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I love family traditions, which are so special that people like to talk about them, share them, take pictures of them, and gather to enjoy them. The December holiday season is a great time to establish family traditions.

If you are bemoaning the fact that you have no family traditions; fear not. It only takes a couple years to start traditions that will last a lifetime. Here are five ideas to get you started:

• Create a homemade ornament or holiday cards. Make sure that the date is somewhere on the ornament.
• Buy a holiday tree that you plant in your yard. Take a picture of the family around the tree each year. The tree and the family will grow together.
• Invite friends over to play a touch-football or soccer game. Afterwards have a potluck dinner. Spending time together takes the place of trading gifts.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Young ones will come away with a new perspective on what they “need.”
• Go for an early morning hike to someplace special. Perhaps you leave very early so that you can see the sunrise.
• Gather family and friends and go caroling. Make sure you have the words to the holiday songs. Once you get into the swing of it, it doesn’t seem odd that you are singing to strangers.
• Find a special recipe that you only use once a year. My sister makes my grandmother’s coffee cake recipe. It takes many hours to make but is delicious.

No matter what you decide to do, make sure you take pictures. Create an album that is just for one or two pictures from each year. Quite soon, you will have a book that captures the feeling of your tradition so it can be passed down from generation to generation.

What is your favorite family tradition?