My Family Traditions
Olivia Howard
White Elephant
Every year for as long as I can remember, the adults in my family participate in a white elephant gift exchange on Christmas. Everyone brings a gift that anyone would like. Everyone that brings a gift puts their gift in a pile and people draw names out of a hat to see who gets to pick the first gift. Also, you can steal gifts from people if you like their gift better. The white elephant gift exchange would be an example of a norm in my family because we have done it our whole lives, and it would be found normal in my family to not bring a gift for everyone, but a gift for the gift exchange.
Christmas Morning
Every year on Christmas morning, my dad makes us his homemade donuts. He is often gone early every morning for work, so him making us breakfast really makes Christmas morning special. He has been doing this my whole life.
Baptism
Religion was very important to my parents when we were younger. My brothers and I were all baptized when we were babies. If my parents would have had any other kids, they would have been baptized by the same priest, at the same church. Baptism would be an example of a more in my family because it is my moms morals that we were baptized.
Trick-or-Treat!
Every year from ages 1-9, I would go to my grandma's house in Springfield to trick-or-treat with all of my cousins. It was always so much fun. We stopped the tradition because we all got older and had plans to trick-or-treat with our friends.
Vacation
My families favorite vacation spot is the Dominican Republic. I have been there twice, but my parents have been their six times! They love it. They go during the spring. Every time they go, on the way home they stop at the same McDonald's in St. Louis. I don't really know why my family does that, but it is now a family tradition to stop at that McDonald's.
Family Fun Night
Family Fun Night used to be a big deal at my house when I was younger. Every Friday night we would play board games, such as Life or Uno. We would make popcorn and watch movies on family fun night as well. This tradition ended when my brothers got into high school.
Easter
My family loves Easter. Every year we go to my grandma's house for Easter. We eat ham, cheesy potatoes, and a lot of other good food. Also, we have a huge Easter egg hunt. Since all the kids have gotten older, my grandpa put dollar bills in the Easter eggs. It is a lot of fun, and I am glad that this tradition has stuck around my family for so long.
Tailgating
My dad is a very big football fan. He has always loved the Illini, no matter how terrible they are. My dad used to get season tickets to Illini games every year. He would take my mom and I up there, along with a couple of his friends and we would tailgate before each game. It was a blast. Unfortunately we don't do this very often anymore because the Illini have not been very good lately.
My Traditions
When I grow up and have a family, I would like to make some traditions for my family to follow. First of all, I would like to make some sort of dessert with my kids during the holidays. Every year, my cousins and I would make nut roll at my great grandma's house. Another tradition I would like to make would be to take my kids to a certain vacation spot every year, such as Florida or Alabama or something.