How To Create Summer Travel Traditions For Your Family

Searching for a fun and interesting way to connect with your family this summer? Exploring a new way to make memories might help! 

When you think of a family tradition, what pops into your mind? Sitting around a Christmas tree, eagerly waiting to unwrap a present? Gathering around a big table ready to carve into a plump turkey? Searching for easter eggs full of money and treats in the backyard? All of these are examples of ways families have come to make a tradition around a holiday or special day. 

Where do traditions come from you might ask? 

Well, we don’t know when they started, but we do know they come from past generations and can be passed down to the next. According to Preemptive Love, traditions aren’t so much rules or restrictions, but more guidelines or a type of event or experience that shows what’s important to you. 

A family tradition can be defined as an activity or pattern of behavior that reflects your family’s values, interests, or beliefs and is specific to your family unit and is like your own family culture. Psychology Today mentions using daily routines to begin establishing family traditions, whether they’re big or small.

Here are some ideas of ways to create a new summer tradition:

First, consider what you already do during the summer. What are some things you enjoy doing as a family when the sun comes out? Is it a daily popsicle? A nightly picnic? A summer treat that gets made only once August hits? 

Then, consider what you and your family enjoy. Do you prefer time inside playing a game that only gets to come out when the temperature reaches 100 degrees? What about a book that’s read during the midday sun? Maybe it’s a fun pool game, preserved for only the summertime pool party. Or maybe you’re creating a bucket list, finding a list of all the rivers or lakes in the area and visiting one each summer until they are all visited. 

Next, consider how often. Is this an annual event? Is this just for the immediate family or is this for the whole neighborhood? Does it happen during an entire week or just on Sundays? 

The main part to remember is the intention behind it, and the meaning it holds for the family. If you have a minute, grab your friend or spouse and consider what traditions you would like to begin establishing for your family. What do you want them to remember? What do you want to pass on to them? How do you want to intentionally connect with them in a meaningful way? 

Ask each person’s opinion and help guide them into creating their own traditions, too!