In life, you have your circle. Your circle of people that are there for you no matter what. Through every up and down, they are by your side. One of the people in my circle is my mom.
Growing up she raised my siblings and I with such authenticity and love. Any time I would leave to do anything, she would always say “remember who you are and whose you are.” We would start singing Diana Ross’ song, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” It’s silly, but every time I would leave, it would go just like that. It was our little “see you later” tradition.
Let me share a few of the other traditions I’ve shared with my mom and family over the years!
Christmas tradition
Buy an Ornament and Decorate the Christmas Tree—This year take the time to decorate the Christmas tree with your daughter and with your family. Every year we decorate our family Christmas tree with the ornaments we have collected throughout the years. Every year we buy a new family ornament to describe that year. Throughout the year, we buy ornaments from all the places we visit. While we decorate the tree, we talk about all of our memories from the places we have gone and how our family has grown.
Quality Time Traditions
Snuggle Time—My mom created this because she was a single mom of four kids. It is super difficult to give each of your children devoted time, all the time. She assigned us each a day of the week and for one hour, before bedtime, we would get to snuggle and talk. I still remember this time many years later. I would give my mom all the details of what happened on the playground that day and would ALWAYS go over my hour. Moments like those are sweet and are what memories are made of. As I have gotten older, snuggle time has transitioned into coffee dates, meals, and walks. The location and logistics of snuggle time have changed but the relationship built sustains our time through the years.
Shopping and Errands—My mom always calls me her “road dog.” I gained this nickname by always wanting to go everywhere with her. Target? I’m coming. Thrifting? Count me in. Any type of errands? I will be there. Allowing your daughter access to you and your presence means more to her than she will ever say.
Sunday Dinners and Calls—Every Sunday, we would go out to eat after church and talk about what we learned from the message or how we would apply it. Fellowship and food are definitely some of my love languages. Now that I am away to college and my siblings are scattered across the nation, my mom makes it a point to have Sunday calls. Sometimes life gets away from us and we don’t get to talk all week and other times I call my mom eight times in a day. One thing I can always count on is for her to call me on Sundays and talk through life with me.
Silly Traditions
Dance Party—I don’t know about your family, but mine is always singing and dancing. We will make up songs out of nowhere or scream our favorites at the top of lungs. We will dance around the kitchen like we don’t have a care in the world. All the goofy dance moves and cringe worthy singing provides laughs that last a life time.
Grow in God Traditions
Devotion Time—Studying and dwelling in God’s Word is something I learned early on from my mom. I would see her reading her Bible and drinking her coffee at the breakfast room table. I don’t remember when it started, but my mom implemented family morning devotions. We would go through a devotion as a family during breakfast to start off our days. As we all graduated and moved into adulthood, we continued this tradition by buying the same devotion as another way to stay connected and to hold each other accountable to abide in God’s Word.
Whichever tradition you create and choose to do with your daughter, remember that your authenticity, presence, and love is all your daughter craves. I hope y’all have a Merry Christmas dancing around the fire, fellowshipping, and starting new family traditions.
Jillian Murphy usually introduces herself as “Just Jillian.” Not to minimize who God has made her to be, but because she realizes how blessed she is to be used as a vessel. Jillian is a college student, speaker, and writer. She is the author of Powerfully Weak, This is Why, The Four Seasons of Hope, as well as the co-author of A Bigger Purpose. She is passionate about sharing God’s Word with students and women of all ages! She believes no matter who you are or where you’ve been the Word of God is relevant to your life as you strive to live with authentic faith in Christ.