Family Matters: 15 Fall Family Traditions

Friday, September 23, 2011

Anisa Raoof, GoLocalProv Family Expert

Now that it’s fall, our family welcomes the change of season and we look forward to carrying on traditions that celebrate autumn, the natural colors and the holidays including trips to favorite spots, foods made from local harvests, and activities rooted in fall.

Traditions connect our children with our personal and cultural history and form the memories they will later share with their friends and families. Stemming from religion, birthplace, seasons, or revolving around a

treasured activity or possession, as parents we decide how to carry on, blend or create new traditions. They may be small or grand but it is the repetition and memories around the ritual that make them meaningful to us.

We savor, share and pass along these traditions to our children through our activities, storytelling, recipes, photographs, videos, or saved mementos.

A list of our fall favorites:

Apple picking at Hills Orchards
Make apple pie and applesauce
Collect leaves, flatten between books and make leaf prints
Pick our pumpkins at Four Town Farm
Make our Halloween costumes, host a small Halloween gathering and watch the film, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Creating your own traditions

I love hearing what and how other families celebrate this time of year. Last year I hosted a Kidoinfo conversation about Creating Traditions and I invited our panel and readers to share their favorites. Here’s a sample below – feel free to borrow, incorporate or pass along.

We go to peace events
We vote together
Pack away summer seashell display and replace with autumn treasures; acorns, pine cones and leaves
Can fruits and vegetables from the garden
Select and tag a Christmas tree
Write a poem about fall
Create a tree from craft paper, hang in hall wall and each day a family member adds a leaf for something they are grateful for
Donate and bring to a needy family a complete turkey dinner (with pie)
During a holiday gathering, “Interview” an older relative with your child to hear his or her version of favorite traditions and celebrations
Create a family recipe book and encourage others from different generations to contribute

What are your favorite traditions this time of year?