Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to start a new tradition. Lots of
Speaker 1: holiday traditions will need to change this year, but with
Speaker 1: a little thoughtfulness, you can create new traditions that you'll
Speaker 1: want to keep even when the world goes back to
Speaker 1: something approaching normal. In recent episodes, I've been nudging people
Speaker 1: to remember that the holidays are upon us. So much
Speaker 1: associated with the holidays is tradition. We do it over
Speaker 1: and over again, and yet so much is going to
Speaker 1: have to change. There won't be the big parades or
Speaker 1: parties of years past. These things can sneak up on us.
Speaker 1: We aren't actively thinking, oh, yeah, I always go to
Speaker 1: this party, until you realize that the party isn't happening
Speaker 1: and the season can suddenly feel strange. Best to know
Speaker 1: this is going to happen and to make other arrangements.
Speaker 1: I think the best approach is to think creatively and
Speaker 1: figure out how you might start a new tradition that
Speaker 1: is fun enough that the missing traditions don't feel so
Speaker 1: bad and you're inspired to stick with the new ones.
Speaker 1: For instance, I love going to holiday concerts, and there
Speaker 1: are going to be far fewer holiday concerts this year.
Speaker 1: But I could choose some favorite Christmas albums to listen to.
Speaker 1: I can play through my favorite holiday carols and hymns
Speaker 1: on the piano. Maybe I'll sing along. My kids are
Speaker 1: usually in the church Christmas pageant. My guess is that
Speaker 1: there won't be a pageant this year, but I have
Speaker 1: five kids, including a baby. I could stage my own
Speaker 1: Nativity tableau if I wanted, with stuffed animals serving the
Speaker 1: role of beasts in the stable. In any case, I
Speaker 1: can have the kids read the Christmas Story from the
Speaker 1: Bible at home too. We could figure out a way
Speaker 1: to have this feel festive if we are going to
Speaker 1: have fewer parties, maybe we make more cookies at home.
Speaker 1: Maybe we try a new Christmas dish or craft. This
Speaker 1: is the year to experiment. Make a list of ideas
Speaker 1: you might try, ask your family members what they'd like
Speaker 1: to try, and then as you're working through the list,
Speaker 1: pay attention when are you really having fun? What does
Speaker 1: everyone seem to like? A year ago, my now eleven
Speaker 1: year old and I made a lego gingerbread house, and
Speaker 1: we really enjoyed doing that. So this year I bought
Speaker 1: a Lego Christmas Toy workshop off eBay and he and
Speaker 1: my daughter and I will construct that. Last year we
Speaker 1: also got matching pajamas for Christmas, and everyone wore those
Speaker 1: Christmas morning. Now I fully expect us to all be
Speaker 1: in matching pajamas for every Christmas. This is how traditions start.
Speaker 1: Which ry stuff. We like it, we decide we'd like
Speaker 1: to try it again. If you experiment a lot this year,
Speaker 1: you will learn a lot about what people like and
Speaker 1: don't like. Of course, some stuff won't work, so it goes.
Speaker 1: This is the year to experiment because there's a lot
Speaker 1: of open space in the absence of parties and holiday shows.
Speaker 1: We probably won't be going to the Nutcracker or Disney
Speaker 1: on Ice or anything like that, so we can try
Speaker 1: stuff out. Maybe you can too, and you just might
Speaker 1: come up with something that makes the cut for all
Speaker 1: years in the future, which will be a great way
Speaker 1: to remember this strange holiday season. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
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