Heirloom Traditions

There’s something magical about gathering as friends and family to craft a holiday feast, wrap homemade gifts or decorate the home. The most lasting of these creations is the tradition. Some traditions come and go but as we’ve reminisced stories past, the memories that live on and inspire us are the ones that were centered around a tradition. We think the reasoning is simple yet powerful; repetition. This gives hope. Just like the sunrise every morning, tradition is a hope for the future and provides an emotional mooring stone.

At the Allen house, we look forward every year to pick out a new nut cracker together which will take its place on top of the old piano. Kate plays Christmas songs while everyone sings along just like her grandma did for her growing up. That was grandma’s tradition.



This holiday season we want to remember the traditions that were created by our loved ones who’ve passed and cherish the sweet memories that they left behind. We invite all to create new traditions to plant hope in those sweet little ones in your life that are forming their own memories.

HERE ARE SOME IDEAS THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU TO SPARK SOME INSPIRATION FOR YOUR OWN TRADITION

1. Handmade gifts: Create something meaningful. Don’t worry as much about how it looks but rather what it means to the one you’ll give it to. This is the only gift under the tree that will last a lifetime.
 
2. Craft a new ornament for the tree: Don’t cheat and run to Walgreens to buy one! This ornament may end up looking silly but the value that you’ll get from this is priceless; a memory. When you create together, the product is trust healing, love promoting and ultimately a strengthened relationship that brings extreme joy (sounds pretty good eh?).



3. Serve together: It is incredible what happens when you serve. At first it seems like you are the giver and your target is the receiver. This is not the case. You soon realize that this investment gives both ways! You don’t have to think too hard about who you should serve. It will pop into your head before you even start trying to think. Then you’ll usually try to push the thought away and think of many reasons why it doesn’t make sense. That is when you know that you’ve found your target! The good news is, you also know exactly what to do for them.
 
4. Feed some wildlife: WHAT?? Yeah that’s right, go get a small bail of alfalfa hay or a handful of grain and take it to... the wild. There you may not see them, but there will be wildlife. They are typically trained to seize opportunity when it pops up (like a delicious bail of hay or pile of grain) Depending on which climate you live, wildlife has a hard time surviving winters and this offering just might be a timely holiday treat. Leave it under a tree with a note telling the critters to go tell their friends. The reality is, this sort of thing is real. It’s thinking outside yourself and connecting with the REAL world. I would guess that a tradition such as this would stand out in your memories when the years have passed and stories are told. The experience offers so many variables and opportunity to see something new.



Hopefully these ideas, though they seem crazy, have your mind going. If you get stumped, think CREATE + SERVE.