On Thanksgiving this year, my husband and I spent Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. We cooked together, laughed together, and put up blinds in my parents living room together. (Okay, my husband did that.) But one of the highlights of the day was when my father's sister surprised us and stopped by for a few hours while her husband and children went hiking in the rain. We had a lovely time chatting and snacking like we always do, but the best part was when I pulled out two boxes we had just received from my Grandma, my aunt's father's wife. You see, my grandpa (Poppy) passed away in 2010. It was very hard on all of us! His wife, my beloved 2nd grandma, had many of his things until last month, when she mailed them to us. What a gift! So I pulled them out for my Aunt, and we all began rummaging through the photographs, letters, and keepsakes. We delighted and shed tears in seeing baby photos, former homes, and childhood photographs of my grandparents. It was fun. It was pure. It was memorable. It was sacred.
So if Thanksgiving was a perfect time to rekindle the family memories, Christmas has got to be even better. It is the most wonderful time of the year, and why is that? Oh, it's it’s the gifts, lights, songs, decorations, parties, and everything combined. But what it should always come down to is family. The best gift you can give this Christmas is the gift of family time and creating family memories. That Thanksgiving day was a treasure to relive and learn about family memories, but it also created a family memory.
So to help you strengthen your family and intertwine some family history into your family traditions this year, here are 5 tips:
Stories. Stories. Stories. What are your family stories during the holidays? Do you have a grandmother’s journal? At least talk about your christmas memories to your children. Write out a little paragraph about a family history story and place it at each table setting or tie it to the tree and have each person pick one before opening their gift. Have little children act out the stories.
Stories. Stories. Stories. What are your family stories during the holidays? Do you have a grandmother’s journal? At least talk about your christmas memories to your children. Write out a little paragraph about a family history story and place it at each table setting or tie it to the tree and have each person pick one before opening their gift. Have little children act out the stories.
Bring out the photos and camera. Sit down with your family after dinner and look through family photos. Use family photos from past Christmases to decorate your table. Create a family slide show. Take new family photos!
Celebrate your heritage. What traditions did your grandparents have on Christmas? Does your family come from France? Have your children leave their shoes at the bed and fill them with candy from Pere Noel.
Eat your family history. Use family recipes for Christmas dinner. If you have a foreign heritage (Scottish, Japanese, Irish), what do they eat on Christmas? Make it!
Give a gift. Create a scrapbook of family memories, photos, and stories to give to Grandpa and Grandmpa. Give your mother or cousin an Ancestry.com account or another subscription. Create a family jar for all loose change to go into so you can save up for a family history trip. Most importantly, put away the cellphones and the ipads, and give the gift of being present.
The ideas are endless! Just remember, family history not only helps us learn about our ancestors, but to learn about each other. Give the gift of family time!
I hope you all have a wonderful and love filled Christmas this year!
Hannah
Wow! What fabulous ideas! Let's do it!
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