Family Traditions from Staff
Speaking of family, let’s talk about some fun and unique ways to make great family memories through traditions. Shop our Amazon List to easily recreate these ideas with your family.
I have shared previously how I love to take walks and enjoy nature, since my kids were little they would find “treasures” as we went and would bring them home to add to their collection. This has continued with my grands, the collection of special rocks, leaves, feathers, pine cones, etc is ever growing and changing with the seasons. // Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, we have family recipes that we cook together, family games that we play and of course football to watch. We make hundreds of Buckeye’s and pass them out to our neighbors, family and friends in anticipation of The Ohio State/Michigan football game the Saturday following. Over Christmas we love to take a family vacation, it’s the best time that we can all take time off. Making memories is our goal and spending time with each other fills my cup. – Julia, Principal Designer
We have lunch at a Mexican restaurant ALWAYS then that evening we go to church on Christmas eve and have already prepared “snacky” food like queso, bbq weenies, charcuterie etc,. When we get out of church, we then put on our jammies and watch a Christmas movie voted on by the family and enjoy our “snacky” foods. During the movie we ALWAYS pass around a family size bag of peanut M&M’s that have been frozen! – Jayne, Lead Designer
We get together and hangout for the evening and make fried chicken! – Mason, Construction Team
Our holiday schedules have always been a little wacky because of having a firefighter and a police officer’s schedule to work around. At Thanksgiving we do a traditional meal but Christmas is always something different depending on what the family votes on, like an Italian Christmas meal or Mexican meal. We also watch Christmas Vacation together as a family! – Lora, Business Manager
This year we plan to spend the holidays together alone out in the woods camping and just spending the time together with our dogs, enjoying nature! – Max, Construction Supervisor
My immediate family usually get together and enjoy time eating, watching football, movies and taking the kids to see the Christmas Lights that night. It’s usually a busy time with kids running around playing and preparing the meal. – Debbie, Designer & Business Development
When my kids were younger, we started doing a gift scavenger hunt on Christmas morning. My kids are teenagers now but it’s still something they look forward to. I create numbered tags – one goes on the Christmas tree and the other goes on the gift that is hidden in the house. One by one, the kids take a tag off the tree, read the clue and search for their gifts. I’ve hidden them in the trash can, laundry hamper, and even under their pillows while they were sleeping! – Angela, Purchaser Manager
We always go around the table at Thanksgiving and say what we are thankful for. Something I would like to start doing with our live Christmas tree is to make an ornament every year out of the round trimmed off piece at the bottom of the tree! – Lindsay, Lead Designer
My grandma owns “Morgan’s Bakery” in Tahlequah, so every Thanksgiving she brings all of her custom pastries and pies that we love. Our family gets together for a big turkey dinner, maybe play some football or baseball and a drinking game. – Jacob, Construction Team
A few of our traditions are gingerbread house contest, a limo ride with all the kid cousins to look at Christmas lights, smoked candy bacon extravaganza, the guys go out for a day of bird hunting and the ladies go to Purple Glaze; the Christmas story (Birth of Jesus) is read by the patriarch of the family, we wear matching pajamas for Christmas morning, and do a Christmas hike! – Landon, Project Manager
We always watch It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and A Christmas Carol (1951 version)! A few years ago I started a Christmas candlelit dinner tradition. Beginning on December 1, we light one extra candle each night and read from an advent devotional. By Christmas eve, you have 24 candles lit on the table! We may not do it every night and the food isn’t anything fancy, but it’s magical and a really sweet time with family and friends. – Mary, Marketing Coordinator
