BabyBites

We are trying to sit down to dinner as a family as much as possible, which is something I grew up with. I think it’s important for the whole family.

Summers on Martha’s Vineyard. Life is beautiful!

We have game night every Sunday evening. With a toddler and an infant, it’s not too complex, yet, but we hope it will evolve as they get older into something fun and enjoyable for all. We also have a “pizza party picnic” every Monday night. We watch a movie and spread out a blanket on the floor with a pizza and eat and watch as a family.

Among the serious traditions like saying prayers before meals and bedtime, we also have a silly one that my dad started with my brothers and sisters and me. Before bed it is “inspection time” to look for Mr. Yuckmouth in our daughter’s mouth. When we find him he is usually having a picnic or a bbq and surfing all around her mouth. By that time she is laughing so hard and saying “get him out!” that we are able to brush every tooth without tears. And I thought I would never parent like my father! HA!!! works like a charm

My grandfather used to take us apple picking every year, and then my husband and I have gone every year since we met, and he actually proposed in the apple orchard. So, we will continue to take our child (and hopefully children, one day) every year. Oh, and our dog comes along, too!

My father recently passed away and every Christmas he would make a hungarian cookie/cake that my grandfather used to make. I plan on keeping that tradition and show my daughter how to make it this year and tell her many stories about her Poppy. Granted, my daughter is 1 1/2 years old, but she can help me stir the flour and enjoy getting messy.

We make birthday cakes from scratch with our 3-year old and let him go to town frosting and decorating it with sprinkles and candles. He has made the most beautiful cakes, and it’s always a joy to spend time together as a family preparing it.

We have (mostly) home-cooked dinners as a family every night. Even though that sometimes means our 21 month old goes to bed a little late if daddy has to work late, it’s something both of our families always did.

We are passing down traditions from both my husband’s family and my Korean and Ecuadorian side of the family. My husband is very active in local politics and has taken Avery campaigning, petitioning and to club meetings (when she was 2 months old!). In late September, we celebrate Chuseok which is Korean Thanksgiving where we celebrate with many symbolic dishes and the children wear traditional costumes and honor their elders and ancestors. I also play and dance to Salsa and Cumbia music at home and Avery has definitely developed a sense of rhythm and love of dance!

Shabbat dinner on Friday nights.

We always watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade in our pj’s before cooking for the big dinner. Also, everyone in our family has a Christmas stocking–it’s fun for the little ones to help pick out small gifts for the “big kids.”

Pizza night on Fridays…..make your own pizza and then as a family sit down and eat together…

I was born in the Soviet Union, although my family has lived in the states for over 30 years. I hope the kids learn to speak Russian. I also have my grandmother and mother make some russian food for our 2.5 yo daughter.

When I was growing up, my parents would get my sister and I Unicef Trick or Treat boxes to help raise money for children in need. I am continuing the tradition this year with my 9 month old daughter. While we’re not going door-to-door yet, we’re having a get-together with our friends and their children and we will invite them to donate. Her father and I will also match the money that she collects–just like my parents did. It’s never to early to teach your children about giving back and to appreciate how lucky we are to lead healthy and happy lives in this country!

Growing up, we paid an annual visit to the tree at Rock Center at Christmas Time, for our aptly named “Big Tree Day.” Along with St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Macy’s windows, there is nothing quite like a visit to NYC landmarks at Christmastime, a tradition which we have continued with my son.

putting cookies & milk 4 santa & carrots 4 the reindeer out the night before xmas!

We have a special way of tucking the kids in for bed. Has to be the same every night. It includes tucks, kisses and hugs. But it has to be done in a certain order.

We’ve blended our family bedtime traditions, so our daughter gets a long song medly at bedtime, made up of the songs that used to lull her daddy and me to sleep as children.

It’s very important for me to pass on my culture. To that end, I’ve gathered all the books, family recipes, family stories, etc about my heritage that I can find. I’ve created my own stories and flash cards. My cousin and I have even started a business to help others like us.

I think people’s cultures are so special and keeping family traditions are so important. Our family rabbi told me before my wedding that any level of tradition and practice is better than none, so we agreed to keep a kosher home. We want our daughter to know what generations have practiced before us and learn the importance of tradition on many levels. Shabbat dinner is always a big one too…whatever your family history, it’s never too late to learn where you’ve come from!

Lighting candles and Friday night dinner Shabbat dinner with grape juice!

We love to have our Sunday bagel breakfast. My Dad always went out for bagels and now we do the same.

I love family dinners together, especially since I love to cook, with lovely music in the background. Our family is very athletic so we also go to the gym together as often as possible in the evenings or on the weekends. So grandpa, grandma, the baby, and us. That’s really special!!!

I love the weekend because it’s my time to celebrate with the joy of music just sitting around singing to my favorite tunes of harmonious melodies with family. Nothing beats it; I am definitely a musical theater lover! This tradition will never fade away!

eating dinner together, donating money to a charity for Christmas (this is a stocking stuffer), saying prayers before bed, family vacations, family outings on weekends.

I like to light the candles on Friday night for Shabbat with my son. It’s a tradition that I hope to pass along to my son. But the once a year tradition, that I hope to pass on is making round challahs at Rosh Hashana. My family always revolved around the kitchen and I hope to share those experiences with my son.

Our family is a big melting pot where we are Jewish, Italian, Polish and Cuban all at one table. Our holiday dinners are full of different traditions run by the children. It makes for a great time and a lotof fun and learning. The other traditions we are passing down include understanding and respecting everyone’s beliefs and PATIENCE for differences. We also hope to pass down respect for elders which we feel has been lost in todays world.

My husband and I love Halloween. It gives us a chance to really have fun and be creative. We’ve already been lucky to celebrate twice with Leo. Last year at 3 months old he was a baby lobster (we carried him around in a padded lobster pot) & we were chefs. This year he was Jaws & we were Chief Brody & one of Jaws’ victims. We even turned his favorite ride into a wave float complete with the Jaws theme playing on our Ipod. We hope that Leo will love the planning and creating for this day as much as we do when he gets older.

There are so many traditions I want to pass down to my son… and new traditions I want to start! This year, we went pumpkin picking with Ben. While he’s only 13 mos, it was such a fun time and it will be a great memory for my husband and I. On weekends, we go to music class and play music all weekend long… we sing, dance. Ben gets a kick out of it (his fave? show tunes and Jay-Z… very ecclectic!). I’m also excited to take Ben to Macy’s 34th Street to meet Santa Claus. We didn’t do it last year due to his colic so I’m looking forward to sharing NYC with him during the holidays… we’ll hit Macys, Rock Center, the windows at Saks… can’t wait. What’s even better is getting to show him all of these memories with photographs. Oh, he’ll probably roll his eyes and think I’m crazy but it’s these traditions that help build our little family. I now appreciate my parents for dragging me to the Christmas tree farm every year to cut down our tree (and now it’s my turn to drag my child!)

We have a tradition of baking our own birthday cake, which I’d love to share with my son once he gets old enough. Also, my partner has a tradition with his family where they get together and play a gift-exchanging game with each other each Christmas, which we want our son to be a part of, again once he gets old enough .

We just completed our first ever home-made Halloween costume tradition. My mom always made ours when I was a kid, so I plan to get out the sewing machine and hit the craft stores for years to come.

I’m Hungarian, and we grew up celebrating Mikulas Nap (St. Nikolas Day) on Decempber 6th – the perfect thing to carry us over to Christmas (if we were good that year). I introduced it to my husband years ago, and this will be the second time we celegrate with our son at a nearby Hungarian church, complete with a Mikulas. My sister in law and I also decided to start a Christmas Eve/Christmas Day tradition of making crafts with our kids, so the cousins can bond and have some home-made memories.