Traditions help to form family bonds. They help children feel like they belong, like they’re part of something special that only belongs to their family. Adopted kids who may be feeling out of place or struggling with their own adoption story can find comfort in family traditions.

Starting when they first get home is great, but it’s never too late to start a new tradition. Older children can offer their own input, ideas and opinions on what is to become a new family tradition. Just make a strong effort to continue with the tradition even when life gets too busy and it’s difficult to do so. Having expected, comfortable events and activities to count on can help a child relax and feel at home with their own family.

We have a family tradition that we were able to share with Ella this year and I was so happy about it. In my husband’s family, his dad does all the holiday baking with recipes handed down from his mother. A few years ago, living on our own, my husband asked his dad for his grandmother’s recipes and our own tradition; a carrying on of his own family’s tradition, was born. Steve has adapted these family recipes in order to make them vegan and has played with ingredients and techniques over the years. The end result is a tired husband, a happy wife and containers full of cookies for all of us to enjoy.

My husband makes three of the cookies by himself; spritz, lace cookies and pecan thumbprints are his holiday time specialties. He reserves his famous chocolate chip cookies for the remainder of the year. It’s the roll out, cookie cutter, decorate yourself butter cookies that are our tradition. This year he used a recipe I had found and loved a few months ago, and they came out beautifully. He made the dough a few days earlier and it stayed in the fridge until the weekend so the three of us could work on them together.

On Saturday Ella made her first Christmas cookie! Poor thing was all runny and sick from a cold, but she really had a good time. She made a lovely candy cane that her daddy helped her decorate and she promptly ate. That child ate more cookie dough as we rolled and cut cookies than I thought humanly possible. I have her constant barrage for “more, more, more” on videotape in case she doesn’t believe me later.

So we have our own family tradition and I’m loving it. It’s a tradition that many share, but it feels like it’s just ours. This year my grandma, Ella’s great grandma joined the festivities and helped teach Ella how to roll the dough and cut the cookies. It was all very sweet and I hope it becomes something that she looks forward to every year, which is exactly what I’ll be doing.

photo credit: Rebecca H. (Ella's first Christmas cookie)

More Reading:
Holiday Traditions From Our House
Holiday Traditions