Today's assignment:
Traditions I love:
1. Twice a year my brother and sisters and their families gather at my parents' house for the biggest home-made breakfast spread you've ever seen: hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, bacon, french toast, bear claws, hot chocolate, and orange juice. The younger children play together while the older kids and the adults sit down and try to hear General Conference over the ruckus.
2. I make pajama pants for each of my children to wear on Christmas Eve and they love them. In fact, if I ever decided to skip sewing them and bought them instead I think I'd have a rebellion on my hands.
3. I read aloud to my children through out the year. My favorite time is when we all sit on the tramp, cuddled in blankets and I read by flashlight.
4. Every other year my mother sews aprons for all the moms and daughters and we wear them while we make pie crusts from scratch (then fill them) the day before Thanksgiving.
5. Family dinner as often as possible. Some nights I think I won't survive it, but for the most part gathering at the end of the day and breaking bread together is the high point for all of us.
Traditions that are past their prime:
1.The extended family Christmas party. There are just so many of us now, that my nerves can't take it. I always feel pressure in social situations to make sure people are happy and I stay and help clean-up. I really don't enjoy that part.
2. The extended family talent show/nativity scene at the extended family Christmas party. It was fun when it was just a few of us, but maybe I just can't do crowds anymore.
3. This year I think I want to move the conference breakfast to my house and just do it with my husband and kids. I'm hopeful that we'll get more out of the messages we hear, but my kids will miss grandma's cooking and the fun of being with all their cousins.
That's it, I can't think of anything else I would change.
What traditions can your family not live without?
