying attention to your family’s interests, you’ll be able to find fun things to do on a regular basis. Here are a few more family traditions to help you get started:
- Host a family game/trivia night
- Create a family time capsule
- Incorporate video (for example. interview family members on their birthday)
- Write letters before major events (for example, first day of school)
Choose the right home for traditions
Moving into a new house is the perfect time to create new traditions that make your new home feel like home. Make sure it’s up for the task. A new build home is built with your family in mind. Whether it’s a special room downstairs for game night, a comfy living room for movies, or a large kitchen for cooking family recipes, a new build home will have all the space necessary to create traditions.
If you’re ready to build your next home, check out all that Brunswick Crossing has to offer. With a variety of models and resort-style amenities, creating traditions has never been so easy. Take a virtual tour today and explore the opportunities right at your doorstep.
