Memory-Keeping Challenge: Holiday Traditions

 Hello, Memory Bound friends! 

I hope this weekend finds you enjoying a happy and healthy holiday season! 

Maybe it's the time of year, but lately I've been thinking a lot about traditions. The word "tradition" is defined as a custom or belief which is transmitted from generation to generation. With our daughter just home from college for the holiday break, I'm particularly mindful of our traditions: The treasured decorations we place around the house, as well as the things things we do year after year that make the holiday season special. As she enters adulthood and moves toward having a home of her own, it's important for me to "transmit" our customs to her. What better way to do that than through the pages of a scrapbook?

Here are some examples of traditions I've documented in my scrapbooks. Although I still have much more to do, I'm really glad I took the time to take photos and tell the "back story" of the important components of our holiday celebration. 

 1) My Christmas Village: Over 20 years ago, my parents gave me a few pieces from the Department 56 Dickens Village. I now have over 30 buildings, a crowd of tiny people, and a forest of trees. A couple of years ago, I took time to write the story of my village and include it in my scrapbooks.

 

  

 

 2) Holiday Baking: I'm not very handy in the kitchen, but there are a few recipes which I absolutely must make each holiday season. One of them is Gingerbread Cookies. I always try to take pictures of the baking process to include in my scrapbooks. Awhile back, I wrote up the story of my holiday cooking adventures, including my first (and likely ONLY) attempt at making Figgy Pudding. This year, it will be time for an update with new photos and stories!

 

     
Here's one of many pages I've made about holiday baking:

3) Decorating: I'm fortunate to have received all of my Grandma's Shiny Bright ornaments. As a child, I always enjoyed seeing them on her Christmas tree, and now they bring back fond memories of her. 
 

 
  
Here's one of a few pages about the Shiny Bright ornaments, this one featuring our kitty's fascination with them. The story of the ornaments is on the back.

4) A new holiday decoration: Traditions are not all old and dusty! From time to time, it's fun to start a new tradition. A recent favorite is my little set of four reindeer from Starbucks. I found them in the clearance bin and initially bought only one, but then I felt badly about leaving the other deer behind so I went back and bought the remaining three! When I got them home, our cat Lily repeatedly tipped them over, much like "cow tipping". This was a story for the scrapbooks! 

 

  This season, my challenge to all of us (myself included!) is to take the time to document at least one important holiday tradition. What are some of the things that your family does year after year each holiday season? What's the history behind a particular set of ornaments you eagerly hang on the tree and carefully pack up after Christmas is over? What kinds of foods do you make each holiday season and why? Take photos of your traditions during the holiday season, and talk about them with your family members. When January comes, you'll be ready to scrapbook your holiday traditions and pass them on to future generations!

Happy holiday crafting!
Janet