Hi there! Hard to believe it’s Friday already! While you’re reading this, I’m enjoying a little getaway with my older daughter Allie. We’re visiting friends in Atlanta then heading to South Carolina for my cousin’s wedding! Such a special time all around.

{Day 17 of Making Small Changes}

Speaking of special times, something our family deems very important is family traditions. We don’t have a ton of them and only a few are really involved or cost much money, but I love the stability and element of fun they give to our family.

Here’s some of our favorites:

— Daddy/daughter dates and Mother/son dates. These are usually very low-cost. One of Ben’s favorite things to do with Evie is take her to Buccee’s! She picks out some candy (costs less than $2) and she’s perfectly happy she got daddy to herself for a bit!

— We celebrate a family sabbath on occasion, with a special meal and fancy dishes, etc. The kids love this!You can read more here about everything we do.

— Christmas Eve is spent just with our “little” family. We enjoy a meal made up of our favorite appetizers and chocolate fondue for dessert. It’s one of my favorites for sure!

— Once a year, usually during the Christmas holidays, we go to the nearest beach for a night or two. After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s fun to just relax and enjoy our family. (Although, we’re about to start needing suite! 6 people in one room is a little cozy!) This time also coincides with our anniversary so sometimes we’ll have one night with just the two of us, then we’ll get the kids for the second night. You can read about last year’s trip here. This tradition is definitely one of our more involved (both in planning and financially) but traveling to the beach during Christmas is definitely cheaper than during the summer. Plus, there are almost no crowds!

These traditions are fun for our family, but there’s nothing inherently special about them. Think about things that your family loves to do, and try to create a tradition out of them! It could be as simple as having pancakes for breakfast every Saturday morning to as elaborate as a trip to the mountains every year.

(One tip: Choose something you feel fairly certain you can keep up with! Your kids will hold you to whatever you choose! ha!)

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