Grandparents are keepers of traditions

Grandparetns are keepers of traditions

Happy Friday and Welcome! Today is a good time to discuss how grandparents are the keepers of traditions.

 Personally, I believe traditions are important for families…for our heritage and peace of mind and grandparents are an important keeper of that key.

There are some things every person wants to know will always be there no matter what is happening in the world around us.  Traditions provide a sense of security to many.

All types of traditions are built and handed down throughout a family, but for me they have predominately centered around holidays.

I heard a saying I really liked once…”Christmas is like a baton passed down from one generation to the next.”  That would be the same of Hanukkah, birthdays, baptisms or any family celebrations.  

Grandparents run with the baton and, hopefully, eventually will hand it off to continue.

 

CHRISTMAS AND ME…A TRADITION BEGINS

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

 Why do I love this season so much?  I have given this deep thought.

Honestly, I believe it began as a child when Christmas was the only time in our household that my parents agreed with one another, worked as a team, and made it very special.

The rest of the year was contentious and heated and not fun at all.  Christmastime became an oasis in the desert for me.

I have always looked forward to the season and been a little sad when it ends.

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

My anniversary was yesterday…37 years…and it was the Christmas wedding I had always dreamed of.  Now a part of our family history.

KEEPING CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

 With my own children and now grandchildren, it has been important to me to run with the baton and create memories and traditions for our families to cherish.

Someone looked at my decorations once and asked, “How long will you continue to put this stuff out?”  I looked at them and softly said,  “This is not stuff.  Each decoration, each ornament has a purpose and story to tell.”

Many of the decorations come from my mother and my mother-in-law.  The grandchildren already know and enjoy the Santas of the World and the Christmas village…they hear of the Great Grandmothers they never knew with each one.

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

There are three of these stockings that my husband’s great-grandmother sewed in 1958.  We want to continue to hang them and allow him to share stories about his Meemaw and BoBo.

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

Last week, two of our grandchildren came over to help put up the Christmas village which was started by my mother-in-law.

As they unwrapped the people and animals, Mr.B set up the buildings.  I was in the kitchen and suddenly heard all three singing carols while they worked. 

Talk about a joyous moment and memory for those children…and us!

I smile each year now that I know two of my adult children have started villages of there own!

KEEPING MY OWN TRADITIONS

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

 I have told the audience before that my love of snowmen began with this guy 36 years ago in Fredericksburg, TX….a hill country town I love.

The snowman collection grew from there and now there are so many I no longer put them all out….except I occasionally catch Mr. B setting out the ones left behind!

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

This is the first year all six grandchildren have a stocking with their names to be filled with goodies on Christmas Eve.  These memories will hopefully carry us joyfully into a new year, and I hope to continue this as long as they want me to.  My three children received a stocking until they began to have families of their own.

For now, we are all able to be together on Christmas morning to open gifts and share brunch…I understand this tradition could change at any moment as they do have other families now, but every year, I sit back and take it all in.  I always insist that we go slow and open every gift one at a time…so I can watch the faces when they do.  We have another tradition called the Christmas clap which happens after each gift is opened…to share joy with the gift recipient.

NEVER TOO LATE

Grandparents are keepers of traditions

Another tradition unrelated to holidays is for me to climb in bed or a big chair with my grandsons to play Spiderman games… I am a great appreciator of Super Heroes!

Just remember….It is never too late to build family traditions and start new ones.  Do not hold back because your grandchildren are older, begin those traditions this year and hold fast to them.  They may not say it, but they will appreciate it.

Grandparents are the keepers of traditions and family stories.  Don’t drop the baton.

Would anyone else like to share your family traditions with grandchildren?  Please do….and make it a memory that their grandmothers would…

KEEP SMILING!!

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By Pamela Lutrell

Season of Joy on Over 50 Feeling 40

17 Comments

  1. I so agree. Love our traditions. We always lined up to walk into see the Christmas tree as santa left unwrapped gifts . The host would sneak in, turn the lights on, put music on. We would then decide the line up order…tallest to smallest, oldest to youngest. As a child no matter it was decided so we went last. Years later I realized it was so the adults would be in the room and able to see the delight on my brother and my faces.

  2. This is beautiful! So true that it is not “stuff”! Your wedding picture is so wonderful Pam, the looks on your faces… congratulations on an enduring love!
    Traditions are very important to me too and my now-young-men grandsons and my son’s and daughters-in-law very much appreciate them. My oldest son especially has carried them on in his own home and that makes me happy. We do many things together as a family through the year, but Christmas carries the most. One thing we always did, started with my firstborn, was enjoy fondue while decorating our tree. He still does this every year with his family, and my grandson comes home from college just to participate that weekend. We have so many things, but this one stands out. I am single but still do this myself! My sister and I have some traditions too, one is shopping the day after Christmas, looking for ornaments and fun things on sale, and then we have lunch in a beautiful tea room in a small, beautiful little town. We are already talking about it! Thank you for sharing this important message about grandparents passing traditions down. We make them special so that the children and grandchildren will want to carry them on!

  3. oh that one had me smiling all the way through it! love your blue coat at the top….the wedding picture is so special! your home is beautifully decorated.

  4. Watching the faces is a big part of these traditions…the joy can be so contagious. Thanks for joining in, Barb.

  5. I love the fondue idea while decorating the tree and going to tea…I want to do that more. I agree with you that it is so wonderful to watch adult children carry the baton forward.

  6. What a beautiful looking couple, both 37 years ago and today! Congratulations!

    I totally agree that traditions very important, an importance which is often under appreciated. Although I don’t have children or grandchildren, the magic of Christmas comes alive when baking traditional family recipes, doing the annual trek to cut a Christmas tree (and singing a medley, badly, of the first few lines of Christmas carols, as that’s all we can seem to remember from year-to-year), hanging ornaments from both our early days as a couple and our many travels, and keeping these memories alive to share with family and friends. Your grandchildren are very lucky to have you creating these memories for them!

  7. Thank you, Barb. I agree that in today’s culture this is under appreciated, and I hope to be a light shining on what is really important as we grandparent.
    Thanks for your kind words.

  8. Lovely post! In addition to the tree adorned with our travel souvenirs and things made by our son (we started his “memory tree” also in childhood, so he had his ornaments to take when he left home), I have some of those felt appliqué stockings too. Mine were made by my grandmother also, as best I can determine in the 1960s. They are hanging on my mantle now.

  9. Although I have grown children but no grandchildren yet, I thoroughly enjoyed today’s post! Definitely something I will keep in mind when the day comes. Also, I just have to say that you have really come alive with your new colors and bohemian style. Today’s outfit looks fabulous and flattering on you and really reflects your joyous and outgoing personality. You are such a cool Grandma!

  10. What a beautiful wedding picture – here’s to many more years of happiness and good health! While I have buckets of lovely holiday memories with grandparents, I am in waiting mode to see if/when I will be blessed with grandchildren of my own. In the meantime, I fully embrace my piano students as recipients of my joy for the season, and include my own aging parents for recital celebrations so they also enjoy the special excitement children bring. Next Saturday our home will be filled with families, friends, lots of music, some audience participation (everyone can shake a set of sleigh bells!) and our themed table of Grinch Punch and Grinch skewers along with green-tinged sugar cookies. 🎄

  11. Pam, thank you for this encouragement❣️
    My husband and I also hold generations of traditions highly, especially at Christmas. My growing up was very similar to yours, with Christmas being somewhat peaceful. His family loves Christmas and family togetherness!
    Patterned much of how we raised our family by them, hence the many memories our kids love to share! Our son in law loves to hear these, so blessed.
    Although, this year I’m in a quandary about our future daughter-in-law.🤔
    She did not have the same family connection(s). As we share, she gets offended and disconnects. My son is struggling with how to discuss this with her also.
    We love on her, pray for her, and try to be patient.
    Any insight? 😉

  12. Such a beautiful post. I love that stocking from the 50’s, so gorgeous. Ever since the grandkids were young I would get them fuzzy pj’s and they would wear them for the rest of the day after opening. We have pictures of all 7 of them for years, but lately with all of them in their teens or twenties we have moved away from that. Before dessert at the table, we the 12 days of Christmas and that usually brings alot of laughs. We are hoping to be able to get the group together this year again, but not sure as of yet. Thanks for sharing your traditions with us.

  13. Hi Pamela,
    This post is wonderful, full of LOVE (LOVE is my operative word I chose for this year because I feel our world needed more LOVE, and still does.
    Your wedding picture is really beautiful of you both. Congratulations on celebrating 37 years, it’s so special. Making the days, weeks, months, years count is so important. My hubby (Bear) and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary, and married on Independence Day, July 4th. The unusual story behind our love affair is we met and fell in LOVE really fast and married in 56 days. We knew what we were doing, to this day we are 99% per cent compatible. I would not recommend that for everyone to do, but we do what we were doing. Our family members thought we were crazy. Just crazy in LOVE, and still till this name.
    I think your family traditions are WONDERFUL, and what you do with your grandchildren is really fabulous. I can tell you both are amazing grandparents. Keep up traditions, all your family members will never ever forget it. I am sure they adore you both.
    My grandmother on my mama’s side was my best friend, she made our holidays and Christmas so special. Grandma owned a restaurant and was the best cook and baker in the whole wide world. I learned so much from her. Grandma did it all, you name it she could create it by the loom, knit, sew, and everything in between. I have her wedding ring, a huge treasure.
    Enjoy everything that surrounds you, life is a gift.

  14. Family traditions do have to change over the years. When our boys got married we decided on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning one year and Christmas Dinner the next at our home would be the new tradition . Luckily they are both still in our city and in laws families not too far away. This has worked for us. It took a few years after our granddaughter was born for my son to ask very gingerly if it would be alright for us to come to his house for Christmas morning. I just gave a big laugh and asked what had taken so long for him to ask. He kept the tradition of sausage rolls during present opening and Eggs Benedict for brunch. My daughter-in-law also said, ‘ I hope you will not be offended but Santa doesn’t wrap at our house.” I thought what a clever lady.

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