October 1st & Why Traditions matter
Early on in my motherhood, I decided to create a tradition for our family to officially commemorate the season of Fall. We decided to do it every year on October 1st and haven’t missed a year since. As mothers, we often have so much pressure on us already to make all the magic happen for our kids. I’m not advocating to add more to your plate, but rather scale back. Only do the things that you truly enjoy and are meaningful to you but keep them consistent and create traditions you can all look forward to each year.
Traditions matter and are worth the extra effort. Traditions create lasting memories and tether a meaningful experience for our children back to their family. It is more than just doing something fun, but rather if done with intention, making consistent memories is a way in which your child feels loved and connected to their siblings and parents.
It is also a great way to pass down your family beliefs and values and simply celebrate life together.
I encourage you to create a few meaningful experiences and traditions for your family throughout the year that don’t exhaust you and are within your family budget. Fight against the distractions and noise of what you “should” be doing and focus on your home and family. As mothers, we have the responsibility and privilege to mold and shape hearts and our family culture.
If you’re curious what we do on October 1st - keep reading! It consists of:
Matching seasonal pajamas
I LOVE matching pajamas. We take a sibling photo in their new pajamas in the same spot on our couch. I print these out each year and add them to a simple flip photo album.
It is so much fun to look back on each year and the kids love looking through them too! I know we will cherish this for years to come.
2. Seasonal book
This year I got two books since my kids are at varying ages. One Berenstein Bears book with Fall related stories and one with music buttons for my toddler. We have a basket I keep in our living room with books for the kids and change them out monthly. We have added to our Fall themed books collection each year for several years now and I keep the previous years books stored away. I get them out on October 1st and the kids love reading them all month long. When October is up, I put them away until the next year.
This keeps them fun and exciting, and the boys look forward to adding a new book each year.
3. Seasonal crafts from Dollar Tree
A few things we love are the foam sticker crafts with string that can be hung on their door handles, window clings, or their Fall canvases with paint kits.
4. Free printable activities
I like to look for Search and Find pictures, Spot the Differences or Mazes.
5. Seasonal snacks
This year we did “spiders” with pretzels and peanut butter crackers, and cuties with a vegetable straw that resembles a “pumpkin.”
One staple we always have are the Pillsbury break and bake cookies with pumpkins on them. The boys look forward to baking these together.
This is just a simple way where we sit down together and make crafts, eat yummy snacks, and just be together.
I hope this inspired some creativity for ideas for your family to create your own traditions. Let’s be intentional to create lasting memories that matter most to the hearts in our own home.
~Rachel