Accidentally, On Purpose: Traditions Pt 1
Note: I wrote this post last year, and was waiting for just the right time to post it...fast-forward a year and it is now or never. Enjoy!
Every once in a while something completely random becomes a beloved tradition. What I've noticed over the years is that if something happens more than one year in a row, my children automatically deem it tradition.
"But we do it every year, Mom!"
We have several traditions in our family. Some have happened accidentally; some have happened on purpose.
We have a Thanksgiving tradition that happened completely by accident! My kids call this tradition "The One Batch of Fudge."
The Backstory
"The One Batch of Fudge" comes from my family's fondness for fudge at Christmas time.
(I know, you thought I was going to tell about a Thanksgiving tradition. Bear with me, I'm getting there.)
Each year I make lots of fudge...so much fudge! Using the basic fudge recipe from my mom, I've expanded my fudge-making to include 8 different varieties: plain chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with coconut, peppermint chocolate, white chocolate, peppermint white chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter. I've made so much fudge that the recipe is committed to memory, and last year when my mom couldn't find her recipe, she called me! Some years I've been known to lose count at 22 double batches of fudge!
I make fudge for the family, fudge to give as gifts, and fudge to bring to events. It has gotten to the point that people check to make sure I'm bringing fudge to parties at Christmas time.
The Tradition
A few years ago, when I was feeling particularly energetic at Thanksgiving, I decided to make one double batch of plain chocolate fudge in addition to a selection of pies. I told the kids this was a sample, a teaser, of the fudge to come for Christmas.
{I think I was just really craving fudge that year.}
Then I did it again the next year. And the next. And the next. The kids began to ask each year in the week leading to Thanksgiving, "You're going to make the one batch of fudge, right?'
I didn't actually think anything of it. I just figured they liked my fudge! That was until about two years ago. We were meeting with our church small group, and the ice-breaker question for that week was "What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?" One by one, my kids each said "The One Batch of Fudge!" I was shocked! At that point, I hadn't even considered "The One Batch of Fudge" as a tradition, it was just something I did. Then someone from our small group asked them what they were talking about, and they responded: "It's tradition!"
Somehow my fondness for making fudge had become a favorite part of their childhood. I didn't set out to make it a tradition. I'm not a very consistent person. I get easily distracted. Through the years I've experimented with many potential traditions, but none of them really stuck.
I don't know how this one did! I don't even remember the first year I made fudge for Thanksgiving, but it is now a non-negotiable part of our family traditions. No matter when we have Thanksgiving, at our own home, someone else's home, or "back home," my family looks forward to "The One Batch of Fudge."
This year, for the first time, we didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with our two oldest children. Jenny is married and lives 6 hours away. Kandice is away at college several states away. There was no way I was going to let them miss out on "The One Batch of Fudge" so I made some early and shipped it with explicit instructions not to open until Thanksgiving! My efforts resulted in a series of SnapChat videos of my son-in-law trying to get into the fudge a day early as well as Thanksgiving morning texts from my college girl thanking me for the fudge! {I may have teared up a little.}
As a parent, I want my children to have fond memories of things we did while they were growing up. I've found one of the best ways to do this is by embracing accidental traditions as they happen. I don't always get everything right, and my kids don't expect everything to be perfect, but they do enjoy the little things, like "The One Batch of Fudge."
What are some accidental traditions your family looks forward to each year?
Every once in a while something completely random becomes a beloved tradition. What I've noticed over the years is that if something happens more than one year in a row, my children automatically deem it tradition.
"But we do it every year, Mom!"
 |
| Our family Thanksgiving 2017 |
We have a Thanksgiving tradition that happened completely by accident! My kids call this tradition "The One Batch of Fudge."
The Backstory
"The One Batch of Fudge" comes from my family's fondness for fudge at Christmas time.
(I know, you thought I was going to tell about a Thanksgiving tradition. Bear with me, I'm getting there.)
My mom made fudge every year at Christmas when I was growing up. When I was about 16 years old, my mom gave me a stack of recipe cards for Christmas. Each recipe card was handwritten and included some recipes I had grown up with and some that she enjoyed making at one time or another. A personal note accompanied each recipe. Notes like "Uncle Ralph was partial to the butterscotch" or "This was one of your Daddy's favorites" or "add 3/4 c. chocolate chips if you like." I cried when she gave them to me!
 |
| Some of my recipes from Mom |
I make fudge for the family, fudge to give as gifts, and fudge to bring to events. It has gotten to the point that people check to make sure I'm bringing fudge to parties at Christmas time.
The Tradition
A few years ago, when I was feeling particularly energetic at Thanksgiving, I decided to make one double batch of plain chocolate fudge in addition to a selection of pies. I told the kids this was a sample, a teaser, of the fudge to come for Christmas.
{I think I was just really craving fudge that year.}
Then I did it again the next year. And the next. And the next. The kids began to ask each year in the week leading to Thanksgiving, "You're going to make the one batch of fudge, right?'
I didn't actually think anything of it. I just figured they liked my fudge! That was until about two years ago. We were meeting with our church small group, and the ice-breaker question for that week was "What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?" One by one, my kids each said "The One Batch of Fudge!" I was shocked! At that point, I hadn't even considered "The One Batch of Fudge" as a tradition, it was just something I did. Then someone from our small group asked them what they were talking about, and they responded: "It's tradition!"
Somehow my fondness for making fudge had become a favorite part of their childhood. I didn't set out to make it a tradition. I'm not a very consistent person. I get easily distracted. Through the years I've experimented with many potential traditions, but none of them really stuck.
I don't know how this one did! I don't even remember the first year I made fudge for Thanksgiving, but it is now a non-negotiable part of our family traditions. No matter when we have Thanksgiving, at our own home, someone else's home, or "back home," my family looks forward to "The One Batch of Fudge."
This year, for the first time, we didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with our two oldest children. Jenny is married and lives 6 hours away. Kandice is away at college several states away. There was no way I was going to let them miss out on "The One Batch of Fudge" so I made some early and shipped it with explicit instructions not to open until Thanksgiving! My efforts resulted in a series of SnapChat videos of my son-in-law trying to get into the fudge a day early as well as Thanksgiving morning texts from my college girl thanking me for the fudge! {I may have teared up a little.}
As a parent, I want my children to have fond memories of things we did while they were growing up. I've found one of the best ways to do this is by embracing accidental traditions as they happen. I don't always get everything right, and my kids don't expect everything to be perfect, but they do enjoy the little things, like "The One Batch of Fudge."
What are some accidental traditions your family looks forward to each year?
Comments
Post a Comment