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Break the Holiday Traditions This Year

Well Thanksgiving has came and went and I decided to break the holiday traditions this year. We made it through our first year without the hubs and it was pretty decent. I didn’t cook for Thanksgiving since it’s just me and the kids. I decided to buy dinner on Wed and then we went visiting others on Thursday. We ended up going to the movies to see trolls and then coming home to homemade hot chocolate and movies. Every year for Thanksgiving my mother use to cook the same ole same ole….Turkey, Greens, Stuffing (that’s what we call it where I am from), sweet potato pie, etc. I always ate a bowl of cereal. Yes….every Thanksgiving and Christmas I ate cereal because I didn’t like the meal. I couldn’t wait until I got older so I can break the tradition of the same old meal and do something unique and different. It’s kind of how I live my life…..unique and different. When my husband was alive we went over to his family house every single year. For 10 years of our marriage it was go over to either his grandma house or the sister house EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. I was tired and we would argue because I wanted to do something different. Can we go to my hometown, can we visit other people, can we do something at our home for once. He refused every year saying it’s tradition. This year though we are breaking traditions! I am sorry if people don’t like it or don’t agree with it but it’s time to change. I am going to start with my cooking….

Break The Holiday Traditions With Food

Every year, since we go over to the hubs family house, I didn’t cook. I would make me a little side dish so I can have something to eat but I didn’t really cook an entire spread. So this year I am going to change things up. I plan on having a BBQ Christmas (I had a BBQ Thanksgiving too) we are going to smoke some pork butt, throw some ribs on the grill, and make some mack and cheese. No greens, turkey, or stuffing will be on the agenda at all this year. Every year from now on I will create a new theme. Next year it will be a seafood Thanksgiving and Christmas and then the next year we go Mexican, and then the year after that Italian. No more having to eat the same things every year we are going to switch things up.

Break The Holiday Traditions with Traveling

Traveling is going to be different. We will travel every Christmas to somewhere new for the holidays. This is the first Christmas that we will take on that task. I am thinking Biltmore Estates or Opryland in TN. I am leaning towards Opryland because it’s more kid friendly but it depends on which one works with my budget. We will do two vacations a year. One in the summer and one during the holidays. My kids are getting older…they no longer need gifts. For what? They have every electronic imaginable, I buy winter clothes at the end of winter for the New Year in bigger sizes so they have clothes, they play with toys for a week and then the toys collect dust. I am tired! I am sick of buying stuff to put under a tree, this year we will create memories and go somewhere. When their father died they didn’t speak of what Dad bought them they spoke of remembering things. Remember when we went on vacation and dad did this, remember when we to the beach for the first time, remember when we went to this state or that state. They recalled the memories…….not what Dad bought them. Going forward I am going to create more memories because they are getting older and will be out of my house soon…..I want to make sure I create memories for them.

Break The Holiday Traditions About Gift Giving

Gift giving is getting to be tiresome. I am not all for exchanging names because I truly hate when I am thoughtful and buy nice things but get SHAT in return. I say break the tradition and change things up. If you are going to exchange names have everyone find nice cards and everyone put $10 or $20 in a card. The key is to find the most unique card as the tradition. One of my blog buddies exchanged names with her family and they had to buy something from Etsy and could only choose between 10 shops. Make it specific so that you don’t get bullcrap for the holidays. Exchange names but make things fun and unique don’t let people go rogue. Maybe do a Kitchen exchange name party where everyone has to buy something for the kitchen or switch it up and do something where everyone has to support their favorite charity. Change up the gift giving this year! You can also do this with your kids….give them 4 things for the holidays. One thing they want, one thing they need, something from the heart, and something for their future. My kids aren’t getting anything for the holidays because we are traveling……

It’s time to change things up! We don’t want to do the same things day in and day out…at least I don’t. I plan on changing things up a whole lot and doing things the unconventional way. It’s how I run my business and my life. I am the person in the room who will go against everyone in the room lol. Do you plan on changing things up for the holidays?

Break the Holiday traditions this year

24 Comments

  • Tasheena @ SimplyTasheena.com
    November 28, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    I love the idea of changing things up. My old co-worker would have a themed Thanksgiving which inspired me to do one. A couple of years ago we did a seafood Thanksgiving and it was a lot of fun.

    Reply
  • Alli Smith
    November 28, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    I keep my Thanksgiving meal pretty traditional with a deep-fried turkey (so moist and delish) and ham and all the trimmings. For Christmas, we grill steaks. By then we are all sick of traditional holiday food and we just want something different. I’m all about making memories and not just giving junk toys that will last a week or two. A few Christmases ago, we took a trip to Maine and the kids still talk about all the fun we had. Change is good.

    Reply
    • Kita
      November 28, 2016 at 8:06 pm

      They say if fried right it’s awesome. I need to try it I might change my mind on turkey

      Reply
  • Mimi Green
    November 28, 2016 at 2:11 pm

    I love this and I love to create new traditions. Babe hates it. lol We had tradition Thanksgiving food but we also had ribs and brisket. It was nice to have another option.

    Opryland it a lot of fun, you guys will enjoy it.

    Reply
  • Shirley Wood
    November 28, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    We don’t tend to break the Thanksgiving traditions in our family. It’s my favorite day of the year because there is no pressure, just a relaxed fellowship time with family and nice conversations. It’s loud and there is lots of laughter, I love it.
    We did change our Christmas meal tradition a few years ago but we still do it at home. I’d love to change those traditions and go away for Christmas if my two daughters and their families could come too.

    Reply
  • Kim
    November 28, 2016 at 3:24 pm

    I love that you’re will in to break tradition and I’ll be coming over for the next couple years because I love seafood and Mexican food. I need to get into breaking tradition but only in baby steps because I NEED my turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving and greens and hopping johns on New Year. However I like the idea of doing something different on Christmas because I don’t really focus on what we are eating for Christmas. Seafood sounds like a good idea. And I like the idea of traveling but I still need my tree and lots of gifts because I just love buying them for people and seeing their reactions on Christmas morning as they open them.

    Reply
  • lisa
    November 28, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    We love the traditions in our house. I didn’t have to cook this year for Thanksgiving but I missed the leftovers.

    Reply
  • Bren Pace
    November 28, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    Hey Kita,

    I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since your hubs passing. 🙁 I know the holidays will be a bit difficult for you and the children so changing things up is an awesome idea. Your hubs wouldn’t want you all to sit around and wallow, right? Explore the world and make it all about you, ZaZa, and DMan.

    We like to change things up in my family. Since hubs’s family is out west and mine has already passed, it’s just him, me, and the furkids. We started a new tradition for Thanksgiving a couple years ago of going to the Casino buffet, dropping a few bucks in the machines, and settling in with some football afterwards. I used to cook a big turkey spread with all the fixin’s but it got to be too much for just the two of us.

    Change it up, gf. I think you and the kids will enjoy it more!

    B

    Reply
    • Kita
      November 28, 2016 at 8:05 pm

      Yes! The casino that’s the first thing I am going to do when the kids get out of the house. My first Christmas will be at the casino!

      Reply
  • Sarah Bailey
    November 28, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    I definitely agree that breaking with the traditions can sometimes make for a much better occasion, sometimes it can be very tiresome doing the same thing year after year.

    Reply
  • Nellie
    November 29, 2016 at 12:17 am

    omg this is awesome! I need to visit your house on Christmas because yaaaas to that BBQ Holiday! Gift giving is super exhausting I totally agree with the money in the card situation!

    Reply
  • Jacqui @FlightsFancyMom
    November 29, 2016 at 1:20 am

    My family exchanges names and when you’re 18 you go into the hat. We have a $50 limit as we’re only buying for one person. We write three things that we want and one of those item’s what you’ll get. If they spend below $50, you will either get cash in a card for the difference or they’ll buy candy or an ornament.

    Reply
  • Silvia
    November 29, 2016 at 2:48 am

    You have definitely inspired me! I’ll have to see what I can change in my holiday routine and this idea of yours sounds awesome!

    Silvia
    http://www.lovelysilvia.com

    Reply
  • Rebecca M.
    November 29, 2016 at 3:23 am

    We had a pretty traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but we have decided that we are only doing Christmas gifts for the children this year. We want to make it all about the kiddos and putting smiles on their faces 🙂

    Reply
  • Teresa
    November 29, 2016 at 3:54 am

    I don’t like turkey either, so I bought a deep fryer a few years ago – ad now I will at least eat a piece o Thanksgiving. I used to follow my husband around at first too and it was always his mom’s traditions. After my kids got a bit older, I put a stop to all of that and said we needed our “own” traditions – good for you!

    Reply
  • RaNesha
    November 29, 2016 at 11:52 am

    We’ve decided to travel this year. Enjoy your holiday sometimes it’s good to break tradition

    Reply
  • Rebecca Swenor
    November 29, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    It is sometimes nice to do something different during the holidays and breaking the traditions. I love the idea of have a BBQ Christmas which is something I am going to have to share with my sister for sure. The Food tradition I would not mind changing at all. Thanks for sharing the idea.

    Reply
  • ricci
    November 29, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    I love the idea of breaking tradition, sometimes it’s fun to make your own traditions! Great post!

    Reply
  • K. Elizabeth
    November 29, 2016 at 9:31 pm

    We’re having a turkey, but I already told the Mr don’t expect the traditional seasonings or sides. Next year we’re not having turkey at all. It’s time that we switch things up. Traditions are nice, but it’s also nice to start new ones and okay to experiment with something different. I love the idea of giving experiences instead of gifts for Christmas.

    We can outgrow gifts, but our memories stay with us a lifetime. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
  • Bonnie G
    November 30, 2016 at 2:26 am

    I seem to break tradition every year and do something new. We normally have our big meal on Thanksgiving and do something different for Christmas.

    Reply
  • Polarbelle
    November 30, 2016 at 8:29 am

    I love this. I’m sorry for your loss but especially because of it, it’s just the best idea to create new holidays. Everything you do will be new and memorable. It’s good for you and it’s good for the kids. Who says it has to be the same every year anyway? Good for you!! Santa approves.

    Reply
  • Anosa
    November 30, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    So sorry about your husband and what a great idea to create memories instead of buying gifts. I am sure it was different without the hubby or his family.

    Reply
  • Christina Aliperti
    December 1, 2016 at 5:32 am

    We usually do everything by tradition for the holidays. But to be honest, there is a part of me that wants to just do something completely different than we have ever done before.

    Reply
  • Garf
    December 3, 2016 at 11:49 pm

    I love your natural Christmas theme. It looks cool in the eyes.

    Reply

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