FAMILY-FRIENDLY
Shake-up ideas you can do with, or for, your family.

From the book:
#66 Break A Long-Held Tradition

If you have children, chances are you have myriad traditions that you work slavishly to uphold: holiday meals, birthday funfests, Memorial Day/July Fourth/Labor Day barbeques, and so on. You think (and rightly so) that happy rituals and continuity are meaningful to kids and that, if you create good memories, they’ll do the same when it’s their turn.

The thing about traditions, however, is that you can break them without consequence, as long as you replace them with something equally memorable. The particulars don’t matter; if you switch from turkey to tofu loaf, the children may not like it, but they’ll accept it as the new custom. They might even get into molding and dressing the thing, and make that their ritual contribution. Your mother may not be so flexible, but that’s a different story (or perhaps it’s the whole point).

For a few years, we took our kids to New York City during Christmas break to see a Broadway show and spend the night in a hotel—even though we live only twelve miles away. Playing tourists was part of the fun. We did this only three or four times, but when someone asked our daughter to describe her favorite family tradition, that’s what she picked—as if we’d done it her whole life. Forget the annual holiday festivities and beach vacation; this new event took the prize….”

To read the rest of this shake-up, pick up a copy of The List: 100 Ways to Shake Up Your Life.

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