For me, the idea of family celebrations brings forward warm feelings of fun and love as I have two wonderful families to enjoy our differences with. I that appreciate for some the thought of a family celebration is not so great but remember your family are the only ones you have and almost certainly their hearts will be in the right place. As we head into this festive period, here are some ideas of ways that you can celebrate with your family.
Some ideas for family celebrations
Songs – My lovely family has a tradition of creating and performing a song for the wedding, birthday or what ever special event which is just a really wonderful way of expressing the love and respect we all have for each other. We now have a huge compilation of songs that the younger generation paste into their scrap books and hold with much pride.
Growing and giving – If you have a garden, that is fantastic as you can serve your family some great healthy food, grown with love. This has got to be the most important thing you can offer your family as. Here at the Paraoa Bakehouse, we donate many seeds to school gardens and I am so impressed with the ability these kids have but more so the utter joy and pride that growing things gives them. I can’t stress enough the importance of eating organic but even if your whole diet isn’t organic, maybe parts of it can be and growing your own can be a good step on that journey. Every little bit of organic we eat is a really positive move and if we can provide some for others, all the better!
Summer is the perfect time of year for tending – to our gardens, our family and friends, but most importantly to ourselves. It’s been a big year. All around me I hear people talking about how hard they’ve worked this year – with smaller budgets and less staff. We deserve a rest, so make sure to take one!
Gift wrapping – For gift giving, on my wife’s side, we have one very sustainably responsible person who insists we use newspaper to wrap presents which I think is a fantastic idea to save on paper use but also, every one is different! Christmas Day can be quite an adventure as each person reads what happened in ‘their’ day through the year.
Try something new – testing the home brew, trying a recommended wine, or a new punch, reading sleeping, swimming, playing music, and enjoying the beach or the river or the pool and the skin you are in. Doing something new with your family can become a tradition in itself!
In summary, my best suggestions for creating family celebrations include: eating seasonally; acting sustainably, and enjoying the wonderful differences you and your family offer. Here’s to family celebrations and celebrating family!
