I love family traditions. I love keeping the old family traditions. I love that when you get married you bring family traditions together. Then you have kids and have the joy of starting your own family traditions.
I would say that most family traditions are about being gathered around the table. It starts with taking the time out of our busy schedules and slowing down to spend valuable time with our loved ones.
When we ask our kids what they like most about the holidays they say “Just being together.” They definitely like the recipes, but most of all they like when Mommy and Daddy are not at work! They love to cook and be in the kitchen as a family.
One of the things we looked forward to every year at Thanksgiving was “Granny’s” Pumpkin Bread. My mother-in-law would make her famous Pumpkin Bread in tin coffee cans. Now that she is no longer with us this is a tradition we are going to carry on. Yes, when she passed one of the things I requested from the family were her coffee cans.
Dressing? Stuffing? In the bird? Out of the bird? With giblets? Without giblets? Cornbread or Bread? With or without apples? This is the one recipe that our two families cook in completely different ways. My Mother-in-law puts apples in her dressing…yuk! My family makes cornbread dressing, with giblets, out of the bird…yummy. Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas my Great Grandmother would make her famous dressing in her free-standing cooker. Now my Mom has taken over the family tradition. She does not like to cook at all and does not like making such a large batch. I have tried a few years to duplicate this recipe with no success….So this year the “antique machine” is coming to our house with my Momma! She is going to try and teach me how to carry on the family tradition. You know the old recipes that do not give you the amounts needed, just a “little of this” add a few of these, a dollop of that, cook until it looks ready. Maybe after some hands on with my Momma I will get it!
Another family tradition I took from my Mother-in-Law: I had never met anyone until her that had so many sets of dishes. She would change out her dishes at every season and holiday. So my artist “Mom” has hand painted me Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes. I do not change out my dishes at each season, but am blessed to be able and have hand painted dishes for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving, take time to be with your family and friends, gather around the table and make memories.
I would love to hear about some of your Family Traditions.