traditions Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips https://www.thriftymommastips.com/tag/traditions/ Travel, Health & Family Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:10:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.thriftymommastips.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/cropped-thrifty_logo_header-32x32.png traditions Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips https://www.thriftymommastips.com/tag/traditions/ 32 32 77340857 So How Are We Doing Easter During a Pandemic? https://www.thriftymommastips.com/so-how-are-we-doing-easter-during-a-pandemic/ https://www.thriftymommastips.com/so-how-are-we-doing-easter-during-a-pandemic/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2020 15:55:20 +0000 https://www.thriftymommastips.com/?p=31317 But are we even doing Easter this year? We’ve gone back and forth on this actually, a few times this year. I mean honestly no judgement at all if you are taking it easy and simply getting through. But this week, I did a fair bit of reading and a whole lot of thinking. What would Easter look like in the middle of a pandemic? Would we be doing Easter? Our original plan was to drive to my brother’s home in Toronto. But that was back in February before we’d even heard the term Covid-19. Before spring vacations were cancelled and people started dying of a virus that was travelling through people, killing thousands shutting down an entire industry, grounding airplanes and making grocery shopping nerve wracking and potentially dangerous. Part of me was leaning towards why bother? And yet, I read someone smart this week, a parenting expert who noted how important it is to maintain some traditions for stability right now for your family and your kids. That made a lot of sense to me. WE all need to feel some stability and joy right now. But we definitely couldn’t see my brother in person. Churches are doing virtual services and we are practicing social distancing and physical distancing. So, basically I was kind of still mulling over the options this morning when my younger daughter forced me out of the mulling zone and into the realm of this needs to be decided right now. Such is the questioning style of teenagers living through a pandemic struggling with every single thing being upended, trying to make the best of it. So, I tried to give it some serious immediate thought. “So What Should WE Make of Easter?” My 16 year old daughter this morning while doing online school, which is a new thing this week, and one she’s doing surprisingly well with said: “Are we doing Easter?” I paused for a second to determine what she was really asking. You know that saying about assumptions, well I made one and it clearly was wrong. And I said: “What do you mean? Do you mean are we driving to your Uncle’s for a big family meal? No, because that’s not safe right now.” “NO!” She barked. Increasingly agitated with me, resorting to this old teenage standby – Repetition of exactly the same question. Are we doing EASTER? “What do you mean? Do you mean – Are we making a big meal here? Well, we will see if we can get a ham or small turkey or something and cook it.” “NO! ARE WE DOING EASTER?” Totally agitated with me like she thinks I can read minds for Pete’s sake. Third time is the charm. Finally I said: – “Are you asking if there will be chocolate and an Easter egg hunt?” “YES. I assure you that there will be an Easter egg hunt.” “BUT WHEN,” she hollered. “AND HOW? YOU HAVE NO CHOCOLATE EGGS!” By that point she was practically screaming at me. Preparation Matters “I actually do, because I bought them three weeks ago and hid them from teenagers,” I said. My daughter sighed in relief and went back to doing school work. HONESTLY, Teens are so funny sometimes. Parenting teens is nutty and maybe even crazier than ever. But, this is all new territory for everyone on earth right now. It All Comes Down to Chocolate and Tradition Today, all she wanted to know was if she gets an Easter egg hunt and chocolate this year. Kind of sweet and yet also could have been a gigantic argument based on how pissed off she was getting with my inability to parse Easter right down to MINI EGGS hidden around the house. So, this year yet again I will hide some chocolate eggs around the house. In fact, I will probably hide more this year than ever before because this is also a tradition that makes me happy. It’s a thing that my Mom maintained for us pretty much right up until she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. So, this year, we will join my brother and his family virtually via Face Time or Zoom as we each have dinner at our respective homes. Easter Dinner During a Pandemic I am planning to make a small turkey breast and some stuffing because my younger daughter has also been asking for that. We’ve got everything prepared, planned and ready and while Easter will definitely be different this year it will be memorable and we will be together and healthy and that’s more than enough for me. Hopefully, the teenagers have a Happy Easter too! What are you doing this Easter?

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]]> https://www.thriftymommastips.com/so-how-are-we-doing-easter-during-a-pandemic/feed/ 3 31317 5 New Year’s Eve Tradition Ideas https://www.thriftymommastips.com/5-new-years-eve-tradition-ideas/ Tue, 30 Dec 2014 00:47:17 +0000 https://www.thriftymommastips.com/?p=4921  New Year’s Eve Tradition Ideas Just like Christmas, New Year’s Eve is a great time to think about setting traditions for your friends and family to participate in! There are so many different types of traditions you can set anywhere, from activities to games to competitions. Family party? Or adults only? Party in or party out? New Year’s Eve Tradition Ideas are endless. We have typically involved our kids in the creation of our family New Year’s Eve Tradition Ideas. Some years we skate and watch fireworks in the park. Some years we also do number five on this list. You just have to decide on a couple that make sense for your family and start keeping up with them every year! There are so many possible New Year’s Eve Tradition Ideas. I have compiled a few to get you started. 1. Watch the Rockin’ New Year’s Eve special. This is a great one for predominantly adult families who just want to relax, enjoy some music, and quietly reminisce over their year. It’s a great way to spend some time together and at the end, you get to watch the countdown and the ball drop! If you’ve never watched it before, now might be a great time to start the tradition. 2. Have a silly string fight! This New Year’s Eve tradition is wonderful for families with preteen aged children. Allowing them to run around and make a mess with silly string is a great way to let them celebrate and get their energy out. Because of the consistency, silly string isn’t usually too terribly hard to clean up. 3. Make some baked goods together. Baking as a New Year’s Eve tradition is a great way to spend some time together while you’re waiting for the countdown to midnight! Exchanging recipes, spending the time to make them, and then getting to chow down on some delicious baked goods is a win for everybody and a wonderful tradition to start this year! 4. Set off fireworks. This is always a fun New Year’s Eve tradition for anyone who loves watching fireworks. It’s important to be safe when using any kind of fireworks, but this is definitely a way to impress your guests and family members. The kids are sure to love the fireworks and you can even get small party poppers and sparklers for the kids to feel like they’re making their own fireworks! 5. Order Chinese food! If you’d rather avoid the cooking this New Year’s Eve, you could always order Chinese food for takeout! It’s a great way to order food in bulk and have enough for everyone while not breaking the bank and this New Year’s Eve tradition is sure to stick around for a while if you find a delicious Chinese food restaurant! Are there any New Year’s Eve traditions you think I should add to the list for next year? What’s a New Year’s Eve tradition you partake in?

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