5 HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

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I have created 5 Holiday Traditions that we try to follow each year as a family! Christmas celebrations are the best! Family and friends gather to share much needed time together to bond. A feast is prepared for all to share. Genuine relationship connections are renewed for another year. A time to reflect on Jesus Christ in a deeper, more intimate way is presented to celebrate His birth as the savior of our world, God’s greatest gift and sacrifice to mankind.

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SHOP HOLIDAY DEALS AT AMAZON

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“As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same.” 

~Donald E. Westlake, crime fiction writer

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“Let us have music for Christmas…

Sound the trumpet of joy and rebirth;

Let each of us try, with a song in our hearts,

To bring peace to men on earth.”

~Mildred L. Jarrell

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THE INFAMOUS HOLIDAY PHOTO for the Holiday card! Each year we try to send out a new creative holiday card. It has evolved over the years from cute little family photos to our son’s personalities shining through!

The boys have great fun dressing the part of “REAL MEN from UP NORTH MICHIGAN living the Country Life!” We indulge them with whatever theme they choose each year and our family and friends chuckle at our antics.

Every family has their own holiday traditions, ours included! I thought it would be fun to share ours and hope that you will comment below and share something of yours for other readers to enjoy, contemplate, or tryout to adopt as their own!

Some years, as you can see, we have a lot of snow by the time we take our annual photo. Other years not so much, but one thing is always present… our LOVE of family, friends, and joy at the gifts that Christ has blessed us with as our little family has grown up blossoming right before our eyes.

These gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, self-control, gentleness have flourished and continue the evolving process that will take place throughout a lifetime. We pray that these fruits of the spirit are abundantly growing and provide blessings in your life as well.

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“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

~Charles Dickens

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Our family has spent this past year working through a roller coaster of emotions and a huge chunk of time devoted to settling an estate from the loss of loved ones. The stress of these issues added to the difficulty of balancing all the additional roles we each perform daily has been overwhelming.

Along with this emotionally charged situation, the many hats that each of us are required to wear daily has been overwhelming. Balancing the roles of parent, spouse, child, professional, volunteer, extended-family member, organizer, church member, accountant, taxi-driver, listener, friend, counselor, etc. all while watching our country struggle with COVID issues and mandates both personally and professionally tipped the scales dramatically.

The one constant that seemed to ease our daily struggle has been GOD. As a family we have leaned on Him for daily strength, peace and grace. As a family we lean on Him to carry us when we are tapped out.

We welcome the opportunity to celebrate Him, and remember His birth. He is the reason for the season! Share Him with someone who needs a reminder of this Savior of the world.

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5 FAMILY TRADITIONS

#1 FAMILY TIME

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“The best view comes after the hardest climb.”

~ANONYMOUS

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As our boys have grown, time with them where they are able to focus on spending quality time with us is dwindling. They are ever-evolving into their own lives with their own time needs elsewhere. It’s the natural progression of life, right!

So when this opportunity presents itself for us to bond and spend quality time together. We embrace every second of it! Our family time is more and more precious to us!

Decorate the Christmas tree together, bake cookies, sip hot cocoa, go shopping together, wrap gifts, play in the snow, or watch a movie…just do it all together as a family. Bonding naturally happens and reconnecting is part of the process.

We have a family tradition of card games or board game nights at our house…

HAVE A PARKER BROTHER BOARD GAME MARATHON

Have each family member go to the game closet and pick one board game then begin the board game marathon! It is fun to relive all the childhood fun each of us has had with these vintage board games (from my childhood!) HOLIDAY FAMILY TIME is not to be wasted! ENJOY IT!

We have had great fun in the past with this ideas of a marathon of board games! I do suggest omitting monopoly as someone usually ends up mad…just a note-to-self if you live in an ultra competitive environment like ours!

Work up a great big appetite for that HOLIDAY MEAL! Get outdoors. Make a snowman, go snowmobiling, cross country skiing, or hit the slopes downhill, but do something together as a family! Breathe lots of fresh air and enjoy the day! Each day is a gift! DO NOT waste one moment lamenting what you are not doing, but instead embrace what you ARE DOING and enjoy it heartily!

“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.”

~Yogi Bhajan

Make time to go shopping, have lunch, and generally spend a quality great amount of time together! Love quaint downtown store to store shopping!

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5 FAMILY TRADITIONS

#2 CHRIST CENTERED

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“God goes to those who have time to hear him—and so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.”

~Max Lucado

Do you have time to hear Him? Seriously… do you carve out a time to talk to Him daily and more importantly time to “hear Him?” I must admit that I must MAKE time daily. Sure, it’s not easy to turn life off for a chunk of time. But, I will tell you that it is the most important time of the day!

God hears and sees it all! He already knows what’s heavy on your heart. Somehow talking it our with Him and LISTENING to hear Him is really what He wants. Give yourself the gift of a relationship with Him. Just like your best friend…the more time you spend with them, the deeper the relationship that is formed. Same with GOD! Think about it.

Imagine if Christ had not been born in that manger…where would we be? Keep Christ the center of Christmas. Celebrate His birth from the virgin Mary.

Sing songs of His wonder, grace, love and peace. Rejoice!

Christmas Eve service or traditional holiday services as a family are such a treasure! ENJOY TOGETHER at your local church.

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5 FAMILY TRADITIONS

#3 GIVING BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY

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“We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”

~John F. Kennedy

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Do you have community activities available where you can serve people of your community? An amazing occurrence of humble service to others serves as a transforming opportunity to see a slice of other’s lives through eyes other than your own.

It is amazing when this happens. Talk about an attitude adjustment… We have always volunteered as a family. This experience taught our boys many lessons in humility, compassion, kindness and satisfying joy. It feels wonderful to bring joy and a helping hand to our neighbors in our community.

Whether you act as an organizer or as a hands on do-er. Try engaging in your community. It is very fulfilling.

From road side garbage pick ups, donut making for donations to a favorite organization, or delivering Thanksgiving or Christmas baskets for a Community Project…try getting involved locally!

“Be present in all things and thankful for all.”

~Maya Angelou

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5 HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

#4 SEEK CO-WORKERS NEEDS

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“Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows.”

~Edwin Osgood Grover

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Besides our families, we spend the majority of our daily time along side co-workers. Do you you have a co-worker that struggles with the holidays? It can be a lonely, sad time for many. If one has recently suffered a loss or life altering event, many can find this time of year depressing instead of joy filled.

Being sensitive to others around us is paramount during this time of the year! It is easy to become overly distracted with our own agendas at the holiday. Try extra hard to be sensitive to those around us that may be giving cues of sadness.

Opportunity! Remember that hearts are open to the message of the season more abundantly than other times of the year. Remembrance of Christ’s birth and the reason for the season seem to be more obvious to many during the holidays.

Share the love of Jesus Christ with another. The grace, peace, joy and love of the Lord is ever present to all that seek this promise.

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5 HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

#5 CELEBRATE GIRLFIENDS WITH A LUNCHEON

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“And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent…”

~Taylor Caldwell

We all need “our people” to love, support, and listen to us throughout life!

I have been so blessed in this lifetime with my girlfriend groups!

Throughout my teen years I had a wonderful group of pals that evolved into a great support group of friends throughout my college years when I went off to college with a best friend as a roommate.

Post undergraduate years I lived with a law school classmate from Buffalo, New York. We became pretty tight friends supporting each other through the stress and trials of life.

Settling into married life, I was very blessed to be welcomed with open arms by several of my husbands hometown friends from his background. They made me feel so openly welcomed and included…priceless.

Volunteering at my boys school led to many more opportunities to bond with other moms. PTO volunteering, little league, pop-warner football, soccer events, etc. facilitated lots of ladies “like me!” I was very fortunate to make wonderful girlfriends with a group of gal pals. We support each other through life.

The conversations have evolved from small children issues, surviving middle school, high school dramas, to the struggles with saying goodbye to each of our college students heading off into their own exiting worlds. It has been such a roller coaster for each of us.

We enjoy girls nights, breakfast, couple dinners, coffee, and lake-side chats when we all can schedule time.

Forever bonds have formed. I am very grateful and thankful for ALL of these relationships and ladies that come and go in my life! This sisterhood of love is so precious!

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Make time for all of these precious relationships that warm our hearts throughout the year! Christmas is a special time to carve out time to tell people how much they mean to us and to be there for them, especially if they are struggling!

BLESSINGS!

Should you find yourself unsure of how to proceed this Christmas Holiday season consider one of these 5 ideas to spice up your HOLIDAY! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

What are your plans this year to enjoy this special day with your immediate family? Do you have traditions that you are heartbroken over? Replace that heartbreak with something silly to have a positive day instead! Leave me a reply below with which of these five ideas you may try to spice it up this year or REPLY BELOW with what your plans for Christmastime will entail! I am looking forward to hearing from you!

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Inspirationally Yours,

Barbara

BIO: https://www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com/about-us/

ABOUT ME:

A 1993 graduate of Michigan State University, Barbara earned a BS in Social Science Pre-Law. She is a Business Manager/HR Director. Her passion is travel, discovering new places, experiences, cuisine, cultures while enjoying temperate climates. Barbara is a newly transitioning empty-nester who became a travel blogger. She’s a great photographer, talented writer, and has a great family to highlight in her high school/college athlete football sons.

WEBSITE: www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com

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5 HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

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